Our County and Its People 



A HISTORY 



OF THE 



VALLEY AND COUNTY OF CHEMUNG 

From thk Closing Years of the Eighteenth 
Centuky 



BY AUSBURN TOWNER 

Author ok 'Chedayne of Kotono," "Seven Days in a Pullman Car. 
'• In the Shadow of a Sin." Etc., Etc. 



SYRACUSE, N. Y. 
D. MASON & CO., PUBLISHHKS 

1892 



\ 






4f 3rc>3 

'Of 

PRESS OF 

D. MASON & CO., 
SYRACUSE, N. Y. 



PREFACE. 



\A ORE than forty years ago the writer began, in rather an ini- 
/ V mature and aimless way of course, not the labor, — for it was no 
labor, rather a recreation and an amusement, — of gathering together 
facts and incidents that had preceded his time in the valley of the 
Chemung, and of keeping close track of men and events in the locality 
that was his home. He little dreamed that the outcome of it all 
would ever be the beautiful book that the publishers now lay before 
the people of our county. In its mechanical execution — for it becomes 
him to speak in this manner only of the setting of the work — tlie book 
is worthy of those of whom it treats and a valley which is not sur- 
passed by any other spot on the face of the earth. The people of 
Chemung County are peculiarly loyal to their locality, and they would 
have everything that touches them or it of the first order of merit. 
The publishers, so far as tliey are concerned, have succeeded unques- 
tionably in this respect. 

There may be some things in what follows relating to the early 
history of the valley that do not tally or harmonize with what have 
been for years considered to be accepted facts. Rut every incident 
that is related of those or later times has been verified from sources 
that will admit of no question. Many a good story has been omit- 
ted that has only tradition or hearsay for a foundation. 

The book, then, is laid before the people of Chemung County as 
an accurate and thorough record of the times that have preceded us 
in this locality, and is, in some way, a memorial of the one hundredth 
anniversary of the formation of this part of the State into a county 
by itself. 

AUSBURN TOWNEK. 

Elmira, N. Y., yanuar}', nggz. 



CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

The Vai.i-kv and Codntv of CnKMUNG During the Closing Ykahs of tiik Kight- 

KKNTH Century 19-82 

CHAPTER I. 

Why the Valley remained so long Unknown — Some previous Occupants — The 
Spaniards — Joseph Smith — Fort Hill — The " Hogbacks " — The Aborig- 
ines of the Valley — Red Jacket — " Cornplanter" — The Indian Villages of 
the Valley — "Canaweola" — Its Legend — Its Location — Its Cultivated 
Fields — The Peculiar and Favorable location of the Valley — Meaning of the 
name '' Chemung " — Its Application to other Matters. . . 19-28 

CHAPTER H. 

The Valley in 177S — A Rendezvous for Tories and Indians who were at the Wy- 
oming Massacre — Gen. John Sullivan — The Battle he fought at Chemung — 
The Important re.sulLi of that Kngagenient — What an advance Detachment 
of hisArmy did — Lieut. John Jenkins — The American Army enters the Val- 
ley — Gen. James Clinton — Maj. Nicholas Fish — Gen. Enoch Poor — The 
Rev. Samuel Kirkland — John L. Hardenburgh — How the Battle was Won — 
Canaweola the Ancient name of the Locality of the City of Elmira — Fort 
Reid built There. ^ — The return of the .Vrmy from the North — Horseheads — 
A great Celebration at Fort Reid — The Army leaves the Valley. . . 28-38 

CHAPTER HI. 

Immigration to the Valley begun — The earliest Settlers — Major William Wyn- 
koop — Elijah Buck — Lebeus Hammond — His escapes from the Indians — 
'■Queen Esther" — Col. John Hendy -- John Konkle and his Family — Gen. 
John Uathorn and his Family — Commissioners surveying the Valley — The 
Township of Chemung Erected — The Departure of the Indians — "Jim" 
Cornelison — Indebtedness of Chemung County to Wilkesbarre, Pa. — The 
first Tea parly in the Valley — ^ John Breese, the first Settler of Horseheads, 
and his Family — The Famine of 17SU — Chemung Township — Something 
concerning the old County of Montgomery. ...... 3t<-52 



6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Chemung as a Township — Selecting the site for a future City — Col. Matthias Hol- 
lenbacU — His part in the Development of the Region — The Men he sent 
into the Valley — Guy Maxwell and his Family — Thomas Maxwell — Thomas 
Mifflin Perry — Newtown and Wisnerburg — Henry Wisner and his Family 
— Tioga County organized — Newtown a halt-.shire Town — The Great Treaty 
with the Si.K Nations — Col. Timothy Pickering, who Negotiated It — Daniel 
F. Pickering — Early Physicians and Lawyers — Vincent Matthews and his 
Family — Dr. Amos Park — Dr. Joseph Hinchmau — -The Lowinan Family — 
Andrew Gregg and his Descendants — John Sly — The Township of New- 
town Erected. o;5-69 

CHAPTER V. 

The Site of the new Court- House — The first Court — Uses to which the Building 
was Put — Habits of the early Settlers — Origin of the Presbyterian Church — 
Poetical Description of the Court- House — First Clergymen — Union Lodge, 
No. .30, F. and A. M., Organized — Its Masters — Nathan Teall — His Family 
— His daughter Elmira, from whom the City takes its Name — Its Etymology — 
Nathaniel Seeley — William Dunn — The Valley visited by Louis Philhppe — 
Catherine township Organized — The Bennetts — Comfort Bennett — Will- 
iam HolTman — County officers for the Period — Conclusion. . . 70-82 



PART II. 

TuE County of Chemung During ti:e First Half of the Nineteenth Cent- 
ury 8.5-195 

CHAPTER I. 

Early Enterprises, someof which were not Successful — Manufacturing, Insurance, 
and Railroad Companies — Roads and Bridges — The old Ferry and its. Master, 
John Kline — Building the Lake Street Bridge — A curious Character con- 
\ nected with It — Clinton Island and its forgotten Beauties and Uses — New 
^Settlers — John Hughes — His distinguished Sons — The Rev. Simeon R. 
Jones — Continuing the Record of the Presbyterian Church — The Jones J 
Family — The Smith Family — Dr. Elias Satterlee. .... 85-99 

CHAPTER H. 

Changes in the Civil Organizations of the County — Elmira Named — Adjusting 
the Locality of the County Clerk's Oflice — Dr. Jotham Piirdy — New Towns 



CONTENTS. 7 

Formt'il — Ciilliii — Veteran — Big Flats — Dix — Soutliport — Cayiita — Pre- 
paring for llie new County — A new Court-IIouse — What it was Like — The 
"Jail Limits" — The I'oor-IIoiise — Organizing a Methodist Chnroh — Isaac 
Roe and his Family — The First ML-thodist Class — Methodist Ministers — Dr. 
J. Dornian Steele — Klias S. Huntley — Other prominent Methodists — Rohert 
Covell and his Family — Stephen Tuttle — John Arnot and his Family — Dr. 
Erastus L. Hart — Capt. Samuel Partridge 100-118 

CHAPTER III. 

Internal Improvement.s — Dams Authorized to be Built — Charley Bird, who be- 
came a Mormon — An Ice Freshet — I.-iaac Baldwin — The Hatch Family — 
David Reynolds and his Descendants — The Chemung Canal — Enthusiasm 
caused by its Completion — Judge Caleb Baker — 'Squire Robinson — Changes 
made by the Canal — The "Feeder" — Horseheads an Important " Port " — 
Boat Building — Capt. Henry C. Spauldmg — Capt. Eli S. Wlieeler, the In- 
ventor of the Sleeping Car — Judge Hiram Gray — Gen. Alexander S. Diven 

— Green M. Tuthill — Col. Samuel G. Hathaway, jr. — James L. Woods — 
Judge Ariel Standish Thurston — Miss Clarissa Thurston. . . 118-132 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Stage-coach Period iti the History of the Valley — Cooley & Maxwell — Levi 
J. Cooley — The " Eagle Tavern " — Silas Haight — Other old Hotels — Pub- 
lic Halls from the earliest Times — Mechanics Hall — Paitiu.son Hall — The El- 
mira an<l Willianisporl Railroad — The New York and Erie Railroad — The 
Chemung Railroad — Vis)l of the President of the United States to the Valley 

— Daniel Webster, Stephen A. Douglas, and Gen. Winfield Scott in Elmira — 
Local officers of the Brie — William E. Ratter — James H. Rutter — Superm- 
tendents of the Susipiehanna Division — Gen. D. C. McCallum — H. D. V. 
Pratt — Old-time Conductors — The Chemung Canal Bank — Organization of 
the Baptist and Episcopal Churches — " Aunty Hdl ' — Hervey Luce — Karly 
Rectors of Trinity Church — The Husband of " Widow Bedott " — Rev. Dr. 
Andrew Hull — The Elmira Mechanics Society — Gen. William R. Judsou — 
Chemung County Organized — First Officers of the County. . 132-161 

CHAPTER V. 

The Growth of the County — Some of the old-time Industries — Statistics Com- 
pared — The Lumber Business — Those Prominent in It — Samuel B. Strang 
— TheFitchFamily — Mercantile .Men of the Time — David H. Tuthill —Tracy 
Beadle — Simeon Benjamin — An.soii C. Ely — The Pratt Brothers and their 
Woolen-Mills — The old-time Fire Department — Organizing Fire Companies 

— The I. 0. O. F. — Continuing the local History of Masonry — The Chemung 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

County Medical Society — Introduction of a Telegraph Line — The Newspa- 
pers of Elmira — The Daily Karlon — The Elmira Gazette, the Republican, and 
the Chemung Democrat — The Fort Henderson Meddlar — Charles G. Fairman 
— His views of the Politics of the Times — Samuel C. Taber — The Valley a 
" Gateway to Freedom " — Jervis Langdon — John M. Robinson — Thomas S. 
Day — John Tarner — The Catholics, their first Church, and their Priests — 
Burial Grounds and Cemeteries — Names of those holding Public Official Po- 
sitions — Postmasters of the County. I(i2-195 



PART III. 

Military Affairs in the County 200-277 

CHAPTER I. 

Early Military Organizations — " General Training " — The old "Elmira Guards" 

— The " Southern Tier Rifles " — Breaking out of the War — Answering Pres- 
ident Lincoln's Call for Troops — Gen. W. W. Averell — Maj. Arthur T. Lee 

— Capt. J. Riley Reid — Capt. Madison Earle — Mustering in Troops for the 
Service — Organization of the Twenty-third Regiment N. Y. V. — Its muster 
Roll — Col. H. C. Hoftman and other prominent Members of the Regiment — 
Capt. Nat. B. Fowler — Lieut. Florence Sullivan — Rodney W.Steele — Thadde- 
us C. Cowen — Record of the Regiment — Other Regiments mustered in at El- 
mira — A Horseheads Company — Elmira made a Military Depot and Post — 
Preparing to care for the Soldiers 200-213 

CHAPTER n. 

Other Regiments organized and mustered in at Elmira — The Fiftieth Engineers — 
OfTicers and Men of the Regiment — Gen. E. 0. Beers — Lieut. Delos L. Hol- 
den — The Si.xty-fourth Regiment— The Eighty-fifth Regiment — Col. B. P. 
Bailey's "Steuben Rangers" — Capt. J. G. Copley — The Eighty-ninth Regi- 
ment — Its Surgeon, Dr. Truman H. Squire — Its Officers and Men — Jv Com- 
pany, One Hundred and Third Regiment, " Seward Infantry " — The favorite 
and popular One Hundred and Seventh Regiment — Gen. R. B. Van Valken- 
burgh ^ Surgeon Patrick H. Flood — The Hon. Thomas S. Flood — Mayor 
Henry Flood — Officers and Men of the One Hundred and Seventh — Chap- 
lain Ezra F. Crane— Lieut.-Col. Lathrop Baldwin, jr. — Lieut. Arthur S. Fitch 

— Other well known Names from the Muster Rolls of the Regiment. . 214-233 



CONTENTS. 9 

CHAPTER III. 

Further account of Infantry organizations Mustered into the service at Elnnra — 
The One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment — Col. S. G. Ilatliaway, jr. — Maj. 
L. A. Hazard — Maj. Robert M. McDowell —Changes in the Field and Stall" — 
Maj. Elisha G. Baldwin — Lieut. -Col. Kdward !■. Patrick — Col. Archie Ba.xler 

— Other well known Names in the Regiment — The One Hundred and Si.xty- 
(irst — Capt. Robert R. R. Dumuis — Capt. Orlando N. Smith — Capt. Royal R. 
Soper — Others in the Regiment Well Known — The One Hundred and Sev- 
enty-ninth — Gen. William J[. Gregg — Capt. Robert F. Stewart — The One 
Hundred and Kighty-ninlh — Col. William W. Hayt — The last Infantry Reg- 
imental organization in the State, the uncompleted One Hundred an<l Ninety- 
fourth — Infantry forwarded from Elmira to the Seat of War. . . 234-249 

CHAPTER IV. 

Organizations of other Arms of the Service mustered in at Elmira — The First Regi- 
ment New York Light Artillery — The Fifth Artillery — The Fourteenth and 
Sixteenth New York Heavy Artillery — Independent Batteries — Cavalry 
Regiments — The Tenth Regiment .Mounted Volunteers — Col. William Irvine 

— Maj. Luther L. Barney — The Fifteenth New York Cavalry ^ — Capt. Will- 
iam L Morgan — Tho First V'eteran Cavalry — ( Hher Cavalry Regiments- 
Oraniel R. Burdick — -Total number of Organizations and Men nuistered in at 
Elmira — Individual Instances of others Serving in the War — Col. Daniel W. 
Gillett — Capt, Uriah S. Lowe, Gov. Buren R. Sherman, and Others — The 
Draft — Otficers having it in Charge — The manner of Drafting — Maj. John 
A. IRiddock — Col. Samuel B. Ilayman — The Disturbance made by a return- 
ing Regiment of Michigan Cavalry — The small change of the War. 249-204 

CHAPTER V. 

Elmira as a Prison Camp — Its Establishment in 18G4 — Describing it and its Lo- 
cation — Arrival of the first Detachment of Prisoner.s — A terrible Railroad 
Di.saster — The appearance and condition of the Prisoners — How they were 
cared for in the Camp — The "Veteran Reserve Corps" — Officers m charge 
of the Camp — Imagmary accounts of Escapes — False Alarms — Visitors at- 
tracted to the Camp — What could be Seen — The surroundings of the Camp 

— How the Prisoners occupied Themselves — The appearance of the Interior 
of the Camp — Providing food for the Prisoners — Sickness and mortality 
Prevalent — The dead at Woodlawn — John W. Jones, the Sexton who 
Buried them All ^ Breaking out of the Small-pox — The disastrous Flood of 
March 17, 186.T - Burying the Dead — Means for their Identification — The 
close of the War and the breaking up of the Camp. .... 'H'A-l'il 

2 



10 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

PART IV. 
CuEMi.NG County During thk Latter Half ok the Nineteenth Century. . .281-409 

CHAPTER I. 

The changed Character of the Valley — Continuation of the History of the Churches 
of Elmira— The Rev. Dr. David Murdoch — John Murdoch — The Rev. Dr. 
George C. Curtiss — Burning of the unfinished Church — Maxey Manning 
Converse — His heroic Deatli — The Rev. Dr. William E. Knox — Thomas K. 
Beecher — Park Church — Lake Street Presbyterian Church — Its Ministers — 
Trinity Church — Bisliop William Paret — The Rev. Dr. George H. McKnight 
— The Arnot Memorial Chapel — Grace Church — The Baptist Church — The 
Rev. Dr. W. T. Henry — The Methodist Church — Its Ministers — Hedding 
Church — Its first Members — The Rev. William H. Goodwin — Others of its 
Ministers — Growth of the Methodist Church — Catholic Churches — -St. Pat- 
rick's — The Rev. J. J. Bloomer — St. Mary's — The Rev. James C. McManus — 
Hebrew Synagogues — Churches for the Colored People — The Young Men's 
Christian Association — Its first Meetings, Members, and Officers — Its 
Strength and U.-^efuhiess. 281-297 

CHAPTER n. 

Tlie Schools of Elmira — Something of the Early Ones — Who were the Teachers 
— The Cleves School — The Elmira College — Simeon Benjamin — The Teach- 
ers of the Institution — The old Baldwin Street Academy — Its early Princi- 
pals — Some of its Pupils — Francis Colliiigwood — Dr. Nathaniel Randolph 
Seeley --The first Board of Education of Elmira — Members of the Board 
since its Existence — The new Free Academy and the new District Schools — 
Secretaries of the Board — Edward Danforth — The thirteenth Annual Meet- 
ing of the National Educational As.sociation — Some of the Public School 
Teachers — Dr. J. Dorman Steele — Prof. James R. Monks — Mrs. " George 
Archibald" — Local Masonic history Continued — The chief Officers of the 
several Bodies — The Royal Arch Chapter and the Commandery — John D. 
WiUiams— William Lee — Dr. Thaddeus S. Up de Graff— John S. Bartlett 
—Ivy Lodge, No. 397 — Elisha H. Cook — The Stobo Family — The new Ma- 
sonic Temple — Permanent quarters for the Postoffice — The Postmasters of 
Elmira 298-319 

CHAPTER HI. 

Something more of the I. 0.0. F. — The location of its Hall — Town Clocks — The 
Whittlesey Family — A curious Character — Officers of the I. 0. 0. F. — The 

Gr. A. R. and its Commanders — Musical Societies — The Sangerbund — Char- 



CONTENTS. II 

itable Organizations — The Oipliaiis Home — The Home for the Aged — Mrs. 
Richmond Jones — Dr. Edwin Eldridge — Lake Eldridge — The Industrial 
School — Tlie Arnot-Ogtlen Memorial Hospital — The Elmira Academy of 
Medicine-- Dr. William C. Wev — Dr. -I. K. .Stanchlield - Dr. William Wood- 
ward — The Academy of .Sciences — Replacing llie old Wouden Dridges across 
the Chemung with Iron Ones — When and How it was Done — Woodlawn 
and other Cemeteries — The Establishment of new Banks — Eurther concern- 
ing the Erie Railw.iy — How the Northern Central was Formed — The Elmira, 
Cortland, and Northern, the Tioga, the Lehigh Valley, and the Delaware, 
Lackawanna, and Western Railroads. 320-345 

CHAPTER IV. 

Further changes in the Civil Divisions of the County — Horsehead.< Township Or- 
ganized — Schuyler County taken from Chemung — Hon. Jeremiah McOiiire 

— Van Etten Township — Van Ettenville — Its first Postmasters — Baldwin 
Township — Hick.-; and North Chemung — Elmira becomes a City — Its May- 
ors — One of its earliest Chiefs of Police — A notable gang of Horse Thieves 

— The Fire Department — Its Chief Engineers — New companies Formed — 
"Ours 4" Ho.se — Coal taking the place of Wood — Tom Tallulay — Berry, 
the '■ Learned Shoemaker " — Something concerning the County Buildings — 
Notable criminal Trials — Ashland Township Erected — The Supervi.iors of 
the County .since 1850 — Citizens of the County who have Represented the 
District in Congress — Hon. H. Boardman Smith — Archibald Robertson, esq. 
— The Fassett Family — Hon. J. Sloat Fassett — Citizens of the County who 
have l>een State Senators — Senator George B. Guinnip — Mi-nibers of Assem- 
bly — Hon. Robert P. Bush — Coiintv .Jud-.'cs. District Attorneys, and other 
Officers of the County. 346-382 

chapti:r v. 

Amusements of the Village and City of Elmira — The New Opera House — Mr. 
and Mrs. D. W. Waller — Old-time Dramas and Actors — Circuses — Where 
their Tents were Spread — Horse-racing — Old-time Tracks— •' Flora Temple" 

— "American Girl" — The Maple Avenue Driving Park — State Fairs in 
Elmira — The Elmira Farmers Club — William A. .\rmstrong — The HushnnJ- 
man — Restaurant* — The first one in Elmira — George Jones — The Street 
Railway — Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Battle of New- 
town — Ex-Governor Lucius Robinson — .Militia organizations of the Cownty 

— The One Huiulred and Tenth Battalion — The Thirtieth and Twenty-si.xth 
Separate Companies — A new Armory — The State Reformatory — Supt. 
Z. R. Brockway — Newspapi'is of the City and County — Some that have 
Been, but are Not — The Elmira Oazelte — The Elmira Advertiser — Col. 
Luther Caldwell — The great flood of June, 1889— The Elmira Tritgran, - 
Charles Hazard — H. S. Brooks — James Hill — The terrible Railroad disaster 

on the Erie at Tioga — The .fiTv^ninj Star. :{S3-109 



12 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

PART V. 

The Townships 414-;)G8 

CHAPTER I. 

An Elmii-a Town as well as an KliniraCity — Some interesting and irapoitant Lo- 
calities formerly within its Limits — Carr's Corners — The Reformatory — 
Eldridge Lake — Some of its distinguished Citizens — Gen. A. S. Diven, 
Judge Hiram Gray, the Guinnips, Carrs, McCanns, and Others — Dr. Gleason's 
Water Cure — Mark Twain's summer Home — East Elmira Postoffice and its 
Postmasters — The Junction Canal — Early official records of the Town lost 
or Destroyed 414-418 

CHAPTER n. 

The Town of Southport — Early Grants of Land — First Settlers — The Millers, 
Griswolds, McHenrys, and Smiths — David Griswold and his family — Abra- 
ham Miller— Abner M. Hetfield and his Family — Capt. Samuel Tuthill— The 
" Connecticut Gore" — Early School-Houses — First Enterprises in the local- 
ity — Organization of the Township — Town Officers — Prolific Nature of the 
Soil of the Town — Its large Lumber and Tobacco Interests — The portion of 
the Township that became a part of the City of Elmira — Dr. Nathan Boyn- 
ton and his Family — Webb's Mills — Its Early Settlers — "Southport Cor- 
ners " — Those who came there First — Seeley Creek — " Bulkhead " Hotel — / 
Hendy Creek — AVells ■- The Plank Road. ... . 419-143 

CHAPTER HI. 

The Town of Chemung, the original Civil Organization of the County — Description 
of its Location — Its Products — Fruit and Tobacco Culture — Organization 
and early Officers — Curious Records — What attracted the early Settlers — 
Isaac Baldwin, the first Comer — His Family — "Sergeant Tom " and his 
numerous Exploits — Waterman Baldwin — His Life and Character— The 
Wynkoops, Ruok.s, McDowells, Burts, and Warrens ^ — The Hon. John G. Mc- 
Dowell and his Family — Israel Parshall, the Beidlemans, and Thomas Keeney 

— Pioneers who lived to great Ages — An old patent for Land — Thomas Burt 
^ Early Saw and Flouring-Mills — Lumbering Interests — First Houses built 
in the Town — Early mail Facilities — Early schools and school Teachers — 
Early Churches — The Postoffice and its Postmasters — Early and present Busi- 
ness places in Chemung Village — J. S. Holbert — Churches of the Town — 
The Methodists and their Pastors — Masonry in Chemung — School Districts 

— Town Officers 444-466 



CONTENTS. 13 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Earliest Settlers of the Town of Horseheads — John and Hannah Breese and 
their Family — Tlie Say res — Jonathan S. Conkling and Others — Soldiers 
Claims — E. rHommedieu — The Westlakes — A Locality whose Citizens 
reach very advanced Ages — Owen O'Hanlon and his Family — Early Busi- 
ness Enterprises — Lively impulse given to the Region by the Construction 
of the Chemung Canal — The first Boats — Rapid growth of the Village of 
Horseheads — The Fire of August, 18G2 — Village OlEcers — The Horseheads 
Fire. Department — Churches of the Village — Organization of the Township 

— Schools — Masonry m Horseheads — Manufacturing and other Enterprises 

— The enormous Brick interests of the Town — Breesport — Its early History 
and first Settlers — Its business Enterprises and Churches — The County House / 

— Cemeteries of the Township. 467-402 

CHAPTER V. 

The Town of the " Great Plains" that was Modernized into Big Flats — Who came 
first to take up the Lands quitted by the Redmen — Christian Myneer — Events 
that marked his Pioneer Life — Where the early settlers Located — Aged Men 

— Organization of the Town — The Town Officers — Highways and Bridges 

— Schools — Churches — Cemeteries — Masonry in the Town — Other So- 
cieties — Big Flats Village — The Lumbering and Tobacco Interests — Suc- 
cessful Enterprises — Interestmg and Peculiar Events and Incidents in the 
History of the Town 4!);i-504 

CHAPTER VI. 

Ashland the latest of the Towns to be Organized — How it got its Name — The^ 
Monument tliat marks the Sullivan Battlefield — Early settlers of the Town- 
Green Bently — Nathan Roberts — Je.sse Carpenter ^Eunice Kelsey, the first 
White Child born m the Town — The first Tavern and the first Church — The 
old Graveyard — Wellsburg, Ashland's only Village — Abner Wells and his 
Family, from whom the Place gets its Name — Bently Creek and its Water- 
Power — First business Enterprises ^ T/ater Comers — Richard Calon Lock- 
wood — Oldest Residents — George W. Roberta — Wellsburg's business Men 

— The Postoffice and its Postmasters — OIBoers of the Village — The Baptist 
Church, the oldest Religious Society in the V\illey — Elder Roswell Qoll" — 
Wellsburg's other Churches — Lowmanville or Lowman's — Its Postoffice and 
Postmasters — Its Industries — Dairying and Tobacco raising m Ashland — 
Favorable promises for Petroleum near Wellsburg — Organization of the i 
Tow» and its Officers. ... .'.(M-.VJl 



14 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Town of Van Etten — The Character of its original Products — First Settle- 
ments made by Hollanders and Scotchmen — Joel Thomas — Gen. Jacob 
Swartwood — His brothers Isaac and Emanuel — His father, Peter Swart- 
vpood — The Van Etten Family — Benjamin Ennis and his Sons — The fight- 
ing Westbrook Family — " Pony Hollow " — A woman who had the Reputa- 
tion of being a "Witch" — Organization of the Town — Town Officers — 
Van Ettenville — Its first Inhabitants — Its business Interests — Its Incorpo- 
ration — Officers Elected — Benevolent and other Societies — A disastrous 
Fire — Churches — A Swartwood Church — The first School in the Town — 
Present Schools — Their fine Character -- Enterprises that have helped make 
Van Etten prominent among the Towns in the County. . . , 521-532 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Town that gets its Name from the Baldwin Family — Its Situation — Neither 
Railroad nor Telegraph line within its Borders — Early Settlers — The Gran- / 
ger Brothers — Henry Tice — The Hammond Family — Elisha Hammond — 
Hammond's "Corners" — " Uncle Jerry" McCumber — John CoUson and his 
Sons — The Inman Family — Alfonso Lathrop — Levi Little — The original 
came of Lowmanville — A time when there were no Roads in the Town — 
How the early Settlers got to their new Homes — The Coopers — Most of the 
early Settlers of Baldwin soldiers of the War of 1812 — The first houses in the 
Town — Other first Events — County officers from the Town — North Che- 
mung Village — The Postmasters located There — Paul Collson — Aged Men 
of the Town — The Union Church — Methodism in Hammond's Corners — Its I 
early Beginnings — The Grangers — Hicks Postoffice — The first town Meet- ' 
ing — Town Officers. 532-541 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Town that was named from a \'eteran of two Wars — Its Location and Pe- 
culiarities — Preserved Cooley, the first Settler — Green Bently, the Veteran 
— Localities .settled by New Englanders — Elder Ebenezer Mallory — An ea.-ly 
Woolen Manufactory — Organization of the Town and its Otiicers — The Road 
that OetHiral Sullivan laid Out — Other Highways — Pine Valley — Its Ear- 
lier Liilustries — Its Churches — Other Societies — Millport, originally Mill- 
vale, almost a rival to Elmira — Startling events in its History — Its Churches 
and Schools — Its benevolent and secret Societies — Sullivanville — Enter- 
prises at Ridge Farms — Postoffices of Veteran and Terry's Corners — A Town- 
ship deserving of the Name it Bears. ...... 542-554 



CONTENTS. 15 

CMAPTKR X. 

The situation, soil, and productions of the Town of Erin — Its early Settlers — "^ 
ifost ot tliem Soldiers of the War of 1812 — A roll of the taxable Inhabitants 
in 1823 — Town Oflicers — Postoflices and principal Settlements — Early re- 
ligious Influences — The Methodist Church — Erin's Schools, past and present 
— Business Enterprises — James H. Rodbourn — Secret and Charitable Soci- 
eties — Cemeteries — Scotchmen in Erin — Some interesting Facts worthy of 
Record , 554-562 

CHAPTER XI 

The town of Catlin — Its Situation — Pioneers of the Town — A Locality the latest 
settled in the County — Those coming earl3' not staying very Long — Others 
who remained — The first Log House and the first School- House — The first 
Roa<l laid out, the first Birth, Death, and Wedding — Officers of the Town — 
Peculiar resolutions passed at Town Meetings — Roads and Railroads — 
Schools and Churches — Cemeteries — Principal Settlements — Postoffices and 
Postmasters — The chief Industries of the Town 5G2-568 



PART VI 

Biographical . .o7.''-703 

PART VII. 

Personal Rkferences 707 (1-141) 

PART VIII. 

Index .145 



PART 1. 

The Valley and County of Chemung During the 
Closing Years of ihe Eighteenth Century. 



But many of the fathers, who were ancient men, had seen the first house, when 
the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes. — Ezra ill.: 12. 

His echoing axe the settler swung 

Amid the sea-like solitude, 
And, rushing, thundering, down were Hung 

The Titans of the wood. — Alfred H. Street. 



PART I. 

The Valley and County of Chkmung During the 
Closing Years of the Eighteenth Century. 



CHAPTER I. 

Why the \'alley remained so long Unknown — Some previous Occupants — The 
Spaniards — Joseph Smith — l-"ort Hill — The "IIogbaci<s" — The Aborigines of 
the Valley— Red Jacket — '• Cornplanter " — The Indian Villages of the Valley 
— " Canaweola " — Its Legend — Its Location — Its Cultivated Fields — The 
Peculiar and Favorable location of the \'alley — Meaning of the name " Che- 
mung " — Its Application to other Matters. 

IN the year of our Lord 1777 tlie valley of the Clieiminy was totally 
unknown to the civilized world. There were niaii)' reasons why this 
should have been so. The Dutch had been in the eastern part of the 
State of New \'ork more than a century and a half before, and had sailed 
up the Hudson River to the site of the present city of Albany'. They 
conjectured that that river was but an arm of the sea leading to the In- 
dies, the aim of all their iiopes. They had no design nor desire to go 
where they could not be carried by their ships. They never once looked 
westward, and if they had the abrupt and rugged spurs of the Allegha- 
nies that form the Shawangtink and Catskill ranges would have been 
barriers in their way, which their sluggish natures would have deemed 
impossible to overcome. 

The English, succeeding these people of Holland, enterprising and 
pushing, not only looked westward, but went in that direction, and 
found, ready-made for them by nature, a long and level plain reaching 



20 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

from Albany clear across the State to the shores of Lake Erie. This 
became at once the only route from the sea- board to the West, and re- 
mained so, by footpath, horseback, wayon, stage line, canal, and rail- 
road, in successive periods for many years. Not only the valley of the 
Chemung, but the whole southern tier of the counties of the State, were 
\'irtually passed by in the rush for the Western prairies. It was a long 
time before the rugged ranges I have named were overcome and the 
Chemung Valley made known for what it indeed is. Even so late as 
185 I, when the Erie Railroad was opened, the party of distinguished men 
who were invited to signalize the completion of that great work, by 
passing over its whole line and participating in the festivities at the 
several places along the route, were amazed at the beauty of the coun- 
try they passed through after the summits beyond the valley of the 
Susquehanna had been passed, and wondered that such a land should 
have been hidden away so long. The French, led by brave and ener- 
getic priests, had also been in Canada for more than a century and a 
half, and pushing their way westward by the lakes had entered the \al- 
ley of the Mississippi. 

None of these, Dutch, English, or French, had penetrated south of 
the central [lart of the State of New York. There was nothing to at- 
tract them thither. 

The Moravians, with the zealous Count Zinzendorf, had long before 
ascended from Bethlehem, Pa., up the Susquehanna as far as Wyoming, 
but he followed the valley no farther toward the sources of the river. 

The English, also coming up the Alleghany River from Pittsburgh, 
had crossed into the valley of the Tioga, which in 1754 they spelled 
" Diahoga," and followed its course, but not out of the State of Penn- 
sylvania. 

It follows, therefore, that we can hear and read much of the history 
of the aboriginal inhabitants who dwelt in the central part of New York 
and in Pennsylvania, of their villages, " castles," manners, and customs, 
of their chief men and their doings, but nothing whatever of the valley 
of the Chemung. 

In the year 1 77 1 there was a map made of the " Counlr)- of the \T. 
Nations proper, with Part of the adjoining Colonies," by Guy Johnson, 
and "humbly inscribed by him as his exccllenc}-'s most humble servant" 



CHEAfi'XG COrXTY OX EARLY MAPS. '1\ 

to "William Trion, Esq., Captain-General and Govcrnor-in-Cliief of the 
Province of New York. " It covers the whole of the State of New York 
with some portions of Tcnnsylvania and Ohio, and it is a very accurate 
piece of work as we know tiie country now. The central, northern, 
eastern, and northwestern portions of the State of New York are laid 
down as correct!)' as any map will show them now, but where tiie Che- 
mung Valley is there is nothing on that map but a white blank space, 
as though there was nothing at all there, or if anything the mapmaker 
was ignorant of what it was, the nearest approach to it being Lakes 
Seneca, Cayuga, and Keuka, and an Indian village designated as being 
located near the head of the first named sheet of water, about where 
Watkins is now situated. 

Still further, it is much more than a conjecture that, in the year of 
which I write, much of the broad and rich flats of the valley, so valua- 
ble and prolific now, was then little more than huge swamps and marshes 
or pine barrens. 

In the journals of men who served in General Sullivan's army two 
years later there are accounts of their marches through terrible swamps 
that were both tedious and dangerous, and they had, in going from the 
Chemung region to Seneca Lake, to waiie through Newtown Creek, 
sometimes up to their armpits in the water, more than twent)' times! 
That army itself, in coming up from the junction of the Chemung with 
the Susquehanna Rivers, on its way to Seneca Lake, did not dare to 
choose its route in the valley itself, fearing the lowlands and the swamps, 
but made its path along the hillsides, its trail being visible in some 
places to this da\-. The battle of Newtown was fought on a hillside. 
As the writer of the journal just alluded to observes after they had 
arrived in Catherines town : " It would have been much ])Icasaincr to 
have stuck to the hillside all the way to the lake." 

Still further, there are those yet living who remember when the stage 
line through the valley to Seneca Lake ran along the tops or the sides 
of tiie hills known as the "East Mills," or "Ridge Road," instead of 
through the level valley. 

Then the earliest settlers of the valley have left recollections of a pes- 
tiferous and almost universal disease that made their new homes any- 
thing but delightful, an intermittent complaint that, in the vernacular 



22 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

of the times, was called " fever 'n agy," in the more polite phraseology 
of this day, I believe, denominated " malaria," which seems to be in- 
separable from lands that are low and swampy. 

It would thus seem that there are some few good reasons why the 
valley of the Chemung, even at so late a period in the history of this 
continent as the year 1777, should ha\e been so utterly unknown and 
unregarded. That there had been white persons in the valley long 
before that time forms the subject of a tradition hardly worthy attention 
in serious history, except for the effect it produced, that, without any 
traceable foundation or origin, seems even to this day to linger in the 
air. It does a little more than that, too, as it appeals very materiall}' to 
the eye in a round and shapeh' knob of a hillock, in the valley riear 
Waverly, which has been known from a time when " the memory of 
man runneth not to the contrary" as "Spanish Hill." 

Tiie tradition relates that the Spaniards, who early in the sixteenth 
century discovered and colonized Florida, being disappointed in not 
finding any precious metals there, sent a detachment north in search of 
mines that they were told lay indefiniteh' in that direction. This de- 
tachment wandered even so far away from their starting point as to the 
shores of Lake Ontario ! Some of these fables varied a little, having it 
that instead of seeking the precious metals the wanderers buried quan- 
tities of their own coin ! Their route, being inland, must necessarily 
have led them through the valley of the Chemung. 

These traditions, legends, or " old wives' tales " seem to have had 
more vitality than belongs to similar emanations of the imagination that 
have solider foundations, for as late as 1829 they brought Joseph Smith, 
the founder of the Mormon religion, if it be a religion, into the region 
seeking with his absurd " peek stone " to discover the hidden wealth 
that would aid him in his self- asserted mission, and less than twenty 
years ago a company of gentlemen, more intelligent if less shrewd than 
Smith, with easily secured capital, made an effort in the same direction 
for far different purposes. 

As these and other experiments never resulted in anything except a 
number of wide and deep holes in various places in the innocent earth 
we are forced to one of two conclusions, the fiist of which seems to 
be the more acceptable: That there is no foundation for the tradition. 



EVIDEXCES OF A PREHISTORIC RACE. j:} 

or that tlie jealous eartli liides tlie secret of lier treasures more securely 
locked in her bosom, in this region, than she does in other quarters of 
the globe. 

That there was in tiie valley, at some time or other, another race 
than those found there by the first white settlers does not depend on 
hearsay or on tradition like that just related, but on the most indisput- 
able evidence. Their remains show an advance toward civilization very 
far beyond the Indian. 

There is a hill to the southwest from the city of Klmira, on the south 
bank of the river, which has been called indifterently "Fort Hill," "Fort 
Henderson," and " Mount Zoar." The river there for some distance flows 
through a narrow gorge, and this hill I have named is at the southwest 
point of that gorge where the valley begins to broaden. Its side to- 
wards the river is precipitous, and its crests command the gorge com- 
pletely. Hostile boats sailing down the river would find it rather difficult 
to pass onward if a force on the hill objected to their further progress. 
For times when fighting was done, as the Romans, Greeks, ancient Ger- 
mans, Persians, and Medes fought, no better place could have been se- 
lected to oppose a hostile body of men coming down the river than this 
hill. On the top of it are the remains of a fortified place of some descrip 
tion. These are very much obliterated now by the frequent passage 
of the plow, but half a century ago they were as distinct as some of the 
defences of the late war in Virginia. The ])cople or race who erected 
them were well advanced in the art of war, for they showed a fortifica- 
tion laid out much on the same plan as governs in these days. 

Besides these there are, on the hillside near the present village of Low- 
man's, where the battle of Newtown was fought, some singular ridges run- 
ning parallel with each other, and a hundred feet or more apart, which 
early obtained the rather vulgar but eminently descriptive name of " 1 log- 
backs." The resemblance as you look upon them is exceedingly strik- 
ing. They hardly seem to be natural formations, and there are nothing 
like them anywhere in the region; but whether artificial, or if artificial 
why put there, no investigation has yet been able to determine. It 
would be vain and useless to attempt to inquire into the origin of these 
things. One can only say there they are, and pass on to other mat- 
ters that will repay examination. 



24 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

For reasons already set forth anything and everything relating to 
the aboriginal inhabitants of the vallej^ of the Chemung is exceedingly 
indistinct and obscure. What is positively known can be summed up in 
a very few words. The Indians of the Chemung Valley belonged to the 
tribe of the Senecas, one of the members of the Iroquois Confederacy. 
Among the chieftans and leaders of the tribe were the famous " Red 
Jacket," called so from the childish delight he took in wearing a British 
uniform that an English officer gave him, and " Cornplanter," a half- 
breed, whose father was an Irishman named O'Baille. 

There has been some attempt to connect these two men with the lo- 
cal annals of the vafley, but it cannot be very successful. Neither of 
them ever lived here, and their visits to the region were infrequent. Red 
Jacket himself was never here but twice. He makes his first appear- 
ance in history, and in the history of the valley, at the battle of Newtown. 
"Cornplanter" was also in the valley once, at the time of the great 
treaty, but his home was always farther west, in what is now Allegany 
County. He was supplanted in the leadership of his tribe by Red 
Jacket, was a good friend of the whites, and did much to elevate his 
people by his strong temperance proclivities. The connection of these 
two historical Indian characters with the valley of the Chemung arises, 
therefore, simply from the fact that they were, each in his time, the 
recognized leaders in the tribe to which the few stragglers in that valley 
belonged by birth, and to whom and to which thej' owed allegiance. 

There were seven Indian villages in the county and valley in the year 
already named. There had been another near where the village of Che- 
mung is situated now, but it had been abandoned. One of these vil- 
lages was called New Chemung, and was located on the north bank of 
the river west of the narrows near Chemung; another village called 
Newtown was about three miles farther up the river, near where Low- 
man's is now, and near the foot of the hill on which the battle of New- 
town was fought. The third village was about two miles still farther up 
the river and was called Middletown. These are not the names given 
the small collection of straggling huts by the Indians themselves, but 
they were so named by the whites, who came afterward and needed 
some designation to identify them. Another village located near where 
the Rathbun House now stands in the city of Elmira and another near 



/XD/.^.V I'lLLAGES. 25 

W'isner Park, on Main street, may and probably did have names, but 
they have not come down to us. Perhaps tliey were destroyed when 
the villages themselves were destroyed by Sullivan's men. Another 
village near where Big Flats is now located was named Runonvea. All 
of these villages together did not probably comprise one thousand souls 
in all, men, women, and children. 

The seventh village has kept its Indian nomenclature until this day. 
partly because it has a musical sound, partly because its translated 
meaning carries a not very pleasant sensation to the mind, and largely 
because the locality was such that it very soon acquired prominence. 
Its name has been spelled in a variety of ways, the orthography nearest 
its sound being Canaweola, its meaning being " head on a pole." Some 
forty years before one of the Seneca chiefs had been tried on that spot 
for alleged treachery to his tribe, was convicted, and sentenced to have 
his head cut oti' and placed on top of a tall pole. The sentence was 
carried into effect and the locality thus acquired its designation. The 
village was situated at the junction of Newtown Creek with the Che- 
mung River, on what is now the southeast corner of the Fourth ward 
of the city of Flmira. It was a place of considerable importance, hav- 
ing some twenty houses that were well built and well furnished, even to 
feather beds I The men of Sullivan's army, when they destroyed the 
town, destroyed a number of tables, chairs, bedsteads, and a quantity of 
kitchen utensils, articles one would hardly e.xpect to find in an Indian 
village. From them it is argued that white men lived there. But the 
Indians might readily have learned from their intercourse at Niagara 
with the French all about this manner of living, and themselves put it 
into practice in their own lands. They are imitative enough for that. 

One learns of and views with curiosity and amazement the immense 
fields of corn (some of the stalks of which were growing to the heighth 
of sixteen feet), beans, pumpkins, onions, cucumbers, watermelons, tur- 
nips, and other vegetables that were raised in the valley at the period 
of which I write, all of which were destroyed by Sullivan's men. The 
few inhabitants there could not by any means possibly consume them. 
The valley was a granarj' to help supply others than the people who 
lived there, and we can hardly feel inclined to view with any degree of 
complacency the rather well authenticated fact that even a very small 

4 



26 OCR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

portion of the Chemung country was once employed in raising grain 
and other suppHes for the sustenance and support of British soldiers ! 

The Chemung Valley, which comprises a large portion of the county 
of the same name, is so peculiarly situated as to attract the attention 
of the observer. It is doubtful if a similar condition exists an\'\\here 
on the globe. In length it is only about thirty- five miles. The river 
in its situation resembles a joint or stem or link connecting two 
other rivers with one. It is formed by the junction of the Tioga and 
Conhocton Rivers just a little west of the western boundarj' of the 
county. Flowing southeast it leaves the county six or ten miles above 
its junction with the Susquehanna River at Athens. At first, and until 
within the last quarter century, it retained the name of Tioga from the 
Conhocton to the Susquehanna. Maps made as late as 1852 indicate 
it as the "Tioga or Chemung River." After leaving Big Flats the val- 
ley meeting the one extending toward Seneca Lake broadens to the 
width of four or five miles in its widest parts. Herein, surrounded -by 
the softly rounded and graceful hills peculiar to the Susquehanna and 
its tributaries, lies the city of Elmira, its situation unsurpassed in pict- 
uresqueness and beauty by any locality in the world. The river, how- 
ever, does not enter the valley where it begins to widen. It flows along 
at the foot of the far western hills and creeps through the gorge already 
described, emerging into view at Mt. Zoar. It leaves between itself and 
its own broad valley for a time a lone mountain which has acquired the 
name of " The Bachelor." It will remain so for an indefinite period, for 
its mate it would be difficult to find. It is about four miles in length, 
overtops any of the other hills in the neighborhood, resembles somewhat 
in shape the back of a whale, and is entirely cut off" from any other near 
elevation. Seven miles below the city of Elmira the valley very per- 
ceptibly narrows, widening again, however, in another si.K miles, pre- 
paring to meet the waters of the Susquehanna. 

These names, now so well fixed and determined, did not apply at the 
time of which I write, our Chemung being designated as the Tioga 
branch, and Newtown Creek as the Cayuga or the Cihuga branch. 
That these two streams, now so different in size, should at that time be 
designated alike by the general term of "branches" will cease to be 
peculiar when we Icnow that then they were much nearer of the same 



EARLY \V. I TI:R ROUTES. T, 

width. Newtown Creek in a lumdred years has vastly sliriink, and the 
banks of the Cliemung River have gradually more and more receded 
from each other. Tiiere was a time when one with a good strong and 
skillful right arm, standing at the foot of what is now Madison avenue 
in the city of Klmira, could skip a stone with ease to the opposite 
shore. It would take a pretty good pistol these days to send a ball with 
any accuracy at all from one to the other of these two described [joints. 

The situation of the \'alley of the Chemung has made and makes it a 
natural pass or highway from Canada and the western valleys of New 
York to the South. The Canaseraga and the Canisteo, tributaries re- 
spectively of the Genesee anti Tioga Rivers, were capable of floating 
boats of ten tons burthen to points that were but ten miles apart, and 
this portage was of easy passage, practically bringing the valleys of the 
Genesee and the Chemung together. \Ve know that coming from the 
headquarters of the Iroquois Confederacy at Niagara, and from their Gen- 
esee castles, the Indians knew no other route than this to the rich plains 
of the Susquehanna and Wyoming below. The earliest traders of the 
valley knew no other route to market for their produce or from which to 
obtain supplies, and in the late war its natural advantages were again 
demonstrated in showing the ease and rapidity with which troops could 
rendezvous there from all the central and western parts of the State and 
be sliipped to the front in the South. 

The name Chemung has a well- ascertained meaning, standing, in the 
language of the Senecas, for " Big Morn," and indicating the fact that in 
the banks of the river had been found an object resembling an immense 
horn, or perhaps rather a tusk, belonging to some animal of great size 
who roamed the locality in the ages of the Megatherium or the Masto- 
don. Two of these horns were found, one by the Indians, which gave 
tile name to the river and which is now in Quebec, Canada, and another 
by the earliest settlers, who, however, valued it so lightly that it disap- 
peared from the blacksmith's shop where it had been left to have an iron 
band put around its larger end to preserve it. 

There is another name somevhat familiar in the valley that points to 
a similar origin, "Conongue," meaning "horn in the water." It was 
preserved for some time as the name of one of the streets in Klmira, but 
it fell into disrepute for some reason or other, and on the a;)plication of 



2S OUR COLWTV AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the citizens living on it in 1874 the thoroughfare was changed by the 
common council to the mild and meaningless title of " Madison avenue." 
The term Chemung has attained other significances than that which be- 
longs to its Indian derivation, each instance marking an excellence or a 
quality that is indisputable. In the accepted geological classification 
there is a group of rocks in the Paleozoic age which is named the Che- 
mung group, there being in the valley oiitcroppings of the variety more 
e.xtended and more decided in their character than are to be observed 
anywhere else on the continent. 

Not rising quite to the dignity of this classification, but perhaps yield- 
ing more satisfaction to an inhabitant of the valley, and of very much 
later origin, are the terms Chemung lumber and Chemung butter, both 
in their respective markets designating articles of the finest cjuality and 
grade, and becoming standard trade marks for them without regard to 
the locality in which they were produced. Still another product, Che- 
mung tobacco, is rapidly advancing to a position achieved by the others 
named, and Chemung celery has a toothsome crispness and flavor pos- 
sessed b\' that giown in no other soil. 



CHAPTER II. 



The \' alley in 1778 — A Rendezvous for Tories and Indians who were at the Wyo- 
ming Massacre — Gen. John Sullivan — The Battle he fought at Chemung — 
The Important results of that Engagement — What an advance Detachment of 
his Army did — Lieut. John Jenkins — The American Army enters the \'alley — 
Gen. James Clinton — I\Iaj. Nicholas P'ish — Gen. Enoch Poor — The Rev. Samuel 
Kirl<land — John L. Hardenburgh — How the Battle was Won — Canaweola the 
Ancient name of the Locality of the City of Elmira — Fort Reid built There — 
The return of the Army from the North — Horseheads — A great Celebration at 
Fort Reid — The Army leaves the Valley. 

Wl \i catch a certain glimpse of the Chemung Valley in the year 
following, 1778. In the summer of that year Newtown Point 
became a rendezvous for the Tories, Canadian Rangers, and Indians 
preparatory to their descent on the valley of the Wyoming. There 



.-/ LKSSO.Y TO THE I.XD/AXS. l."J 

were between 300 ami 400 white soldiers, who were tinder the com- 
mand of Colonel John Butler, and as many more Indians. These were 
said to have been commanded b}' Jose[)h Hrandt, the bloody Mohawk 
chieftain. In the light of the subsequent horrible events in the Wyo- 
ming Valley it has been claimed by Brandt's friends that he was not 
there at all. As an historical fact whether he was present or not may 
possess some value, but as a reality it makes but little difiference, as the 
cruelties following the surrender of the little force at "Forty Fort" 
could hardly have been increased, even by his presence. They cer- 
tainly would not have been less. The immediate eftect of this terrible 
Wyoming massacre was to draw the attention of General Washington 
and the Continental Congress to adopt some measures to teach the 
Indians a lesson. 

General Washington knew something of Indian warfare, and set 
about at once to prepare the means to enforce the lesson he proposed 
to give them. A twelve month had hardly elapsed when an entirely 
different force encamped in the Chemung Valley from that which had 
rendezvoused there in 1778. Besides the lesson intended to be con- 
veyed by the proposed campaign, which included " the total destruction 
and devastation of the settlements of the Indians," of everything, in 
fact, upon which they depended for food and shelter, there was an- 
other reason for the expedition. The fertile valleys of the Chemung, 
Genesee, and the lakes of Central New York supplied vast quantities 
of corn and vegetables, not alone for the support of the Indians, but for 
the British army. By the destruction of these crops a blow would also 
be struck at the enemy which would be likelj- to embarrass him seri- 
ously. 

It is a matter of general, not local, history concerning the appoint- 
ment of Gen. John Sullivan, of New Hampshire, to command this force 
of Continental troops, but the battle which he fought in the valley 
belongs particularly to the locality and deserves to be made much of 
It was one of the most important engagements fought during the 
Revolutionary war, although until of late years it has not received the 
recognition it deserves. 

As I have heretofore observed, the general ignorance concerning the 
Chemung \'alley up to within the last half ccnturj- is nowhere more 



30 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

marked than in relation to this battle. No historian ever visited the 
locality or tried to find it, and their descriptions of it are all vague, 
shadow)', and unsatisfactory. Their accounts of the affair are given in 
a few lines or a paragraph or two. They may indirectly acknowledge 
its importance and the value of the results it produced, but they pass 
speedily to consider the troubles and criticisms that were showered on 
the commander of the American forces when he had returned success- 
fully from his expedition. 

History, tiie State, and the locality are indebted to Gen. John S. 
Clark, of Auburn, N. Y., and the Rev. David Craft, of Wyalusing, Pa., 
among others, for a patient and thorough investigation of the matter, 
undertaken in view of the centennial celebrations observed in 1879 all 
along the route of Sullivan's march, for raising from obscurity and into 
prominence an event whose effects are still more or less perceptible in 
the valley. There were two results produced by the battle that deserve 
attention and effectually stamp it as an event of more than ordinary 
importance to that localit)' and to the whole of Western New York. 
One was that the Indians were terrified by the vigor and certainty of 
the blow struck. It was the very last stand in any organized body that 
they made in the East against the Americans. There were after it some 
few predatory incursions by small bands, but no more any general efTort 
at resistance. General Sullivan did his work most thoroughly. We 
of this generation and day find it hard to appreciate what is really 
meant by the complete destruction of more than forty villages and 
200,000 bushels of grain and vegetables. 

Another result achieved by the expedition and the battle was the 
making known to the world of a section of the country rich with every- 
thing to invite immigration, a knowledge of which many were found 
eager to take advantage within less than si.x years after the smoke of 
Colonel Proctor's artillery had disappeared from the valley. 

On August II, 1789, eighteen days before the main battle, eight 
men from General Sullivan's arm\', which had arrived at Tioga Point, 
now Athens, Pa., and was encamped there, made an e.xcursion up the 
valley to the vicinity of what is now the little hamlet of Lowman's. 
One of these eight was Lieut. John Jenkins, of \\'\-oming, who liad 'oeen 
taken prisoner by the Indians in 1777, was acquainted with the countrj-, 



GEXERAL SULLl VAX'S ARMY. 31 

and was tlie guide of General Sullivan's army. Some of liis family still 
live very near the locality that he and his companions came to recon- 
noiter in 1779. These eight men carefully threaded their way through 
the tangled forests to the crest of tiie high hill nortli of the present 
village of Chemung, where now lives Miles C. Baldwin. From that 
point then, as now, looking westward, the valley of the Chemung could 
be seen for several miles, until the river takes a northerly turn at 
Wellsburg. Just at the foot of the hill are the " narrows," where, 
during stage coaching times of later years, when the river was high, 
there has been many an escape and many a dangerous passage. Just 
west of tiiese " narrows," and across tlie little creek that there flows into 
the Chemung, was tiie Indian village of " New Chemung." Lieutenant 
Jenkins and his companions saw there, as they looked from their com- 
manding height, that all was bustle and confusion. The Indians were 
evidently aware of the presence of the Continental forces, and were 
preparing to hasten to some place more secure from an attack. The 
next day the eight scouts returned to Tioga Point, and on that same 
evening, August 12, 1779, General Sullivan set out with the greater 
portion of the brigades of Generals Poor and Hand and a small piece 
of artillery. The detachment marched all night, encountering many 
difficulties and e.xperiencing great fatigue, as one can easih' determine 
for himself should he pass over the path they pursued. A little before 
sunrise they reached the town. General Hand taking a circuitous route 
and coming upon its rear, while General Poor advanced upon the front. 
But only two or three straggling Indians were seen, and these ran awaj- 
as soon as our men came in sight. 

General Hand was permitted to pursue the retreating enemy, fol- 
lowing them for about a mile up the valley. Here he was attacked 
by the Indians in ambush, and six of his men were killed. He pushed 
on and the Indians hastily retreated. One hundred acres of corn just 
in the milk, near the town, were destroyed, and the town itself burned. 
Another of General Hand's soldiers was killed while he was destroying 
the corn, being fired upon by a part)' of Indians across the river. The 
detachment in the expedition had seven men killed and fourteen 
wountled. On the next day, August 13th, it returned to Tioga Point, 
where the dead were buried with militarv honors. 



32 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

General Sullivan's forces having been joined by those of Gen. James 
Clinton, the combined army on August 27th marched from Tioga Point 
and on the same day entered the Chemung region. 

This Gen. James Clinton, an Orange County man, figures largely in 
the historj' of the State of New York and more or less in the history of 
the Chemung X'^alley. He was one of the three commissioners of the 
State appointed to make a survey of the Chemung countr)', and to 
determine the rights of the early settlers there. He took up large 
quantities of land in the region, many of the titles to the farms in the 
county coming through him from the State. His name was somewhat 
preserved in the local annals of the city of Elmira by the large, beauti- 
ful, and well-wooded island that was once in front in the city, but now 
utterly destroyed, which was called after him, " Clinton Island." His 
name also indicates one of the streets of the city, a thoroughfare that 
runs through what was once land owned by him. He was an engineer 
and surveyor by profession, and his shrewd method of getting the 
troops under his command in an easy an expeditious manner, from the 
headwaters of the Susquehanna River to their rendezvous with the 
forces of General Sullivan, deserves retelling. 

It was in the month of August and the heat was oppressive. To 
have attempted to march his men the long and rough distance, tiirough 
a mere wilderness, would have consumed valuable time and left them 
at the end of their journey not well fitted for the task yet to be per- 
formed. The river, always low at that period of the year, furnished no 
adequate means of proceeding. He built a number of flat bottomed 
boats, and then dammed the river at one of its most affluent sources. 
It took but a brief time for a pond to form, upon which his rafts were 
floated. Upon these he loaded his men and munitions; the dam was 
cut away, and on the flood he sailed swiftly and safely toward his desti- 
nation. General Clinton was the brother of George Clinton and the 
father of De Witt Clinton, both of whom were governors of the State 
of New York. One of the officers of General Clinton's brigade was 
Major Nicholas Fish, who achieved distinction in the army and in civil 
life. His son was the Hon. Hamilton Fish, who was governor of the 
State of New York, U. S. Senator, and Secretary of State under Presi-* 
dent Grant from i86g to 1S77. 



SU/.Lir.LVS AKMV E.XTEKS CHEMUNG VALLEY. 33 

Tliere were other distinguished officers in tliis expedition commanded 
by General Sullivan. Gen. Enoch Poor, one of his brif;ade command- 
ers, was at the battle of .Saratoga two jears before, and it was the 
desperate charge of his troops tliat comjileted the discomfiture of the 
liritish and resulted in the surrender of Burgoyne. The Rev. Samuel 
Kirkland, the chaplain of the arm\', and as well its interpreter, at the 
conclusion of the war, on account of valuable services in connection 
with treaties with the Indians, was granted the patent by the State of 
New York of a tract of land two miles square in a town in Oneida 
County that took its name from him. He founded what has since 
become Hamilton College. John L. 1 lardenburgh, a lieutenant in the 
Second New York Regiment of General Clinton's brigade, after the war 
settled on a tract of land in Cayuga County, and the spot was called 
Hardenburgh's Corners. It is now the thriving city of Auburn. 

On Friday, August 27th, the army of General Sullivan entered the 
Chemung Valley, and on the evening of that day encamped on what 
one who was there describes as a " beautiful flat about six miles and a 
half from Chemung." It was really the first advance of the expedition 
into an unknown country. Of it the Rev. David Craft, wliom I have 
heretofore named, truthfully and aptly observes : " It was an expe- 
dition in which not only peculiar hardships might be expected, but it 
w^as one with scarcely a parallel in the world's history for the boldness 
of the design and the courage with which it was undertaken. Sher- 
man's march to the sea has received and justi)' merits the applause of 
men for its daring and its success; but this e.xpedition was far more 
daring and, if the loss of life and the ends secured by it be taken into 
account, equally as successful in its execution, and deserves first rank 
among the great military movements in our country's history." 

On the next day, August 28th, the troops, having started late in the 
day, marched up the river only ten or twelve miles, encamping near the 
ruins of the Indian village that had been burned a fortnight before. 
They destroyed on tiiat day the town of old Chemung, which had been 
abandoned by the Indians, and about thirty acres of corn. In the 
evening the advance guard could hear the axes of the enemy preparing 
fortifications, and could see the lights of its fires on the hills beyond, 
where the further passage of our troops was to be disputed. 



34 OUR COLWTV AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Sunday, August 29, 1779, is the date of the battle of Chemung, or 
of Newtown as it has been indifterently called since. Its scene was at 
the foot of the eminence now known as " Siilhvan Hill," about half 
way between the little hamlet of " Lowman's," on the line of the Del- 
aware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad, and the mouth of Seeley 
Creek. The surface of the hillside is very irregular, being cut up by 
those peculiar ridges, to which I have heretofore referred, called the 
" Hogbacks." At its foot flows Baldwin Creek. Our troops began 
their march on that hot August Sunday morning with extreme care 
and watchfulness. Their path was through a forest of pines and a thick 
growth of scrub oak. The fortifications of the enemy were discovered 
after a march of about four miles, and about 1 1 o'clock in the morning. 
They were very artfully constructed, being built in most places breast 
high or more, in others lower, and pits or holes were dug wliere the 
defenders could be protected. The whole work was masked by the 
slope of the ridge, being thickly set with scrub oaks cut the night before 
from the hillside. Somewhat in front of the fortifications were one or 
two log houses, which served as bastions. 

It would seem that the enemy, considering that their fortifications 
were perfectly concealed, expected our forces to follow the Indian trail, 
which was at the right of their defences. They would open upon them 
on our flank a sudden and severe fire, which would create confusion at 
first and result in disaster to our troops. But the reckoning was not 
wise. General Sullivan did not fall into the well-laid tiap. When the 
advance guard had discovered the enemy's position a council of officers 
was called, the ground was well looked over, and a plan of attack was 
agreed upon. It was most successful in its execution. 

During this time the riflemen who were in the advance guard had 
kept the enemy busy. They formed within 300 yards of the fortifica- 
tions, and were ordered to hold their position until the remainder of the 
brigade should come up. This order was hardly given when some 400 
of the enemy advanced from the entrenchments, delivered their fire, and 
quickly retreated to their works. This sortie was repeated several 
times, evidently for the purpose of enticing our men into their lines. 
But it failed of its purpose, the riflemen simply holding their position 
as they were ordered to do. The battle was won by a flank movement. 




cr 

BATTLE FiEL 

I«79 

^ttr Surveyi bg M»j Robt H M'Dowill US Otpig HI Survl) 



^•r-,\ — 11— 



MAI' OF THE HATTLEKIELD OF NEWTOWN. 



Explanation. — i. Position of the brigades of Onerals Clinton iind I'oor 
before the advance. 2. Position of Proctor's artillery, Maxwell's reserve, and 
Colonel Ogden's command. 3. Position of Colonel Ogden's troop.s and General 
Hand's brigade in the advance. 4. The forces of Generals Clinton and Poor in 
action after the advance as shown by the dotted lines and arrow; also the posi- 
tion of the enemy. 5. Direction taken by the enemy in retreating. 6. Site of 
the monument 7. The monument. 



VILLAGES AXD CROPS DESTROYED. 35 

General Hand's brigade advanced to tlie front and engaged tlie 
eneni_\''s attention ; General Poor with his brigade, supported by that of 
General Clinton, marched by a circuitous route and gained the enemy's 
left ; while Colonel Proctor's artillery of nine pieces, stationed on a slight 
eminence about 300 yards from the angle of the enemy's fortified posi- 
tion, commanded the space within his lines. Maxwell's brigade was 
held as a reserve. The battle began about four o'clock in the afternoon 
and continued for three hours, when the enemy fled in a disorderly 
retreat toward the north. There were not many men engaged in the 
battle, less than 5,000 on both sides and less than twenty- five killed in 
all, but the numbers employed do not always measure the importance 
of an event. 

The victorious expedition remained the next day in the vicinity of 
the battlefield. Reconnoitering parties were sent out and about 120 
acres of excellent corn and beans, with other products, were destroyed. 
On the last daj' of August the force again took up its march, passing a 
town of eight houses, which was buiiicd, and on the evening of that 
day reached Newtown Creek near where it empties into the Chcnning 
River. Here was the Indian village of Canaweola, already described, 
composed of twenty good houses. There were many acres of corn in 
this region bearing marks of having been planted under the direction of 
white people. The town and all the fields of corn were immediately 
destroj-ed. Here a small fort was erected and a detachment left to gar- 
rison it, its name being " Fort Reid " from the name of the officer left in 
command. Some portions of the earthworks of this fortification, its 
location being in the southeast corner of the I'ourth ward of the city of 
Elmira, were remaining in the time of the memory of persons still 
living. 

P'rom this place a detachment of soldiers pursued some Indians up 
the Chemung River as far as what is now Hig P'lats, but the Indians 
were too swift for them and escaped. A village of ten or twelve houses 
was, however, discovered in the midst of a field of corn of about thirty 
acres. They were destroyed, houses and grain. 

On the 1st of September the forces of General Sullivan, in their 
march, passed out of the Chemung country on their way toward the 
lake regions and the valley of the Genesee. They returned in about 



;!G OUR corxrv and its people. 

three weeks, liaving accomplished fully and completely the purpose for 
which they had set out, some coming back by the way they had gone 
and arriving at Fort Reid on September 2ist, others coming in a more 
circuitous route, but all being together there again on September 24th. 
Tiie portion of the army, and the larger portion of it, under the imme- 
diate command of General Sullivan returned by the way it went. Ar- 
riving within about six miles of Fort Reid they were obliged to dispose 
of a large number of sick and disabled horses, the journey having been 
particularly severe and wearing upon those animals, food being insuffi- 
cient and not of a kind to keep them up in condition. Many of them 
died and some were killed. The number was so great that they were 
noticeable, and the Indians collected the skulls and arranged them in a 
line along the trail. The spot was referred to as the " valley of the 
horses' heads," which completely described and located it. Primiti\'e 
people always give names to localities savoring of incidents or charac- 
teristics connected with them. There are hundreds of instances nar- 
rated illustrating this in the ancient history of all peoples from the Jews 
down to the Siou.x. The spot, or locality of the skulls of the horses, is 
still known by the name given it by the Indians, " Horseheads," one of 
the most sprightly and picturesque villages in the State. Some sqeam- 
ish individuals have made efforts to have it changed, at one time to 
" Fairport" and another to "North Elmira"; but the bright little town 
always comes back to its old and meaning title with gratitude that its 
name partakes of its own soil rather than of the times of ancient Greece 
and Rome. 

General Sullivan's troops came back to Fort Reid in high glee. For 
twenty- seven daj s, in the midst of plenty, they had been willingly liv- 
ing on half rations, and up about where Millport is now a messenger 
had come to them saying that at the fort the)' were approaching they 
would find a great abundance of supplies, including spirits, that had 
been sent up the river to them. There was another reason for their 
high spirits. They had received intelligence that Spain had joined with 
France in an alliance against Great Britain in favor of the colonies, and 
the cause of the patriots was consequently greatly brightened. When 
the advance of the troops came in sight Colonel Reid gave them a 
salute of thirteen guns, which was answered right merrily by the little 
si.x-pounder that they had dragged all the way with them. 



A GRAND CELEBRATION. M 

There followed for a day or two a season of nuich rejoicing, and on 
the 25th of September a genuine celebration, the fust of the many that 
have occurred in the valley and in the cit_\'of Eimira, and by no means 
the least in interest. It is an historical event of the county over which 
it does no harm to ponder with gratification or to recall with satisfaction. 

Five head of the best cattle were barbecued and five gallons of spirits 
were issued to each brigade. In the evening the whole line was drawn 
up and fired a fin de joic, there being a salute at first of thirteen guns. 
Tills was done twice. The first time it did n't go to suit General Sulli- 
van and he ordered the whole line to charge their muskets again, and 
not a man to fire until he should come opposite him. All being again 
in readiness he put his horse ofi' at full speed, and rode from right to 
left with whip and spur, the men all firing according to orders. It was 
all very enlivening, causing the general himself to say that " it went like 
a hallelujah." 

Then, the armj' being dismissed from parade, the officers gathered at 
the headquarters of General Hand, where thirteen fires and thirteen can- 
dles were kept constantly burning. Here one of the bullocks was 
served up, dressed in different ways, the company partaking of it, being 
seated upon the ground. After the feast came thirteen toasts which 
were drank with enthusiasm, the drums and fifes playing at intervals. 
These toasts were of the usual description, to the countrj-, the army, 
General Washington, the commander of the army, and Congress; but two 
of them were a little peculiar, both having a special significance at this 
day, more than a century after the event. They were the last two 
oflfered, one being " May the Kingdom of Ireland merit a stripe in the 
American standard ! " and the last one " May the enemies of America 
be metamorphosed into pack-horses and sent on a Western expedition 
against the Indians!" 

After these formal rejoicings there were dances and games, and it can 
readily be imagined how that first celebration in tiie valley terminated 
and the uproarious hilarity that continued far into the night. During 
the stay of the troops at Fort Reid detachments were sent up the river 
on both sides and destroyed large quantities of corn and several villages, 
one of these detachments going as far up as Painted Post. 

On the 29tli of September the little arm\' broke camp, the fort was 



38 OCR COi'.XTV A\D ITS PEOPLE. 

destroyed, and tlie march was begun for the original rendezvous at Wy- 
oming. Tliat night it lay near the present village of Chemung and the 
next day it passed out of the valley. It was many years thereafter be- 
fore such a warlike array again visited the peaceful shades of the Che- 
mung, but not then, and it is to be hoped never again to be the case, 
coming in hostile array. 



CHAPTER III. 



Immigration to the \'alley begun — The earliest Settlers — Major William Wynkoop 

— Elijah Buck— Lebetis Hammond — His escapes from the Indians — "Queen 
Esther " — Col. John Hendy — John Konkle and his Family — Gen. John Hathorn 
and his Family — Commissioners surveying the Valley — The Township of Che- 
mung Erected — The Departure of the Indians — "Jim " Cornelison — Indebted- 
ness of Chemung County to Wilkesbarre, Pa. — The first Tea party in the Valley 

— John Hreese, the first Settler of Horseheads, and his Family — The Famme of 
1789 — Chemung Township — Something concerning the old County of Mont- 
gomery. 

IN less than five years after the battle of Newtown a slight ripple of 
immigration, indicating the great wave of civilization .that was to 
follow it, began to be felt in the Chemung Valley. The soldiers that 
came with Sullivan told large tales of the wonderful land the\' had seen, 
where the corn grew in stalks to the height of si.xteen feet with ears a foot 
and a half long, and every kind of vegetable and fruit in proportion, 
with " water melons and pumpkins in such quantities, almost incredible 
to a civilized people." From the first years far into the following cent- 
ury there was a strong bond uniting the long settled State of Connec- 
ticut through Orange Count}' and the Wyoming Valley with the region 
of the Chemung. Many of the soldiers in the battle of Newtown were 
Wyoming men who themselves, or their immediate ancestors, came from 
Connecticut or the county in New York named, and the first settlers in 
the Chemung Valley were almost entirely from those localities. 

In March, 1783, the legislature of the State of New York passed an 
act exceedingly favorable to actual settlers in the valley and to those 



E.l RL Y SE T TLERS. ;j9 

holding military warrants for land. In the next year and tlie year fol- 
lowing actual settlements were made in the \alley all the way from 
Tioga Point to Painted Post, and in tiie section leading; toward the head 
of Seneca Lake. These are the names of such actual settlers as shown 
by records, beginning in the vicinity of the lower part of the river: 
William WynUoop, Isaac McHride, Elijah Buck, Daniel McDowel, 
Charles Emmit, Israel Parsloe( the family name being now Parshall), 
Uzual Bates, Solomon Bennett, Elijah Grissel (the modern name being 
Griswold, a familiar one in the annals of the county), (jideon Grissel, 
Roger Conant, John Spaulding,' Thomas Baldwin, Uriah Stevens, John 
Stevens, Joel Thomas, Anthony Rummerfield, Nathan Van Auken, Isaac 
Terwilliger, Josiah Green, Abijah Batterson, John Squires, Ebenezer 
Green, Green Bentlej- (from whom Bentley Creek gets its name), Abner 
Wells, Isaac Baldwin, Abner Kelsey, Elisha Brown, William Wilder, 
Stephen Kent, John Suftern, Stephen Gardner, Solomon Lane, Lebeus 
Hammond, Abraham Miller, Samuel Tubbs, Benjamin Clark, Jabez 
Culver, Jared Stuil, George Hall, William Jenkins, Cornelius Westfall, 
Walter Waters, Jolin Jay Achmuty, Jonas Bellow, John Handy, Thomas 
Hendy, Christian Mynier, Tunis Dolson, John Morris, John Williams, 
John Miller. These are the names of the actual settlers of the valley 
prior to 1788. Some of them deserve some observations here ; others 
will receive proper attention when the particular locality yet occupied 
by their descendants shall have been reached in its order in this record. 

Major William Wynkoop came from Ulster County, and, as his name 
indicates, sj^rang from ancestors who came from Holland. He served 
in the army during the Revolution and was in the battle of Saratoga. 
He built the first frame liouse in Chemung, and the first grist-mill, and 
kept the first tavern. He was a far-seeing, prudent man, and left the 
impress of his character in the valley. His name is ycX. remembered 
and honored, although he left no descendants bearing it now living in 
the region. A son of his, A. I. Wynkoop, was for man}' years i^romi- 
nent in the political and agricultural interests of the county. The local- 
ity of his first settlement is still marked with his name, the creek near 
which he located being called b>- it. Major Wynkoop died in 1837 at 
the age of seventy-four. 

Elijah Buck, who at this distance of time seems to put on the appear- 



40 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ance of a giant in the accomplishment of a vast amount of pioneer work, 
was the son of William Buck, who with his family came from New 
Milford, Conn., and settled in Wyoming. Elijah Buck had two broth- 
ers, Aholiab and Asahel, and they were all in the Continental army. 
Aholiab and his son William were in the fort at Wyoming at the time 
of the massacre. The son was killed, but Aholiab was reserved for a 
more terrible fate at the iiands of " Oiieen Esther," Asahel was killed 
in 1779 in an encounter witli the Indians. Elijah, a sergeant in the 
army, was serving during this time in New Jersey. At the conclusion of 
the war he came into the Chemung country. He gave his name to the 
postoffice which is now known as Chemung, and was the first postmaster 
there. As Buckville lialf a century and more ago it was a noted place. 
Elijah's father, William, followed his son to Chemung from Wyoming 
and died in 1799. Elijah Buck's sons, Asahel and George W., became 
noted citizens of the county, and his and their descendants still hold 
honored places in the county as we shall have occasion to observe. 

The name of Daniel McDowel, now spelled McDowell, that of a 
sturdy pioneer and brave man, cannot be passed by in a single sentence 
or a brief allusion. He was a Scotchman and served in the Revolution- 
ary army as a captain. In 1782 he was captured by the Indians and 
taken to Niagara, where he was forced to "run the gauntlet." He was 
a man of iron frame, great activity, and abundant courage. He passed 
the terrible ordeal safely, the only one out of a number of prisoners 
condemned to the- trial. He was known by the Indians as Keto, or the 
" iron man." After being sent to Quebec, suft'ering there much cruelty 
at the hands of his captors and lying in prison for a year, he was allowed 
his liberty. A strange portion of his history is that while being con- 
veyed to Niagara by the Indians they halted one night on the trail near 
the present town of Chemung. He was bound and secured near a 
spring that is under the railroad track just in front of the Owens farm 
house. Captain McDowel viewed the landscape there with intense in- 
terest, attracted by its beauty and the evident richness of its soil. He 
determined, if he escaped from his present condition, he would return 
and occupy those inviting fields. His determination had full fruition in 
only a few years ; he settled on the spot he had overlooked as a pris- 
oner, and his fine estate there was known for many j^ears and is still 



nCF.F.AT FSTIIER AXP HER FATE. 41 

occasionally referred to as the " McDowell flats." He died in 1808. He, 
Elijah Buck, and William W'ynkoop cleared and opened the first farms 
in the county. He built a barn still standing on the Owens farm in Che- 
mung, which, after nearly a century's existence, is doing good service. 
His son, the Hon. John G. McDowell, born on his farm February 27, 
1794, fills a large jjlace in the annals of the county and will apjiear fre- 
quently hereafter. The faniil\- is yet proriiinent and influential in the 
valley. 

Roger Conant's lands laid just below what is now W'ellsburg, and the 
river in a turn there made in it what might be called a little bay. It 
was a famous spot for fishing, for many years being known b\- the name 
of " Conant's Cove." 

Abner Wells came from Orange Count}', and the \illage near w here 
his farm was situated was named for him, W'ellsburg. His son was 
Henry Wells, who was a member of Assembly twice, in 1812 and 1818, 
and was sheriff of the county from the latter named year to 1821. 

The mention of the name of Lebeus Hammond, one of these early 
settlers of the valley, recalls incidents in a career that have few parallels 
in frontier life. He took up lands lying between Hlmira and W'ells- 
burg. He had many descendants in the valle)', and a small settlement 
where many of them live yet bears his name with the New England 
designation of " Hammond's Corners." Mr. Hammond was one of 
fourteen who were captured by the Indians after the battle of Wyoming 
and doomed to a horrible death. The captives were seated in a circle, 
and a horrible squaw, who was called in derision " Queen Esther," was 
appointed to the task, a delightful one to her, of dispatching each mis- 
erable man with a hatchet. She performed her work with the ferocity 
of a woman who has her enemy bound and at her mercy. It is a com- 
forting thing to know that when the soldiers of Sullivan's army came 
along where she lived, at Tioga Point, the next year tiiey happened to 
hear of this performance, one of a number of equally malignant and 
fiendish actions of this she-devil, well authenticated. What they did 
with her only God and they know ; but after the army passed on its way 
not a shred could ever be found of the she-fiend who merited whatever 
fate befell her. Lebeus Hammond sat next to the first man tiiat Queen 
Esther struck dead with a blow of her hatchet. He ■sprang to his feet, 
1; 



42 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

and with the energy of despair burst througli the ring of Indians that 
surrounded tlie captives. A volley of hatchets was hurled at him, but 
he fortunately escaped and made his way to his home in Wyoming. 
He was taken prisoner a second time, with a father and son named Ben- 
nett, and in their march up the Susquehanna for three days suffered 
severely with cold and hunger. The manner in which the Indians con- 
fined their prisoners during the night was as curious as it was secure. 
The captives were compelled to lie down close together on their backs, 
and then three long and slender hickory poles were cut. These were 
laid over the prisoners and three Indians laid down on each end of them. 
Nevertheless Hammond and his two companions escaped from their 
captors by surprising and killing all but one of them. This one was 
struck in the back between the shoulders by a tomahawk, and made a 
sudden leap, forcing the weapon from Hammond's grasp, and ran some 
distance with it sticking in his shoulders. Hammond saw this Indian' 
some years after at the treaty at Newtown. He was not sure it was the' 
same one he had wounded, and naturally enough did n't care to ask him 
to find out, but he prevailed on a neighbor to make the inquiry. Thel 
reply assured him, for on being asked what made his neck so crooked,; 
and why he walked with his head in such a peculiar manner, the Indian, 
answered: "A damned Yankee tomahawked me at Wyoming!" 

John Handy, or, as he became afterward better known in the valley, 
Col. John Hendy, occupies a prominent position in the annals of Che- 
mung County, as he was one of the first settlers in the locality now 
comprised by the city of Elmira. He first located farther down the river, 
coming to Newtown Point in 1788. He was born in Wyoming, Sep- 
tember 3, 1757, and served in the Revolutionary army, having been at 
Bunker Hill, Princeton, Trenton, Monmouth, and a number of other 
important engagements. His wife was a daughter of Henry Baker, of 
Wilkesbarre. He was a distinguished looking man, of fine form though 
somewhat spare, more than six and a half feet in height, and noticeable 
from the fact of always wearing his hair long and flowing. Remains of 
the primitive structure that was his home for more than half a century 
are still to be seen on land owned by George W. Hoffman. Colonel 
Hend)', up to the time of his death in 1840, was one of the conspic- 
uous characters in the village life of Elmira, and was prominent on all 



COL. JOHN HEXnV. 



a:\ 



public occasions. In the seventy-foiirtii )'ear of his age, in i83i,hc 
threw up tlie first sliovelfui of eartli for tiie commencement of the ex- 
cavation of what at the time was considered a work of immense value to 
the county, the Chemung Canal. He was always dcej:)!)' interested in 
the military affairs of the county. When he died he was buried in the 
old Main street cemetery, where Wisner Park is now located. It was a 
windy, bitter March Sunday, and the funeral was a military one. Apart 




OLD RESIDENCK Ul' C(JL. JOHN HKNDY, EI.MIRA, N. V. 
(This house w.-is built in 17^6, .ind is still st.-incling.) 



from the conspicuous character of the man it was about the first time 
that the tones of a brass band were ever heard in Mlmira on the Sabbath 
day, and the occasion was a remarkable one. 

There are few of Colonel Hendy's family of his name living now in 
the region where he settled, and there is no other remembrance of him 
in the valley than his monument in the cemetery, erected by the citi- 
zens of Klmira, save a locality over the hill from IClmira called " Hendj' 
Hollow," largely peopled by his wife's familj-, the Halccrs, who canu- 



44 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

thither from Wilkesbarre, Pa., soon after the colonel himself emigrated 
to Newtown Point. 

Abraham Miller came into the valley in 1783 from Northampton 
County, Pa., and settled midway between what are now Elmira and 
Wellsburg, on lands still occupied by his descendants. It was not his 
first visit to the locality, for several years before he had passed through 
the valley, an Indian captive, on his way as a prisoner to Quebec, Can- 
ada. He escaped, however, near Seneca Lake and made his way to his 
home. He had served as a captain in the Continental army. He was 
one of the most active, foremost, and enterprising of the earliest set- 
tlers of the valley. On February 17, 1791, the day after the legisla- 
ture had erected the county of Tioga, Mr. Miller received his appoint- 
ment as "first judge" of the new civil organization, his commission 
being signed by Governor Clinton. Among other enterprises he erected 
the first saw-mill in the town of Southport. He had four sons, John, 
Jacob, Joseph, and Abraham. John Miller was also one of the judges 
of the county. Jacob Miller was the father of the Hon. Edmund Miller, 
for many years one of the favorite Democratic sons of the county. He 
was born in the old homestead of the familj' in Southport, November i, 
1808, and never knew another home during the seventy years of his 
life. He represented his town in the Board of Supervisors twelve times, 
and his county in the Assembl}- three times, in 1868, 1874, and 1876. 
He died March 28, 1878. 

Col. John Hendy has long had the honor and enjo)-ed the reputation 
of having been the first white settler in what is now the city of Elmira. 
I would not deprive him or his memory of such credit and honor, for it 
is both, but there are the best of grounds for the assertion that contem- 
porary with him in the locality, if not actually preceding him in what 
became Newtown, was John Konkle, the name originally spelled Kun- 
kle. Everything from the first runs right along parallel with his career 
in the town. He was a civil engineer and surveyor by profession, and 
most of the first lots in the town bear witness to his work. Although 
public spirited and influential he was not of that pushing, self-asserting 
character that drove him to the front in a conspicuous manner on every 
occasion. John Konkle was the son of John and Elizabeth Konkle, im- 
migrants from Germany, and he was born in Philadelphia on June 3, 



JOH.X KOXKLE AND HIS SON. 45 

1757. 1 Ic went to Sussex Count)'. N. J., wliere he married Annie W'urtz 
in 1779. With his famii)' he came to Newtown in 1788. He liad 
three children: Ehzabeth, born June 19, 1780, who became the wife of 
Tliomas M. Perry; Anna, born November 28, 1784, who became the 
wife of John Hugiies; and Aaron Konkle, born October 5, 1786, wlio 
married Mary, daughter of John Sh'. John Konkle was never ambi- 
tious of public office, although serving one term in 1792 as town clerk 
and being the first postmaster of the town when the postofRce was 
established, Januar)' i, 1801. He died February 28, 1828, his wife sur- 
viving him until May 9, 1839. None of his descendants bearing his 
name are now li\-ing in the valley or count)'. 

Aaron Konkle, John Konkle's only son. was during his active career 
one of the most prominent men of the valley. He studied law in the 
office of X'^incent Matthews, and passed his whole career in the village of 
Elmira, the larger part of his business being in connection with real 
estate. He was district attorney of the old county of Tioga from 1826 
to 1835; served one year, from 1850 to 185 i, as county judge, being ap- 
pointed to the position on the death of Judge John W. Wisner ; and suc- 
ceeding his father was postmaster of the village from October i, 1809, 
to March 21, 1822, serving longer in that capacity than any other per- 
son He died October 13, 1S61, at the age of seventy-five )ears. His 
wife survived until April 21, 1870. 

In the year 1786 Gen. James Clinton, Gen. John Hathorn, and Jolin 
Cantine, esq., were appointed commissioners on the part of the State of 
New York to survey the lands in the Chemung region, and to settle dis- 
putes among those located there which had arisen from various causes. 
One of the members of this commission, Gen. John Hathorn. through 
himself and his descendants has had much to do with the historj- of 
the county. Pie was a very prominent man in his time and his locality. 
He came into Orange County from Wilmington, Del , where he was 
born in 1749. His way of spelling his name is the ancient usual way. 
Some leave oflf the first syllable entirely ; others like Nathaniel Haw- 
thorne, who is of kindred descent with Gen. John I lathorn, make radical 
changes by adding letters. A number of his descendants have made 
Chemung County their home, the first of them coming here in 1822. 
Among these was his namesake and second son, John, who married 



46 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Hannah, a daughter of Col. James Post, of Horseheads, and they were 
the parents of seven children : Caroline became the wife of Jiidah Live- 
say, a brother of Joseph Livesay; James married, first, Miss Lockvvood, 
and second, her twin sister; Richard married Louisa Dennet ; John 
Walling married Mary J. Osborn ; Andrew married Sarah A. Walling; 
Eliza married O. H. Fitch; and Hannah married Zachariah Winegar. 
These are all good old county names, and some well known and highly 
honored in Elmira. James Post Hathorn lives on College avenue, and 
although eighty-three years of age he can be seen walking from his home 
to the business part of the city in a more sprightly manner than most 
men a quarter of a century younger. 

John Walling Hathorn is living on the William Henry Wisner farm, 
near Lake Eldridge, where he has lived for the past thirty-three }-ears. 
He is approaching his eightieth year. Andrew Hathorn lives on Park 
Place, just below the college, where it has been his home for more than 
forty years. Betsey Elizabeth, a daughter of Gen. John Hathorn, mar- 
ried Archibald Marvin, whose father. Gen. Seth Marvin, was with the 
commissioners in their survey of the county in 17S8, and who purchased 
a large tract of land in Southport where Seeley Creek, Webb's Mills, 
and Pine City are now located. Archibald Marvin had a son also 
named Seth, a noted man and prominent farmer living " up the plank 
road" in Southport. Mrs. Archibald Marvin was one of the loveliest of 
women in person and character. As a widow for many years she 
lived with her daughter, Mrs. Julia Beckwitli, in the locality named. A 
grandson of hers, Lyman Marvin, has much of the loving remembrance 
of many who were once " little folk " in Elmira. He was for many 
years the janitor of the Madison Avenue Primary School, and his kind- 
ness and character may well be estimated from the exclamation of one 
of the wee ones there that, " next to her papa, she loved Mr. Marvin ! " 
Catherine, another daughter of Gen. John Hathorn, never lived in 
Chemung County, but married in Orange County and was the mother 
of one of the most prominent citizens of Elmira, the Hon. William T. 
Post. 

Part of the duties of the commission of which Gen. John Hathorn 
was a member was also, in conjunction with Andrew Ellicott, to deter- 
mine the boundary line between New York and Pennsylvania. Still 



WORK OF THE SCRrEV CO.U.XflSSIONERS. 47 

further duties were laid upon them, to determine tlie line where the 
claims of the State of Massachusetts began ; for, altiiough it is pretty 
well forgotten now, that State, by certain patents from the English 
Crown, which had a habit of giving away a good deal of property to 
which it had as clear a right as it had to portions of the planet Mars, 
claimed a large portion of the State of New York. 

It is a curious fact that this line which these commissioners deter- 
mined and laid out is precisely the 77th degree of longitude west from 
Greenwich, and runs exactly through the National Observatory in Wash- 
ington. In some reckonings, where our national capital is taken as the 
starting point, this imaginary line is marked as zero. It describes the 
western boundary of Chemung County, or is the arbitrary line dividing 
that from Steuben Count}-. 

These commissioners were further empowered to direct the time and 
place for holding the first meeting of the new to\vn of Chemung, that 
was erected by an act passed by the legislature on March 22, 1788, the 
land then lying in the county of Montgomery. All of these duties 
occupied considerable time, and it was not until the latter part of the 
year 1788 that the commissioners made the report of their survey of 
the country to the legislature, ami the report was not confirmed until 
February 12, 1789. In this report it is set forth that there had been 
207,656 acres surveyed. Of these 28,300 acres were military locations, 
159,186 acres were disposed of to settlers, and 20,170 acres were vacant. 
The settlers, who paid eighteen pence an acre, nearly equal to half a 
dollar now, to whom lands were sold are named above. Their certifi- 
cates or titles to their lands were issued to them during the months of 
October and November, 1788, although it is clear that many of them 
had made actual settlements on their lands some years before that. It 
cannot be controverted that they were the first settlers of the valley, as 
they appear on record as such, and their names deserve the prominence 
given them here. 

It is certain, too, that emigrants coming into the region after these 
years, as the tales are related in family recitals, always mention the 
fact of finding there some of those named before them. It is to the 
credit of these early settlers that they came into the region so soon after 
it had been opened to them, or, perhaps better, discovered by the army 



48 OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

under General Sullivan. There were still scattered about bands of 
Indians who were occasionally a little troublesome if not very danger- 
ous, especially when under the influence of liquor. They exacted and 
received rent from the settlers until their titles to the land were extin- 
guished by a treaty presently to be referred to. This rent was not 
large nor grievous to be borne, amounting only to a little corn or grain 
occasionally, but there were grumblings and threats if it was not paid. 
Nevertheless in their own huts or wigwams they were very friendly to 
white people who came to see them, and were much pleased when the 
visitors ate with them. If an invitation was extended and was not ac- 
cepted they would appear oftended. There are traditions in various 
old families of certain cakes prepared by the Indian women, the 
mention of the ingredients of which is toothsomely exciting, these being 
fine Indian meal, dried berries, and maple sugar. The recipe has not 
come down to us, but their distance in time increases the notion of what 
must have been their e.xcellence. 

The Indians generally remained in the neighborhood until about 1803 
or 1804. In 1 802 the small-pox broke out among them, and made sad 
havoc in their numbers, the survivors leaving the country and going 
farther west. Some of their descendants, it is said, are living now in 
the neighborhood of Batavia, N. Y. 

One of the latest of the redmen, if not the last to leave the valley, 
was one called "Jim Cornelison." He was exceedingly friendly to the 
new settlers, and lingered among them until the first decade of the 
present century. He was of great service to the new comers, a number 
of times tjuieting their fears at an intimation of an outbreak among 
his people, over whom he possessed much influence, and providing 
them time and again with necessaries. He is one that deserves a kindly 
remembrance in the annals of the valley. About 1809 he followed the 
remnant of his tribe to the lands reserved for them in Cattaraugus 
County. 

But the Indians were mild objections compared with the toil of get- 
ting into the valley, and the severe and constant labor that followed the 
arrival there. There were no roads at all over which to travel, and 
wagons or carts, if there had been any, were useless. All of the earliest 
settlers came up the river from the valley of the Wyoming and the 
neighborhood of Wilkesbarre. 



IXFLrEXCE OF W/I.h'ESB.-U^RE O.X CHEMUXG. 40 

Tt would be unjust and ungrateful at this first mention of tlie beauti- 
ful and thrifty Pennsylvania town of Wilkcsbarre not to acknowledge 
the indebtedness to it of our county, or to pay a tribute even at this late 
date to the memory of its citizens who laid the foundations of our 
present prosperity. Elmira and the whole of the southern ])art of 
Ciiemung County could, with truth, be called the child of Wilkcsbarre. 
Through it, and through it only, could the people of the valley look out 
toward the civilized world and have coninninication with the East. It 
furnished the capital, the men, and the brains for the first commercial 
enterprises of the valley, and communication between ihe two was con- 
stant and frequent. The first stage route of the county, established in 
1 8 19, ran between it and Elmira, and most of the first things of the 
valley can be traced directly lo it. As time passed on and the claims 
of the State began to be asserted, and other and more available means 
of communication with the outer world increased, these ties between 
the county and Wilkcsbarre began to be weakened, and came at length 
to be lost and forgotten, although there maj' yet be found some of the 
older citizens or their children who refer to the Pennsylvania town 
with fondness. It is hardly to be doubted that when, by the enterprise 
of the Packers, direct and ra[)id communication was again established 
between the two localities in 1870 by the opening of the Lehigh Valley 
Railroad, any knew or cared that it was simply taking up old lines that 
had been dropped for half a century. Time had changed all things 
then and the child had far outgrown its parent. 

The early settlers had to pole or push their way up the river in flat 
boats, sometimes dragging them with ropes when the banks would per- 
mit. The male portion of the family walked, driving their cattle, sheep, 
and horses as best they could through the tangled woods, and the 
women and children rode in the boats with the family possessions, or, 
if all was fair and clear, walked and ran with their fathers and brothers 
along the banks. Progress was slow and painful, sometimes not more 
than four or five miles being made in a day, for the channel of the river, 
narrower and deeper tlian it is at this day, was also swifter. At night 
the boat was tied to the shore, cloth tents spread, and the meals prepared. 
One incident of the early time may go for all. John Hreese, wiio settled 
in Horseheads in the autumn of 1787, being the first permanent settler 



50 OCR CO TAT]- A AD ITS PEOPLE. 

in that locality, came originally from Somerset Countj' in New Jersey. 
His wife was born Hannah Guildersleeve, and they were the parents of 
eight children. They came up the river from Wyoming in the manner 
I have described. They found along the Chemung the settlers already 
named, and in one of their halts for the night selected a spot on the 
lands of Samuel Tubbs. Mr. Tubbs's family came down to have a look 
at the emigrants, and in the course of the visit it was ascertained that 
Mrs. Breese possessed what in that day was almost worth its weight in 
gold in that locality, a good supply of tea. Tlie matter was speedily 
arranged, and there, with the family chest as a table, was set out without 
much doubt the first tea party ever given in the valley. It is also 
related that Mr. Breese had in his possession twelve three-pint bottles 
of rum that he had brought with him from New Jersey. He was not 
exactly content that his wife, with her tea, should have all the honors of 
the occasion, and brought out his liquor with which to keep up his end 
of the family. The health and future prosperity of the new comers was 
drunk in flowing teacups and tin basins. Dewitt C. Curtis, esq., of 
Horseheads, who relates and thus vouches for the incident, concludes 
his account of it with saying that "it is still a question, which his 
numerous descendants are unable to answer, which the company enjoyed 
the most, the delicious flavor of Mrs. Breese's Old Hyson or the exhil- 
erating contents of her husband's three-pint bottles." 

John Breese died March 24, 1829, aged ninety years, his wife surviv- 
ing him until January 15, 1844, having arrived at her ninety-third year. 
Both lie in the cemetery of the Baptist Church in Horseheads. It is 
worthy of note that a daughter of theirs was the first white person born 
in Chemung County. She was named Sarah, and her birthday was 
February 18, 1789. She married John Jackson, who figures largely in 
the political and commercial history of the county. He was the last 
sheriff" of Tioga County before Chemung County was taken from it, 
serving from 1834 to 1837. Mrs. Jackson emulated the example of her 
father and mother in the number of her days, her life almost rounding 
out a full century, and for the whole of it she lived in the immediate 
neighborhood of the house in which she was born. 

As a sharp contrast to this evidence of plenty and good feeling in 
those primitive times it is to be related that in the autumn of 1789 a 



A F.IM/.XE PREV.ULS. .",1 

strange infliction fell upon the people of the valley. A famine prevailed. 
It was not a slight scarcitj' of food that pinched the improvident and 
unwary, but an absolute famine that distressed all the people in the 
valley, like events of the kind \\c read of in the annals of countries in the 
Old World in barbarous and uncivilized times or after a long and dev- 
astating war. How strange, inharmonious, and impossible it would 
seem to see a line in a newspaper in these days: "A Famine in Che- 
mung County !" 

The principal cause of the trouble was a frost of the severest nature 
that prevailed in the vallev during the previous winter and spring, 
which destroyed the crops expected to be harvested tluring that autumn. 
The previous year, too, su[)]ilies had run very short, as it was the first 
planting, which was rude and done in haste. Not only was there no 
grain, but every vegetable and fruit which could be depended on for 
food was destroyed by the frost. Supplies down the valley of the Sus- 
quehanna as far as Wilkesbarre and up the valley beyond Owego were 
also failures, and no help could come from those sources. Besides 
immigration had been constant and large for the time and locality, and 
the mouths and stomachs to be provided for had increased more rapidly 
than the means to [jrovide for them had increased. 

The settlers during the time lived upon a certain sort of wild bean, 
which they boiled for food, and the most nutritious roots that they 
could find, which they dug from the ground. It was a .sad-hearted, 
gaunt, and hungry community for more than six weeks. Colonel Hendy 
himself, stalwart and strong as he was, being one of those who narrowly 
escaped dying of starvation. They had not much money either with 
which to buy bread. Instances are related where families tore up their 
feather beds and sent away the feathers to purchase it, and men were 
known to have ridden a whole day seeking for bread and finding not 
even a loaf Relief came at first when the rye begai) to form. It was 
eagerly seized when it was only in the milk, was dried and pounded into 
a sort of a meal, and from it something like mush was made, or a sticky 
kind of cake. It was a time of great want, but happily none died from 
hunger. Two young men died, but it was from eating to excess of the 
food prepared from the green rye. It is not very likely that an occur- 
rence of this nature will ever be repeated in the valley of the Chemung. 



52 Or/i CO UN TV AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The township of Chemung, erected in 1788, comprised precisely tlie 
territory that afterward became the county of the same name, with the 
exception of a portion of tlie township of Cayuta, Schuyler County ; 
that is, it inchided not only what is at present Chemung County, but 
also the towns of Catherine, Dix, and Montour in Schuyler County. It 
contained fifty-three square miles of land, which would be a rather 
good-sized township in this State these days. There were less than 
1,000 inhabitants within its whole limits, and these were scattered up 
and down the valley from Chemung to Big Flats, with the beginnings 
of future villages at or near Chemung, Elmira, Watkins, and " Mills's 
Landing," now Havana, Schuyler County. 

The township was then a part of Montgomery County, that rather 
vast expanse of country then lying west of the Hudson River and east 
of the central lake region excepting Albany, Ulster, and Orange Coun- 
ties. Its county seat was at Fonda, and it derived its name from 
Gen. Richard Montgomery, the hero of Quebec. Its colonial name was 
Tryon, called so in honor of the governor-general of the State hereto- 
fore mentioned. He was a Royalist of the most vigorous description, 
and the people of New York, moved by patriotic impulses, wanted to for- 
get him as soon as possible. Immediately after the close of the Revo- 
lution, therefore, they wiped his name off from their geography. 

Portions of the territory of old Montgomery County were constantly 
taken from it until now it is one of the smallest in the State, having 
only six square miles more than the original township of Chemung ; but 
it is only loyalty to the civil organization of which our county was once 
a part to say that within the small territory it now claims there have 
occurred events of such a stirring and exciting nature that it is entitled 
to a foremost place in the annals of the State. 



CHFMUXG COLXTV A\D COLOXEL HOLLENBACK. 53 



CIIAPTKR TV. 

Chemung as a Township — Selecting the Site for .1 fiiiure City — Col. Matthias Hol- 
lenback — His part in the Ilevelopnient of the Reg^ion — The Men lie sent into 
the \'alley — Guy Maxwell and his Family — Thomas Maxwell — Thomas Mifllin 
Perry — Newtown and Wisnerburg — Henry Wisner and his Familv — Tioga 
County organized — Newtown a half-shire Town — The Great Treaty with the 
Six Nations — Col. Timothy Pickering, who Negotiated It — Daniel F. Pickering 
— Early Physicians and Lawyers — ^'incent Matthews and his Family — Ur. 
Amos Park — Dr. Joseph Hinchnian — The Lowman P'aniily — Andrew Gregg 
and his Descendants — John Sly — The Township of Newtown Erected. 

SET apart as a townsliip Cheiming began its life as a civil or<;aniza- 
tioii with much zeal and enterprise. Its first supervisor was Ab- 
iier KeJsey. It seemed at first as tliough what is now Chemung village 
would become the most important place in the new town. It was pleas- 
antl}' located on a wide (ilain, and nearer to Wilkesbarre and Tioga 
Point and the outer world generally than any other point in the terri- 
tory. Hut this anticipation lasted only a year or two. A more favor- 
able location was speedily discovered at and near the mouth of New- 
town Creek. An equally broad plain or fiat extended north, west, and 
south of it, and it had the advantage of reaching not only south by the 
river, but north and east by means of the valley that led up toward the 
head of Seneca Lake. This locality, which was to become the city of 
Mlinira, was early spied out as of advantageous situation by far- sighted 
and enterprising men who had abundant means and energj' to apply 
theni. 

Chief among these was Colonel and Judge Matthias Hollenback, of 
Wilkesbarre, who, although never a resident of the valley, was its earl- 
iest and most enterprising merchant and trader whose means did the 
most to start the development of the region. Colonel Hollenback was 
born near Martinsburg, Va., February 15, 1752, btit like many another 
young and vigorous man, hearing of the beautiful valley of Wyoming, he 
came thither when he was only eighteen years of age. He was shrewd 
and patient, and succeeded beyond his warmest anticipations. In some 
of his trading e.xpeditions he was connected with John Jacob Astor. 



54 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

They were botli of the same German stock and Astor formed a very 
high opinion of HoUenback, asking him at one time to allow his son to 
come with him and he would make his fortune for him. Colonel Hol- 
lenback's reply to the request was that he " thought he could look out 
for his own children." He did. 

Colonel HoUenback took part in the battle at Wyoming and escaped 
from the massacre by swimming the river. He was also an officer in 
the Revolutionary army. After the peace he was made colonel of the 
militia regiment of his region, and was elected one of the associate 
judges of Luzerne County, whence the titles by which he was known. 
He established stores all along the route from Wilkesbarre to the Gen- 
esee region, and controlled the trade tliere for years, none of his enter- 
prises, however, being larger or more profitable than that which he 
opened near the mouth of Newtown Creek in 1790. Not only is the 
county indebted to him for his money investments and his enterprise, 
but also for having brought into it as his agents or partners men who 
remained there, who made the early times lively and prosperous, and 
whose descendants are yet numerous and of high repute in the county. 
These were Capt. Daniel McDowel, already named, and John Morris; 
Matthew McReynolds, who built the first brick house in the county, 
still standing, located on West Water street in Elmira, a short distance 
west of Main street, and who afterward removed to Dayton, O. His 
wife was a daughter of Piatt Burnet, of Southport. Guy Maxwell, 
Thomas Perry, Stephen Tuttle, John Cherry, Archibald Campbell, 
George Dennison, and Bela B. Hyde were also at one time or another 
representatives of Colonel HoUenback in the valley. Some of them 
were transferred to other places by their employer, but most of them re- 
mained in Chemung County. 

The Maxwell family during the first half of the nineteenth centurj' was 
probably the strongest and most widely known of any in the county. 
They all sprang from the Guy Maxwell I have just named. He was of 
Scotch descent, his father having been Alexander Ma.xwell, of Carla- 
veroch, Scotland, and his mother Jane McBrantney, an accomplished 
woman connected with the clan McPherson. They started from Glas- 
gow for America in June, 1770, but were driven ashore from the Irish 
channel. On Irish soil, in the County Down, Guy Maxwell was born on 



THE .\f AX WELL FAMIL V. 55 

July 19th of tlie year named. The family started again for their desti- 
nation and arrived in America in 1772. They settled near ^Martinsburg, 
Va. W hen Guj- I\Ia.\well was eighteen j'ears of age Colonel Hollen- 
back was making a visit to his old home, saw, and was so pleased with 
the young man or youth that he invited him to accompany him back to 
the Susquehanna region. The invitation was accepted and Maxwell 
was put in charge of the Hollenback store at Tioga Point. He married 
Eleanor \'an Steinberg, a relative of Colonel Hollenback's. He was 
appointed justice of the peace for the State of Pennsylvania when only 
nineteen years of age, and served in that capacitj' for six years. In 1794 
he witiia friend and relative, Samuel Hepburn, of Milton, Pa., purchased 
a large tract of land Ij'ing within the present limits of the city of Elmira. 

Guy Maxwell came to live in the county in 1796 and engaged in the 
mercantile business with Thomas M. Perry, the firm name being Perrj' 
& Co. In 1798 Nicholas Fish, being chief officer of customs of the State 
of New York, having in cliarge the internal revenue of the period, made 
Mr. Maxwell the princ'pal assessor for Tioga Count}'. This did n't last 
very long, either the law or the office, for the first was exceedingly ob- 
noxious to tlie people of the country. In 1800 Governor Clinton ap- 
pointed Mr. Maxwell sheriff of the county of Tioga, an office which he 
held for four years. After this Mr. Maxwell retired from public life to 
care for his own private business. He died in 18 14 not yet fort}--fuur 
)-ears of age. 

Guy Maxwell's sons, Thomas, -Samuel II., William, Hector I., and 
Charles, all became very active and prominent in the business, political, 
and social concerns of th.e valley, Thomas and William particularly so. 
Guy Maxwell during his life was a great friend of the Indians, and he 
was adopted into the Seneca tribe. His son Thomas reached the same 
distinction. One of the daughters of Thomas, Mrs. Harriet Maxwell 
Converse, followed in the footsteps of her grandfather and father, and in 
1890, partly in remembrance of her ancestors, but largely because of her 
own interest in and labors for the Indians, was also regularly and with 
striking formalities made a member of the Seneca tribe. 

Thomas Maxwell was born in Tioga Point, now Athens, Pa., in Feb- 
ruary, 1792. He was a great favorite of his father and accompanied 
him in many of his journeys throughout the country undertaken when 



5G OrR COCNTV AND ITS PEOPLE. 

he was sheriff. By these means Mr. Ma.wvell became very familiar witii 
the early history of the valley, a knowledge to which he was constantly 
adding as long as he lived, making him an authority on the subject of 
whose accuracy there could be no question. A meager portion of matter 
that he had collected was published, but the great bulk of it became scat- 
tered and was lost. Mr. Ma.xwell in 1809 was in charge of the postoffice 
in Geneva, N. Y., and afterward became connected with the great Pulte- 
ney estate, whose lands lay largely in Steuben County. In 1S12 he was 
appointed quartermaster of a regiment of cavalry attached to the brig- 
ade of General Vincent Matthews. The organization was, iiowever, 
never called into active service. In 1819 Mr. Maxwell was appointtd 
clerk of old Tioga County, serving as such ten years. In 1829 he was 
elected to the Twenty-first Congress. He served as postmaster of El- 
mira from July, 1835, to July, 1841. He was for two years the collec- 
tor of tolls for the Chemung Canal, and for a brief period was one of the 
vice presidents of the New York and Erie Railroad. In 1844 he was 
appointed deputy clerk of the Supreme Court, and while holding that 
office made it his home in Geneva. At one time he was the editor of 
the Gazette. The latter years of his life were spent in advocating the 
pension claims of soldiers. In many ways he was one of the foremost 
men of the county, and his character and disposition were such as to 
draw closely to him those with whom he came in contact. He died in 
1867, being struck by a train of cars on the Erie, in the Fifth ward, on 
his way to his home, and killed. 

William Maxwell, another son of Guy Maxwell, was prominent in 
every enterprise favorable to the village and the valley. He was con- 
nected with the Chemung Canal Bank in its earliest days ; was largely 
instrumental in securing the construction of the canal, the Erie and 
other railroads centering in Elmira; was district attorne\- of the county 
in 1822; surrogate in 1829; member of Assembl}' in 1828 and in 1S47; 
and was the delegate from the county to the State Convention of 1846. 
He died in 1858. But one descendant of Guy Maxwell of his name is 
now a citizen of the county. 

Thomas Mifflin Perry was sent up the river from Wilkesbarre by Col- 
onel Hollenback with the first stock of goods ever sent into the valley as 
far as Newtown. They were pushed up the river in the usual manner 




'C . /LXrCr^i-..y.,-^^Lo~^.^ 



y 



TJIOMAS MIFFI.IX PERRY. 67 

in tliose days, a tedious and laborious method of conveying supplies in 
1793. They were disposed of b\' Mr. I'erry in a log warehouse near tiie 
mouth of the creek to the settlers of the neighborliood, who were mostly 
farmers. There were a number of rude log houses put up near the store, 
but not a vestige of them remains now. Mr. Perry in this venture, and 
in others of a similar character afterward, occupied also a building con- 
structed mostly of logs that stood near what is now the foot of High street. 
It was still standing a little over a quarter of a century agt), and there are 
many )'Ct living who must remember it. Mr. Perry was born in Phila- 
delphia on January 14, 1776, and was named in lu)n<M- of that sturdy 
Revolutionary patriot and soldier whom every Pennsylvanian holds in 
honor even to this day, Gov. Thomas Mifflin. He was apprenticed to 
Colonel Hollenback to learn the " art and mystery of the mercantile 
business." When he came into the valley on a trading venture he came 
to stay. In company with .Stephen Tuttle, Guy Maxwell, and others 
he engaged in many enterprises. One of these was in building the mill 
about half way between Hlmira and Horseheads, which is yet in opera- 
tion, although of course in the hands of others than those of the family 
that started the business. The relations between Thomas M. Perry and 
Guy Ma.xwell were very intimate, as will be seen in their children of the 
generation following them. There was a Gu\- Perry antl a Thomas 
Maxwell. Mr. Perrj' in i79cS married I-^lizabeth, one of the daughters of 
John Konkle. They were both earnest and active Methodists, and to 
their constant and zealous labors the Methodist Church of the city of 
Elmira is largely indebted for its early start and its subsequent useful 
career. They were the parents of six sons and one daughter: William, 
Guy M., Horace, John K., Aaron K., Thomas, and Ann K. Of these only 
John K , Thomas, and Ann K. arc living, both of the sons having been 
for man)' years trusted and worth)- business men of the town. A son of 
Guy Perr)', named for his grandfather, Thomas, is now an officer in the 
United States navy. He wears a name that is historical, and his career 
so far has shown that should the occasion arise he would not discredit it. 
We of this generation know little of how close the War of 1812 came 
to the people at large all over the country, reaching in its effects beyond 
the mere call for men to act as soldiers, even to obscure hamlets like 
that of Newtown. Mr. Perry and Mr. Maxwell were in business to- 

8 



58 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

gether still at tliat period, and the)' with many another merchant suf- 
fered heavily on account of the embargo laid by the government. They 
had large quantities of grain on hand for which they could find no mar- 
ket. It spoiled on their hands and ruined them financially. It was a 
great disaster to them both, but especially to Mr. Maxwell, who died 
soon after. Mr. Perry lived until June 2, 1836, his wife surviving him 
until January, 1844. 

Soon after the formation of the township of Chemung, or in 1790, the 
village of Newtown was laid out by the proprietor of the lands there, 
Henry W'isner. This laying out of the village was not in that magnifi- 
cent style since adopted with regard to towns in the far West. Sullivan 
street, which at that early date was so called in honor of the general, was 
marked out as the central highway toward the lake region ; and what 
is now called Tuttle avenue, the thoroughfare east of Newtown Creek 
just under the hill, was also designated ; but for the rest, besides Water 
street, there was only what is now Church street connecting the two av- 
enues named, and one or two little lanes nameless then, nameless now, 
running from Water street toward the river and to the northward as well. 

Henry Wisner also very soon after laid out another little village or 
plat, its center being where Main street is now and its eastern side be- 
ing at Baldwin street. It did not reach north of Gray street, Water 
street and that being connected by what is now Railroad avenue and 
Main street. The first of these villages claimed the name of Newtown 
and the second one was called Wisnerburg. We have already seen tliat 
the Indian name of the first locality was Canaweola. It had, however, 
a more ancient designation in the same tongue, Shinedovva, or "At the 
Great Plains." Henry Wisner was a man of vigorous character and 
unusual abilities, and connects Orange County, his home, very strongly 
with Chemung Count}'. He held many official positions of State and 
national prominence, and became interested in the Chemung Valley 
through his friend, Gen. James Clinton. JeftVey Wisner, his son, was 
more intimately associated with the details of the business in Chemung 
County than was his father. One deed of his, the gift of the lot on 
which the First Baptist Church stands to say nothing of the large park 
west of it which should forever bear his name, should keep his memory 
green. 



THE WISNERS. 59 

l^ut the family name of W'isner is almost obliterated from the valley. 
Lake Eldridge used to be called Wisner Lake, but it passed through a 
number of mutations, even to "Little Lake" and "Crystal Lake," until 
its present designation was given to it. Railroad avenue was once 
W'isner street. 

Henry W'isner had another son who in the early times occupied a 
prominent position in the valley. His name was William Henry. He 
studied law with \'incent Matthews in Newtown, and gave promise of 
becoming one of the most eminent advocates of the State. He was a 
partner for a time with his preceptor and George C. Edwards in New- 
town, but he was converted, and after studying for the ministry was or- 
dained a preacher. In this line he was markedly successful. He went 
to Ohio, but returned soon, and was settled over a church in Ithaca for a 
great many _\'ears, not giving up his pastoral calling until so late as 1855. 
He was known far and wide as " Priest Wisner." A son of his is now 
a clergyman in Lockport and well sustains the reputation of his father. 
Mr. Wisner was the author of a number of widely circulated religious 
books. His wife was a daughter of Gen. Matthew Carpenter, a notable 
man of the Chemung Valley. It was a remark of hers, even at the height 
of her husband's usefulness as a clergyman, that "she did n't marry a 
minister, but a lawyer." 

Jeffrey Wisner's two sons, John Wheeler Wisner and William llenry 
Wisner, were citizens of Chemung County and became prominent in 
local affairs, both, however, dying comparatively young The first 
named studied law in the office of Andrew K. Gregg, one of the most 
eminent lawj'ers of the county, and was elected justice of the peace be- 
fore he was admitted to the bar. In 1836 Mr. Wisner formed a part- 
nership witii Ariel S. Thurston, then a young lawyer of much promise, 
even now living in Elmira in a green and hearty old age. In 1846 and 
in 1848 Mr. Wisner was a candidate for Congress, nominated by the 
Democrats. The party was then in its "Hardshell" and "Softshell" 
throes and he was a "Softshell." The Whig candidate was elected. In 
1847 '^f''- Wisner was elected county judge and surrogate. He died in 
1850, less than fifty years of age. 

As remarking how the blood of families permeates in all directions, 
and brings the present time closer to the old days, it may be noted that 



GO OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

tlie daughters of Hon. William L. Miiller, judge of the Court of Claims 
of the State of New York and an intimate personal friend of Gov. David 
B. Hill, who were left fatherless one January morning in 1891, are the 
granddaughters of the Hon. John W. Wisner, their mother, Mrs. Muller, 
having been his }'oungest child, Helen Wisner. 
l\ It is only reasonable to assume that Henry W isner, when he laid out 
Newtown in 1790, with his acquaintance with politics and what was go- 
ing on in the legislature, knew what he was about, for the next year a 
good slice was taken out of Montgomery County to form Tioga County, 
and Newtown with " Chenango Point," now Binghamton, then more 
readily recognized if you called it "Chenang Pint," was made a half- 
shire town. We can readily imagine to what dignity the little hamlet of 
Newtown aspired and what promises were opened for the future in the 
honor bestowed upon it, that of being a county seat, or half of one at 
any rate. 

Tioga Count}', as thus organized on February 16, 1791, was com- 
posed of the present counties of Chemung, Broome, and Tioga with 
portions of the counties of Schu}'Ier, Tompkins, Cortland, and Chenango. 
But there was another memorable honor bestowed on Newtown that 
same year of 1791. It marks the last event of the kind in the East and 
was the final treaty with the Six Nations, concluding matters that have 
been observed until this day and so for all time. 

The Indians were disposed to object to a treaty made at Fort Stan- 
wix several years before, in which subjects relating to the extinguisli- 
nient of their title to the lands in W^estern New York were supposed to 
have been permanently settled. They asserted that there had been 
fraud in the final adjustment. But the chief matter of dispute (at least 
there was more said about it and more bad blood aroused on account of 
it) was the alleged murder by white men of two Seneca Indians on Pine 
Creek. 

In all of these so-called treaties or agreements between the white men 
and the Indians, and it seems to be the same to-day as it was a century 
ago, one can hardl)' help being reminded of the incident, vouciied for 
as authentic, of a treaty in the northern part of the State during the last 
century in which the Indians were to give up certain lands in e.xchange 
for other lands, these other lands being one parcel forty square miles 



KrVMOLOGV OF PA/XTED POST. 61 

and another parcel fort}' miles square, the Indians themselves to choose 
which parcel they would take. They were persuaded that the forty- 
square-mile piece was the larger, and so made their choice. 

A treaty had been agreed uj^on at a council at Tioga Point the year 
before, in November, 1790, but it seems to have been unsatisfactory 
and another council was called to be held at Painted Post, about twenty 
miles west of Newtown, in 1791. 

The etymology of the name of this town, Painted Post, does not 
strike one as peculiar who is acquainted at all with its beautiful location 
and its lively citizens, and is accustomed to hear the name spoken. But 
to a stranger's ears it comes as a sound more uncouth for the name of a 
village than does that of Horseheads. \'et it has its reason for being 
which it is to be hoped it will retain permanenth . The place has a cent- 
ral location as regards the valleys of the Susquehanna and its tributa- 
ries and the Genesee, and, being so central, was a convenient place for 
the assembling of the Indians at different times to hold their councils 
and make their treaties. There was located here a large post which 
the\' painted red. It could be seen at a great distance, and marked the 
spot in a most unmistakable manner. 

Col. Timothy Pickering was the agent of the United States govern- 
ment in the formation of both these treaties. He was a peculiarly affa- 
ble, kind hearted, and courteous gentleman, but of a stubborn will, and 
so not easily moved from any purpose he had in hand. The Indians 
named him " Con-iti-san-ti," meaning the "sunny side of a hill." I think 
there was a covert intention in this name. He might be very sunny 
and bright to look upon, but a hard one to climb over! He is a distin- 
guished man in the history of our country. He was a native of Massa- 
chusetts, one of the earliest patriots of the Revolution, the colonel of a 
regiment in the battle of Lexington, and served with Washington in his 
New Jersej" campaign as adjutant-general. He was also quartermaster- 
general during the war, and was W^ashington's Postmaster- General, Sec- 
retary of War, and .Secretary of State, and afterwards United States Sen- 
ator from Massachusetts. He died in 1829. 

By Colonel Pickering's commission he was empowered to distribute 
goods to the amount of $266-3 t° ^'^^ Seneca Indians, such goods to 
be purchased by the State of Pennsylvania, and to be given to pacifj- the 
Indians on account of the murder spoken of 



(i2 OUR COUXTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

The reason why tlie council of 1791 was held at Newtown Point in- 
stead of at Painted Post was because the river was so low that the pro- 
visions and stores could be got no fartlier than the first named place. 
Besides this Colonel Pickering in a letter to his wife, dating it from 
the house of Judge John Miller, where he was a guest during his stay in 
the valley, says of the embryo Elmira what has since been said of this 
place, and truly, very often: "There are many inhabitants in the neigh- 
borhood of Newtown Point, so that living will be more agreeable than 
at Painted Post." He himself, however, went to Painted Post to prevail 
on the chiefs to come to Newtown Point, "otherwise," he moans, "we 
must drag up the provisions and stores to the Painted Post, drawing the 
loaded canoes with oxen where the water is too shallow." That is a 
picture of the method of conveyance of those days. 

The real business of the treaty was begun on July 4, 1791. Guy 
Maxwell was the secretary of the council. " There were upwards of 
1,000 Indians on the ground," Colonel Pickering observes in another 
letter to his wife, "of all ages, which, e.xceeding the number I looked for, 
renders the feeding of them a little difficult, because it is not easy to get 
grain for them. Of beef there is enough." 

The council lasted for ten days, and notwithstanding the vigorous ob- 
jections presented by Red Jacket to everj' proposition offered by the 
government "the Indians," Colonel Pickering observes, "discover a 
very good disposition and place confidence in me," and the treaty was 
concluded agreeably, the Indians were pacified, were content to take 
other lands farther west for those in the Kast, and received the gifts of 
goods in a pleasant spirit. The successful issue of this treaty by the 
labors of Colonel Pickering led the government to employ him in other 
affairs of like nature farther west, in which he met with a like good 
fortune. 

Springing from the same family source in the old country, but not a 
lineal descendant of Col. Timothy Pickering, another one of the same 
name, Daniel F. Pickering, in after days became an acti\'e and promi- 
nent business man and politician in the county. He was born in Mid- 
dle Smithfield, Monroe Count)', Pa., on June 16, iS 16, and came twelve 
years later, in 1828, to Buckville, now Chemung. His opportunities for 
education were slight, but he took full advantage of them, and before he 



SOME INDIAN HIS TOR V. (!3 

was of full age took charge one winter of the district school. In his 
own words it was "an uncertain quantity whether the children learned 
anything, but they immediately found out who was boss!" Mr. Pick- 
ering was constable, collector, school commissioner, and supervisor in 
turn in his adopted home ; was sheriff of the county from 1852 to 1855 ; 
and was postmaster of the city of Elmira from 1S61 to 1867 and from 
1877 to 1881. In 1845 he married Mary Baldwin, a daughter of Vine 
Baldwin, of Chemung, and member of the Baldwin family of the county. 
He died March 28, 1882. He was a man of as vigorous and impres- 
sive a character as his famous ancestor, and wielded a strong personal 
and political influence. 

The exact spot where was held the council that framed the treaty of 
1791 has long been a matter of dispute, some contending that it was 
near Newtown Creek and not far from its mouth, others claiming that 
it was farther west, in the neighborhood of what is now Market street and 
Madison avenue. A tree in the latter named locality was long held in 
more or less reverence by the lovers of local antiquities as the exact 
spot where the treatymakers sat, smoked their pipes, and made their 
speeches. The advocates of the claims of these two places were each 
warm and earnest, and full of evidence as to the exactness of their as — 
sertions. They were both right. The meetings were at first held at the 
Market street location and were concluded on the land near Newtown 
Creek. 

There has been some dispute, too, as to the number of Indians that 
were present, one record showing that 1,400 of them were counted as 
they passed Colonel Hendy's residence after the council broke up, and 
they took up their march from the countrj- that their forefathers had 
held from time immemorial, never to return. But Colonel Pickering 
sums up their number as " upwards of 1,000." As he had to feed them 
it is quite likely that his count was the nearer accurate. Besides Red 
Jacket among the Indians there were present Cornplanter, Farmer's 
Brother, Little Billy, Kish Carrier, and Henry Appaunat, all well known 
orators and braves in their time, some of whom figure largely in gen- 
eral history. 

Another village was mapped out about this same time by Guy Ma.\- 
well. The locality was a little farther up the river than Newtown, and 



64 OUR COUXTY A AW ITS PEOPLE. 

between Newtown and Wisnerburg, centering about where the foot of 
Lake street is now. The place was called Dewittsburg in honor of Moses 
Dewitt, a gentleman of Ithaca and a relative of Simeon Dewitt, ac the 
time surveyor-general of the State, who had made the original surveys 
of the land included in the village and had received a patent for them 
from the State. But the three separate settlements or hamlets did not 
for long retain their three separate names : their interests were about all 
in common, and they were all soon called by the common name of New- 
town. 

There were others besides those sent by Colonel HoUenback who were 
attracted to settle in the newly opened country. They were lawyers 
and doctors who came to practice their professions. They had for their 
homes log houses scattered along through Sullivan street and up and 
down Water street. As for lawyers Vincent Matthews was the earliest 
one to make Newtown his home. He came from Orange County, where 
the family had long been one of great prominence. He was a man of 
unusual abilities, and during his prime was one of the most distinguished 
men of the State. He came to live in Newtown in 1792, and at once 
assumed the conspicuous position to which his natural qualifications en- 
titled him. He was member of Assembly from the county in 1794 and 
1795, was one of the representatives of the western district of the State 
Senate from 1796 to 1803, and was the member of Congress from the 
district from 1 809 to iSi i. Mr. Matthews lived, while his home was in 
Newtown, at the foot of what is now Matthews street, named for him. 
It was a mere lane then. The house stood on the bank of the creek, 
and was a large roomy building with a wide and long porch in front 
looking toward the west. Later on, when the trees had grown about it 
to a considerable size, it looked from Lake street like pictures one sees 
of the homes of planters in the South or the headquarters of some great 
farmer. It was in the family a number of years and is now a portion of 
the estate of Samuel Hall, esq., in the Se\enth ward of Elmira. The 
Matthews family was a large one, and many of them came from their 
old home in Orange County to Chemung. Selah Matthews was a 
brother of Vincent Matthews, and his son Harry was for many years 
postmaster of Elmira during the second quarter of the present century. 
His wife was a sister of John Arnot. A sister of Vincent Matthews 



PROMINENT PIOXEERS OF THE VALLEY. C5 

married Samuel S. Haight, a lawyer coiitemporarj' with Mr. Matthews 
in the valley and at one time his partner. S. S. Haiyht removed to 
Bath, where his son, Fletcher M. Haight, distinguished himself in the 
practice of the law, and seeking a wider field emigrated to San Fran- 
cisco, Cal., where he found it. His son became governor of his State. 
Vincent Matthews about 1820 left Newtown and located in Rochester, 
of which city he was long time an eminent citizen, representing that 
county in the Assembly and being elected as its district attorney. 

Catherine Matthews, another sister of Vincent Matthews, married one 
who had very much to do witli the early history of the county. Gen. 
Matthew Carpenter. He was born in Orange Count)- in 1759 and came 
to Newtown in 1792. His house, which was a capacious log one, was 
situated on the bank of Newtown Creek verj' near where arc now lo- 
cated the woolen- mills. He is largely connected with the military 
history of the valley, and was the commanding officer of the brigade to 
which the county was assigned in those early "general training" days. 
He was a member of Assembly in 1799 and again in 1823, and was tiie 
delegate from the county to the Constitutional Convention of 1S21. He 
enjoys the distinction of having been the father of the earliest of the liter- 
ary women of the valley, of whom there has been no lack since. Her name 
was Amira. In 1829 J. liogert, printer and bookseller of Geneva, pub- 
lished for her a small volume of poems which her lo)-alty to her locality 
caused her to call the " Lyre of Tioga," after the fashionable nomen- 
clature of the day. rler verses are by no means a discredit to her, her 
times, or the valley. She married Robert Thompson, who was the earl- 
iest drayman of the village, and it is only within a very few years that 
her son, Jerry Thompson, in his clean and close-fitting apron of wide- 
striped ticking, ceased to be busy in the streets in the same line of busi- 
ness. 

Another daughter of General Carpenter married Erastus Shepherd, 
who was one of the earlier publishers of the Rochester Democrat, and 
another daughter was the wife of I'hilo Jones, of whom I shall come to 
speak presently. A son of General Carpenter married into the Bald- 
win family, his wife having been one of the daughters of Judge Grant 
B. Baldwin. He died early in life, however. A daughter of his, Azubali. 
became the wife of John McQuhae, a brother of Mrs. David H. Tuthill. 
u 



C6 Oi'R COl'XTY A.XD ITS PEOPLE. 

General Carpenter lived to be eighty years of age, dying in 1839 at 
the home of his daughter, Mrs. Philo Jones, in Seeley Creek Valley. 

A partner of Vincent Matthews was George C. Kd.vards, who was 
a member of the distinguished Pierrepont Edwards family. When he 
first came into the valley he taught school, being one of the first school 
teachers in the county. He removed early in the present century to 
Steuben County, of which he became the first judge of Common Pleas. 

Of the physicians of this early time the first one was undoubtedly 
Dr. Amos Park, who, being something more than a physician, was as 
well school teacher and preacher. He built largely, with the labor of his 
own hands, the first frame house erected in Elmira, precisely on the 
ground subsequently occupied by the gas works, on the river bank, a little 
west of the foot of High street. It could hardly have been much of a 
house, for some twenty years afterward, in 1S12, it is recorded that he 
sold his lot, house, and all for $37. The stringency of the times, how- 
ever, may have had something to do with the very modest price. We 
shall meet with Dr. Park again. 

Dr. Joseph Hinchman came to Newtown soon after Dr. Park. He 
was born in Jamaica, Long Island, and was the son and grandson of 
physicians, the whole family for generations back being connected, and 
conspicuously, with the medical profession. He studied medicine in 
Orange County, and in June, 1785, came to the town of Chemung, 
moving still farther up the river to Newtown in 1793. He was sheriff 
of the county from 1793 to 1799, and was frequently occupied in other 
public capacities. He died in 1802 at the age of forty years, and was 
the first person buried in the old graveyard where is now located Main 
Street Park. He left numerous descendants, but none living now in the 
county. 

In these early years there came to Newtown to practice the profes- 
sion of medicine a curious character named Dr. Chrisjohn Scott. Soon 
after his arrival he married a daughter of Brinton Paine, of Horseheads. 
He was a very large, jovial man, loved a good dinner and good stories, and 
enjoyed hearing a new one as much as he did telling one. He rode in 
a gig and drove his team tandem. Besides medicine he made some pre- 
tence to magic, and claimed that he once met the devil himself in the 
Chemung Narrows ! Whether he tokl the truth or not it is certain that 



OTHER PIOXEER SETTLERS. (>7 

if tlie I'ririce of Darkness ever visited this eartli he could liave found no 
more suitable locality than' the one named in which to appear, espe- 
cially in the time of high water. In the contest which ensued Dr. 
Scott claimed that he got the better of the visitor from the shades, who 
as he departed said he would return. Dr. Scott died in Newtown, after 
having been a resident there but ten years. 

There are others than those named, settling in this early day near or in 
Elmira, to whom is as well due the development of the county and its 
resources. Among tiiem is Jacob Lowman, who, as his name indicates, 
was of German extraction. He came originally from Dauphin County, 
Pa., where he was born in 1769. When he was only nineteen years of age 
he embarked in a trading expedition up the Susquehanna as far as Tioga 
Point. Me was successful, and made the trip many times. In 1792 he 
pushed as far up the river as to Chemung, where he located permanently 
just inside the township above the "lower narrows." His wife, whom 
he married in the same year, was named Huldah Bosworth. He con- 
tinued his business as a trader and his accumulations increased rapidly. 
About eight j'ears after his arrival in the count)' he bought the farm 
still in the family tiiat is located near the little hamlet of " Lowman's," 
named for him, to which he removed and w here he lived during the re- 
mainder of his life. I lis wife died in 1839, and he followed her the next 
year. His children and grandchildren have occupied prominent posi- 
tions in the history of the county. A son named for him, Jacob Low- 
man, occupied a farm next the old one where his father lived so many 
years, and was one of the richest landowners in the county. He died 
on April 9, 1891. A daughter, Laurinda, married the Hon. John G. 
McDowell, elsewhere referred to, and their children are today among 
the best in the business, social, and political world of the county and 
country. Anotiier daughter, Cynthia, married Dr. Hovey Everitt, who 
was one of the early physicians of the county and who practiced his 
profession in Chemung township for more than forty years. He was a 
graduate of Yale College of the class of 1821. His descendants are 
numbered among the best people of the vallc)-. 

Andrew Gregg came to Newtown in 1795. lie was originally from 
Knniskellen, Ireland, and coming to this country first settled in North- 
umberland County, Pa. He bought land in what is now the central 



68 OCR COUNT)' AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

portion of the Fourth ward of the city of Elmira, and Hved there to an 
advanced age. His wife was Esther Karr. They had one son, John 
Gregg, born in Ireland, December 28, 1767. He came to Newtown 
with his father in 1795. One of his sons, Andrew Karr Gregg, born 
October 15, 1797, became a distinguislied lawyer, having studied for the 
bar first with Vincent Matthews and afterward with Judge Hiram Gray. 
He removed to Chippewa Falls, Wis., in 1857, and died there April 
5, 1868. He was the first district attorney of the county of Chemung, 
serving from 1836 to 1838, having held the same office for Tioga County 
before its dismemberment. Lydia Karr Gregg, a daughter of John 
Gregg, became the wife of Daniel Stephens. Other members of the 
family have been conspicuous in the history of the village and city, al- 
though, as it may have been remarked has been the fate of other early 
families in the valley, there are none of the name now living therein. 

John Sly was another of the '88 men settling in the neighborhood of 
Elmira. In that year, at the age of twenty-four, he came from Dela- 
ware, Pike County, Pa. His wife was Miss Polly Hammond of tliat 
family, of whom something has already been said, and when married 
she was but fifteen years old. The bridal trip of this couple was ac- 
complished on horseback, and on one horse at that. Mr. Sly bought 
600 acres on the flats in Southport, opposite Elmira, for ten shillings an 
acre. From it he cut the timber and put up a log house for himself and 
his young wife. The modest home was standing less than a quarter of 
a century ago. The present Sly homestead was built about the begin- 
ning of this century, and within its walls Mr. Sly died on August 26, 
1856, at the age of ninety-two years. He was never prominent in 
public life, but was always a citizen of great worth. 

One more name of this early and heroic age of the valley deserves 
attention and remembrance — John Suffern. He is one to whom lands 
were surveyed and certificate issued therefor in 1 788, but actual settlement 
was not made upon them until some four years thereafter. He was a 
native cf the north of Ireland, and belonged to that hardy race of Scotch- 
men who fled from their old homes during the persecution that followed 
the reformation of John Knox. His home he located between New- 
town and Big Flats, and bleak and barren as were the " pine plains " he 
had selected he made them, by his labor, soon bloom like a bed of roses. 



DEVELOPMEXT AND ORGANIZATION. G'J 

He was of the same f;imily who gave its name to a station on the 
Erie Railroad in Orange County. His own personal family has become 
widely scattered, and the fair t'ickis that he made what they are are in 
the hands of others. 

In other parts of the county all this time other and thriving new 
comers were reducing the lands to cultivation, cutting down the forests, 
preparing for meadows, and setting out fruit trees that were to bless 
future generations. To the north of Newtown came Asa Guildersleeve 
(a brother of the wife of the John Breese I have mentioned), John 
Winkler, David Powers, Jonathan S. Conkling, and the Sayre family 
headed by James and Ebenezer. These planted their homes in and 
around what is now Horseheads, and their descendants, many of whom 
will appear by name in this record, are numerous, prosperous, and promi- 
nent. 

The same year of 1792 saw another rather important change in the 
situation of Newtown. A town was erected of that name out of Che- 
mung township by act of legislature passed April lOth. It was very 
symmetrical in shape, almost an exact parallelogram, reaching from the 
Pennsylvania State line to Seneca Lake, and comprising what are now 
the towns of Southport, Elmira, Catlin, Veteran, Big Flats, Horseheads, 
and a portion of Ashland in Chemung Count)-, and the towns of Cath- 
erine, Montour, and Dix in Schuyler County. The first town meeting 
was held in the village of Newtown in May of the year named, at the 
tavern of William Dunn, known then as the Kline House, at the corner 
of East Water and Fox streets, just opposite the ferrj- or ford. 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER V. 



The Site of the new Court-House — The first Court — Uses to which the Building 
was Put — Habits of the early Settlers — Origin of the Presbyterian Church — 
Poetical Description of the Court-House — First Clergymen — Union Lodge, 
No. 30, F. and A. M., Organized — Its Masters — Nathan Teall — His Family — 
His daughter Elmira. from whom the City takes its Name — Its Etymology — 
Nathaniel Seeley — William Dunn — The Valley visited by Louis Phillippe — Cath- 
erine township Organized — The Bennetts — Comfort Bennett — William Hoffman 
— County officers for the Period — Conclusion. 

THE Newtown part of the tliree little hamlets I have described, or 
that portion lying nearest the creek, secured the site of the county 
buildings or building (for there was only one), and it (the court-house) 
was erected on Sullivan street somewhat north of Church street. A 
portion of it remained standing until within the memory of persons now 
living. It was a substantial log structure, well clapboarded, and two 
stories and an attic in height. The lower story was used for the purposes 
of a jail and dwelling for the under sheriff' or jailer, and the second story 
for holding court and for such ptiblic worship as chanced to be held in 
the valley. 

There would seetii to be indications of a struggle for the location of 
the building, as it was not put up for some years after the village was 
made a half-shire town. It was not in existence in 1794, for there are 
records of a State court being held in the town in that year in a tavern, 
more than likel}' the one already referred to as the Stoner House. The 
court was presided over by Judge Egbert Benson, of Long Island, and 
his associates were Abraham Miller and John Miller, citizens of the val- 
ley. The cotirt-house was not erected before 1796. It served the 
purposes for which it was intended for about a generation, a little less 
than thirty years, when it was succeeded by one that formerly stood on 
Lake street. 

The old log court-house is intimately associated with the early re- 
ligious influences of the valley, for the locality was hardly settled before 
it came under the notice of the missionaries of the Presbyterian Church. 



PSJUSCWAL CHARACTERISTICS. 71 

l-"roni tradition, legend, and events that aie known to be actual it would 
seem that the whole valley, from the time the first settler put up his log 
Init until a period fifty years thereafter, and man)-, doubtless would 
continue the matter until the [iresent day, was a fine field for the opera- 
tion of missionaries; whether or not it was a fruitful one the flourishing 
and influential churciies and other Christian organizations are a sufficient 
answer. 

There is no use in denying the fact that the earl)' settlers of the county, 
like the earliest comers in any wild region, were rude, rough, rollick- 
ing, often swearing, violent men. They had to fight and conquer nature 
in her wildest and most primitive shape, and the struggle, which was 
constant and severe, developed in them al! that was rude and rough. 
In the work of their life they were earnest and hard, and in their sportive 
moments one can say even in their loves they knew of no other be- 
havior. Their every-day life and training not only made their muscles 
tough and strong, but hardened the sinews of the mind and made it as 
well coarse and vigorous. The early settlers loved to drink whisky, 
and they had lots of it. At the time of which I write theie were more 
distilleries than there were flouring- mills and saw-mills together in the 
county. The early settlers loved to race their horses, and there is an 
ominous whisper from that long ago time which says that the day 
chosen for such sport was oftenest the first day of the week, rest-day ; 
that is, a day of rest from the labors of the farm or the shop. The early 
settlers had no objection to a lively fisticuff if they considered that their 
rights had been trampled upon ; and there are tales, more substantial 
than if founded on mere tradition, of some who afterward became 
pillars of the church and were sought after in social and political wa\s, 
who, with coats off and in the village street, "had it out" with their 
adversary, with many a black eye and bloody nose. It was so much 
easier and quicker to settle a personal difficulty in this way than to wait 
for the uncertain delays of the law. Besides most of these men had 
been soldiers in the Revolutionary war and knew what fighting meant, 
and had, the further to sustain them in their methods, although they 
knew it not, the old English notion of the "wager of battle." It was 
in their blood and must come out. 

The Rev. Daniel Thatcher is accredited as being the first missionary 



72 OUR COU.XTV AMD ITS PEOPLE. 

clergyman to come into the county. He came about 1795 under the 
auspices of the Presbyterian Board of Missions. He found ready to 
welcome him such settlers as Stephen Tuttle, the Millers both Abra- 
ham and John, the Griswolds, the Konkles, the Greggs, and others, 
whose children have continued their lo)-alty to the church whose seeds 
were then first planted in the valley, and whose ripened and ripening 
influence is still powerful and wide-spread in the organization known as 
the First Presbyterian Church of Elmira. Services were held by Mr. 
Thatcher in the houses of his people at intervals until the court-house 
was completed, when they were continued there. 

I have referred to the little book of poems written by Mrs. Amira 
Thompson, called the "Lyre of Tioga " and published in 1829. Some 
verses therein apply to the subject on which 1 write, and although they 
are entitled " Satirical " they may be taken as embodying the truth. 
They lose none of their interest when it is added that the fair poet 
wrote her lines when she was but thirteen years of age, and their value 
is increased when we know that her eyes had seen what her lines 
describe. No one else has handed down to us so complete a record. 
She writes : 

" Now judge if all my words are true, 

While of its church we take a view. 

It stands on well selected ground, 

And rails enclose it all around ; 

E'en in the garret we may find 

Dame Virtue with the Graces join'd : 

For there Free Masons hold their sway. 

'T is there they revel — there they pray ; 

In Charity's dominions sweet 

The rat and moth find safe retreat. 

" Its shattered sides are torn by Time, 
And windows wasted l^y the same ; 
Paper and shingles fill the place 
That was intended once for glass. 
No paint or carving there we see ; 
'T is hung with cobweb tapestry. 
No steeple crowns its sacred head. 
Nor bell to summon home the de.td. 
Nor pride, nor pomp, nor sinful state. 
The parson fills the Judge's seat ; 



.-; PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 73 

No curtains round his head do flow — 
E'en ele}j;ince with shame lies low. 
When filled, the tott'ring fabric shakes. 
The maiden starts, the matron quakes. 
And the poor preacher, pale with fear. 
For safety pours an ardent prayer. 

•' But, raised, the public eye to meet, 
There stands one spacious singing-seat, 
Filled till its sides can hold no more. 
.And then the guard must close the door. 
'T is here the psalmist takes his stand. 
His ranks arranged on either hand ; 
While squeaking treble wounds the ear, 
The base low rumbles discord near ; 
And through the cracks old Boreas tries 
With a fifth part to give surprise ; 
And creaking doors, and rattling boards, 
A chorus for tlie tune affords. 

'• In this majestic building view 

The public jail, and court-house, too — 
The Mason's lodge, the Christian's Church, 
Without a pulpit, pew, or porch." 

The first elders of this iirimitive cliurch organization were Abiel Fry 
and Samuel Ludlow, of whom there exists now no family trace in the 
county. The labors of the Rev. Daniel Thatcher deserve remembrance 
and recognition. He builded much better than he knew in his brief 
stay in Newtown, which was only for a year or two. He was transferred 
to other fields and eventually died in VVyso.x, Pa., where his remains 
now rest. Dr. Amos I'ark, whom I have already mentioned, took up 
tlie work as left by Mr. Thatcher, but continued it only a short time. 
He was a curious character, not having what has been called "the gift 
of continuity," or the ability to stick to any one course of conduct or 
one principle for any great length of time. 

Brinton I'aine, a veteran of the Revolutionary war and a victim of the 
infamous prison ship in the harbor of New Vork, then officiated for a 
little while as clergyman, succeedeil by the Rev. Clark Brown, who, 
however, remained but a few weeks. There followed these a long list 

10 



74 OUR COUXTV AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

of eminent Christian men who made themselves felt in the community, 
and who will deserve and obtain further notice by name in this record. 

It should be said that earlier than this exact period of which I write 
there was the beginning of a church which has since grown into the 
Baptist Church of VVellsburg. Rev. Roswell Gough, or Goft', who set- 
tled early between W'ellsburg and Chemung, and who was known by 
the name of " Parson Goff," was a Baptist, and as early as 1790 preached 
in the neighborhood of his home, although forming at that time no regu- 
lar church organization. 

As has been intimated there was another organization that saw its 
first beginnings in the \'alley at this time, whose aims are esteemed by 
many to make as much for the well-being and morality of a community 
as do churches. This was a lodge of the Masonic order. It is not one 
of those matters to which I have referred as something depending upon 
the memory, but is of written record after the manner of the ancient 
body since ages ago. Were other records of the valley as accurate and 
indisputable as these there would not be so much that is valuable and 
interesting irretrievably lost. 

It is said that Masonry first came into the valley with Sullivan's 
army, and that in their camps the regular and ancient work of the order 
was conducted after the manner of its first examplers. Be this as it 
may it is certain that a warrant was granted by the Grand Lodge of 
the State of New York on June 28, 1793, for the formation in the vil- 
lage of Union Lodge, No. 30, F. and A. M. It was the second lodge 
of Masons formed in the western part of the State, the first one being in 
Canandaigua in 1 79 1, and it antedated by some years the official organ- 
ization of the first church in the valley. The petitioners for the war- 
rant were Amos Park, James Cameron, Nathaniel Seeley, Henry Star- 
rett, Peter Loop, jr., Nathan Teall, James Seeley, and John Crabtree, 
all good men and true whose descendants are yet in the valley, and 
the names of some of whom are as familiar to the ears as is Mt. Zoar to 
the sight. Amos Park, the same already mentioned, was the first master 
of the lodge, serving as such five times, although not consecutively. 
Among the members, and of those already mentioned herein, were Dr. 
Joseph Hinchman, John Konkle, Joim Miller, Caleb Baker, Samuel 
Hendy, Samuel Tuthill, and Solomon L. Smith, all of whom served in 



CLEAN/XGS FROM A .\fASOA'/C MECORll 75 

tlieir time as masters of the lodge. Tlie first meeting of the body was 
held on August 26, 1793, in an upper room of the house of Dr. Hinch- 
man. After the court-house was finished the meetings were held in the 
attic of that building. Until the close of the century, for the eight j'cars 
after the organization was formed, there were but three masters. Amos 
Park served as sucli in 1793, '94, '95, and '99; Dr. Ilincliman in 1796, 
'97, and '98 ; and John Konkle in 1800. This beneficent order shed its 
mild and gentle rays over the valley, the members meeting regularly 
for thirty-five years, until 1828, when it suspended operations. 

Some names in this accurate Masonic record throw much light on 
these early days in Newtown. One was Nathan Teall, and papers still 
retained in the families of his descendants gi\c a good idea of " who was 
who" in the village then. He came from Kollingwood, Conn , and oti 
the 5th of November, 1792, he bought of Moses Dewitt three lots in the 
Dewittsburg I have described. He was treasurer of Union Lodge in 
1794, and among his family relics is a silver medal which exhibits that 
fact. In 1794 he was deputy sheriff of Tioga County under James 
McMasters, the first sheriff of the county, and filled the same ofiice 
under his successor, Dr. Josep'.i Hinchman, and as such he was the first 
one who occupied and had charge of the jail and court-iiouse on Sulli- 
van street It is not to be wondered at that in consequence of this 
position he was elected as the first tyler of the new Masonic lodge. In 
1807 he was appointed by the supervisor, town clerk, and assessors to 
take the census of the electors of the township, this appointment 
being signed by Abner Kelsey, James Brown, John Hcndy, and John 
McConnell. In 1800 he was appointed coroner, his certificate as such 
being signed by Matthew Carpenter as clerk. It is a curious fact that 
this certificate was dated at Klmira, although that name appears no- 
where else as applied to the village or township, and was not officially 
recognized until eight years thereafter. It would be an intimation 
that the name, like Topsy, never reall)- had any origin, but only just 
" growed up." 

Nathan Teall's bond as coroner was signed by Elijali Griswold, 
Nathan Griswold, and Abner M. Hatfield, and he held the position for 
five years. He afterward purchased lands in Horseheads located wliere 
Sullivan's army had camped on its way through the valle\-. In 1794 



76 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Mr. Teall was licensed by tlie Commissioners of Excise to keep an inn or 
tavern in the town and to sell liquor for one year. The commissioners 
who signed this license were John Ilendy, Henry Wells, and John 
Konkle. On May i, 1796, he was again allowed a similar license and 
it cost him £2, or about $I0, to get it. The days of" high license " had 
not come in those times. This license is signed by Matthew Carpenter, 
William Jenkins, and John Konkle. This was not all of Nathan Teall. 
In 1794 he was appointed ensign in a military company. He had to 
wait a long time for a promotion, for it was not until June 4, 1806, that 
Matthew Carpenter, who was clerk of the county, notified him that he 
had been made a lieutenant It is evident that the military spirit awoke 
early in the valley, for if there was an ensign or second lieutenant then 
there must have been a company organized. Nathan Teall's wife was 
Polly Paine, a daughter of Col. Brinton Paine already named, and they 
were married in Dutchess County, N. Y. Their children were numer- 
ous, the youngest being a daughter named Elmira. 

The etymology of this name is interesting to all persons of Chemung 
County, especially so to all Elmirans who take pride in their town. It 
is of Moorish origin, and properly written was originally i:7 J/Zr^, or 
" The Mira" Mira meaning a "fair outlook," either something apparent 
to the senses or to the mind. A beautiful landscape could be so called 
as well as the promising future of some young person. There is a river 
in Spain, where the Moors formerly lived, called El Mira, and another in 
Spanish South America of the same name. It came into the English 
language when Wellington was fighting in Spain, a novelist of the brood 
of the latter part of the last century, attracted by its sound, having 
named one of his female characters Elmira. Thence it came easily to 
be the name of a real person, as it is a common thing for mothers to 
select names for their children from those of characters in fiction who 
have struck their fancy. It was from this little child, who was fair to 
look upon, a great favorite, and who was thus christened, that the city 
of Elmira obtained eventually its name. 

Nathaniel Seeley is another one of those suggestive Masonic names. 
As Dr. Park was the first to build a frame house in the Newtown part 
of the triple settlement Mr. Seeley was the first to put up a similar 
structure in the central town, or Dewittsburg. He came from Orange 



WILLIAM DiXX AXD DESCENDANTS. 77 

County in 1791, and tlie same year built his house. His descendants 
went up tlie creek in tiie town of Southport to the southwest of the vil- 
lage, and settling there gave their name to that stream of water. His 
widow for many years after his death kept a boarding house in the 
original dwelling built by \\\m. One of his descendants and a name- 
sake, Dr. Nathaniel R. Seeley, became one of the most prominent and 
successful physicians in all of Southern New York. 

Still another name, one who was made a Mason in this new lodge in 
August, 1793, was William Dunn. He had been a Revolutionary 
soldier, coming originally from Connecticut, and when he settled in 
Newtown he lived on Water street considerably east of Sullivan, there 
being no trace now of his residence. He was a merchant at first and 
afterward became a hotel-keeper. At one time he lived in Bath, Steu- 
ben County, where he first went when the town was founded by General 
Williamson in 1789. He was the landlord for many years of the 
"Black Horse" Tavern in IClmira, at the corner of Lake and Water 
streets. There was in his employ a young man by the name of John 
Davis, who 'had an oversight of everything about the tavern and was 
very useful in its management. Mr. Dunn lived to a very advanced 
age, dying when he had reached ninety years. His widow, very 
much the senior of her second husband, married John Davis, and 
the tavern was known thereafter as John Davis's for a number of j-ears, 
some of the older residents of the city now speaking even of the locality 
itself as the John Davis corner. Mr. Dunn was the father of a number 
of children, all of whom were prominent citizens socially and the sons 
politically as well. Charles W. Dunn, the eldest, was born in l^ath, 
Steuben County, but passed most of his life of eighty-five years in Che- 
mung County. He was a merchant and afterward a hotel keeper. 
He was landlord of the Franklin House in Horseheads for many years. 
Thomas Dunn, another son, married a daughter of Dr. Mlias Satterlee. 
He also was a merchant. None of his children are now residents of this 
count)'. 

William Dunn, another son, was an unusually brilliant young man 
and one of the finest of public speakers. He took great interest \n pol- 
itics, was a very enthusiastic Whig, and a great admirer of Henry Clay, 
whom in figure and face as well as in oratory he somewhat resembled. 



78 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

He was born in 1802 ; in February, 1825, he married Miss Marilla Hul- 
bert, of Cornwall, Conn., and died in December, 1856, having been 
struck in the breast by a piece of cornice falling from a burning build- 
ing in Elmira at a fire near the Lake Street biidge, and receiving injur- 
ies therefrom that proved fatal. He was collector of the port at Horse- 
heads in 1854—55, and at one time held a responsible position in one of 
the departments in Washington. He has two daughters now living in 
Elmira, the eldest one, deceased, having married a member of the promi- 
nent McKay family of Bath. 

James Dunn, another son, gave promise in his early manhood of 
being one of the notable men of the county. He studied law with the 
Judge Edwards heretofore mentioned, and soine of his efforts and suc- 
cesses at the bar were highly commended by his elders. He was county 
judge from 1844 to 1846. He, like his brother, was an enthusiastic 
Whig and subsequently a strong Republican. He died Ma\' I, 1S77. 
None of his children are now citizens of the count)'. The eldest, John 
Davis Dunn, who, as a young man, possessed all of the abilities of his 
father, after graduating at Hamilton College settled in Wisconsin, where 
by marriage he became connected with the family of Gov. A. W. Ran- 
dall, who subsequently was Postmaster-General under Johnson. Two 
other sons became citizens of the State of Georgia, where thej' attained 
considerable political prominence, and another son is connected with 
the Postoffice Department in Washington. A daughter became the 
wife of Frank H. Atkinson, who at one time was a conspicuous Elmiran. 
Their home is now in Chicago. The elder William Dunn was the 
father of two daughters : Alice married Isaac Baldwin and Susan was 
the wife of Lyman Covell, both men whose names will frequently occur 
hereafter. 

An occurrence in the valley in 1797 is a matter of record and interest, 
although it did not immediately concern the region or affect it to any 
great extent. The French Duke of Orleans, who became afterward 
Louis Phillippe, the king of the French, wandering in disguise about 
the world, a king out of business, accompanied by his brothers, the 
Duke de Nemours and the Duke de Berri, came like three tramps into 
the valley. They had walked all the waj^ from Canandaigua carrying 
their knapsacks on their backs. They came provided with letters to a 



VISITS OF FRENCH XOBLEMEX. 7!) 

gentleman of tlic village named Merry Tower, who himself had come 
from Canandaigua to engage in business in Newtown, but who remained 
only a few years. They "put up" as the phrase used to run, ^^r "were 
guests" as it is now said, at the Kline House, of which Nathan Teall 
was the landlord, and as they were doubtless somewhat wearied with 
their long walk- they made a tarry with him that extended to a number cif 
days. A boat was fitted up for them in the meantime, antl in it they 
floated away down the river to Harrisburg, where other means of con- 
\e_vance were found for them to continue their journej- to Philaticlphia. 
It would be a subject of curious inquiry whether or not when royalty 
once more shone upon the wanderer he remembered the kindness 
siiown him in the valley of the Chemung and repaid Mr. Tower or any 
other of those who assisted him on his way. 

It is worthy of remark, althoiiL;h a little out of the chronological 
order of events, that some forty years after tins time another one who 
occupied the French throne paid a visit to the Chemung Valley. This 
time it was Louis Napoleon. There are some yet living who remember 
the event and the man, describing him as a heavy, slow-moving, small- 
eyed indivitlual who seemed to have little interest in what was going on 
about him. 

These incidents have little of interest to attract the attention of pos- 
terity except it may be the satisfaction that arises from being able to 
say of one who has filled a large space in the eye of the world, "once 
tarried he here." They show, however, how true it was that in those 
early days, when the only means of communication between the west- 
ern part of the State and the South were furnished by nature, that the 
route leading through the Chemung V'alley was the only route so pro- 
vided. It was as natural as it is for water to run down hill to go that 
way. 

The little village of Catherines, which was then in the town of New- 
town and lay snugly near the head of Seneca Lake near where W'atkins 
is now, all this time had been growing in importance. Its site liad 
long been an Indian village named from Catherine Montour, the wife of 
a Seneca chief, and it was destroyed by General Sullivan's troops. It 
was speedily settled by white people, and very soon they sought com- 
munication with the East bv means of roads. One was laid out and 



80 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

constructed to Ithaca, where it connected with the old-time famous 
" Catskill turnpike" that ran through Greene, Chenango County, Una- 
dilla, Otsego County, and so over the hills to the shores of the Hudson 
River. This turnpike became eventually a very much used thorough- 
fare for stage lines and wagons drawing merchandise. The inhabitants 
of Catherines concluded that they had another outlet for their affairs 
than through the Chemung Valley, and were grown numerous enough 
to be set apart by themselves. They asked to be separated from the 
township of Newtown, and their prayer was granted on March i6, 
1798. It was the first slice taken off from the original territory of 
Newtown, the new township retaining the name of the village by which 
it is still known, although the lower portions thereof have since been 
taken therefrom and organized into the townships of Montour, Catlin, 
and Veteran. Catherines as it remains and Montour are now in the 
county of Schuyler. 

The final years of the century saw a continual increase in the coming 
of new settlers to the county. The section was not yet so large but what 
a nevv face was noticeable and, as well, welcome. Until these years the 
nearest flouringmill was at Tioga Point, and to that place the settlers 
had to carry their grain to have it ground, sometimes taking it by horse- 
back, but oftener by boat, and it was a tedious process in bringing it 
home up the river. When the mill was built near the mouth of New- 
town Creek it was an enterprise of more necessity, if not as much value 
or interest to the valley, than the completion of the Chemung Canal. 
One can easily imagine the gratification occasioned when the wheels 
were set at work and the first grist ground. A record of the event and 
the various comments made upon it by the settlers, put in such shape 
as are incidents and interviews now related by newspapers, would have 
made reading the interest of which would forever have been lively. 

Among the settlers coming into the valley at this time were the Ben- 
netts of Horseheads. John, the eldest one of the family, came first. He 
was a carpenter and joiner by .trade, and persons of that vocation had 
the heartiest of welcomes. He came from Orange County, his father 
having been Abraham Bennett, a farmer and of New England origin. 
When he died he left a family of eleven children. Most of them came 
into the Chemung Valley. Besides John, the eldest, the best known 



THE BENNETTS AND WILLIAM HOFFMAN. 81 

were Abrain, Daniel, and Comfort. There were daughters, too. One 
of tliem married WiUiam Rockwell, already named, and anotlier mar- 
ricn Silas Breesc. Their descendants are numerous in the valley and 
county. Comfort Bennett became the most prominent of all the family. 
He followed his brother John to the county in 1799 a youth of eighteen 
years. For a time he worked with his brother at his trade and then 
set up for himself as a farmer. He married Abigail Miller, daughter of 
.Alexander ]\Iiller, an early settler, and when he died in I'^ebruary, 1872, 
he was the largest landowner within a range of five counties. He had 
a family of twelve children, seven of whom grew up to manhood and 
womanhood, and he was able on their coming of age to give to each 
one of them, clear, a good farm, fully stocked, within a radius of si.K 
miles of the old homestead in Horseheads. His children and their de- 
scendants are numerous in the county, occupying positions of promi- 
nence and worth. 

There was another one, who in these years selected the valley for his 
home, who deserves more than merely to have his name recorded — 
William Hoffman. He was of German extraction as his name indi- 
cates, and came up the river from Northumberland County, Pa., first in 
1796, but he was not favorably impressed with the Chemung Valley 
and pushed on farther up the river to Hath. He was no better pleased 
there, however, and returned in 1798 and purchased for eighteen pence 
an acre a farm that is now prett)' nearly the whole northwestern part 
of the city of lilmira. He was a hatter by trade, and opened a little 
shop in Newtown, some of the effects of which are still preserved as 
precious relics in the family. He married into the Smith family, who 
are yet to receive attention herein, and after a few years devoted him- 
self to his farm, a business in which he was exceptionally successful. 
He was a soldier and a thorough lover of his country. He died on the 
4th of July, 1867, aged eighty- eight years. In his children, all of whom 
will occupy prominent places hereafter in this record, the virtues and 
excellencies of the father were perpetuated and continued. 

It is well and proper at the conclusion of this period to set down in 

their order the names of those who had been the civil officers of the 

territory so far since it had been set apart by itself They form a rill 

deserving of remembrance, although some of tliem (and they arc easil)- 

11 



82 OCR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

distinguished from the rest) were not citizens of the immediate locality 
of which I write. The county then was large in the number of its 
square miles, and there were other portions of it than Newtown Point 
or Chemung that deserved recognition at the hands of " the powers 
that were." 

The following named were the members of Assembly : In 1792, Jona- 
than Fitch ; 1793, John Patterson ; 1794-95, Vincent Matthews ; 1796- 
97, Emanuel Coryell; 1798, Benjamin Hovey; 1799, Matthew Carpen- 
ter; 1800, Samuel Tinkham. 

County judges : Abraham Miller from 1791 to 1798; John Patter- 
son from 1798 to 1807. 

County clerks: 1791-92, Thomas Nicholson; 1792, Matthew Car- 
penter, who held the office for twenty- seven years. 

Sheriffs: James McMasters from 1791 to 1795; Joseph Hinchman 
from 1795 to 1799; Edward Edwards from 1799 to 1800. 

Vincent Matthews was State senator from this portion of the State 
from 1796 to 1800. 

The county officers were all appointed at this period in our history, 
and there were no officers for the region in which the county was situ- 
ated known then as district attorneys. Any business of the nature 
now transacted by the officer of that name was a portion of the duties 
of the attorney-general of the State. 

It had been but a little over a decade since the first cabin of the white 
man had been erected in the valley of the Chemung, yet in that brief 
period what had been a complete wilderness had been largely subdued 
and the evidences of civilization were plentiful. One record of that time 
has it that the roads of the region were better and better kept than 
those of localities that had long been settled. The early settlers of the 
valley were forerunners in more than one sense of those that followed 
them, initiating a spirit of progress and enterprise that has been alive 
all of the time since, and promises in the future to be as vivacious and 
energetic as it ever has been. 



PART II. 

The County of Chemung During the First Hai. 
OF THE Nineteenth Century. 



Ah, happy hills I Ah, pleasing shade ! 

Ah. fields beloved in vain ! 
Where once my careless childhood strayed, 

A stranger yet to pain : 
I feel the gales that from ye blow, 
A momentary bliss bestow. 
As, waving fresh their gladsome wing, 

My weary soul they seem to soothe, 

And, redolent of joy and youth. 
To breathe a second spring. — Thomas Gray. 

Still o'er these scenes my memory wakes, 

And fondly broods with miser care; 
Time but the impression deeper makes. 

As streams their channels deeper wear. — Robert Burns. 



PART II. 

The County of Chemung During the First Half 
OF THE Nineteenth Century. 



CHAPTER I. 



Early Enterprises, some of which were not Successful — Manufacturing. Insurance, 
and Railroad Companies — Roads and Bridges — The old Ferry and its Master. 
John Kline — Building the Lake Street Bridge —A curious Character connected 
with It — Clinton Island and its forgotten Beauties and Uses — New Settlers — 
John Hughes — His distinguished Sons — The Rev. Simeon R, Jones — Continu- 
ing the Record of the Presbyterian Church — The Jones Family — The Smith 
Family — Dr. Elias Satterlee. 

THERE were some curious attempts at enterprise and progress in 
tlie first half of this century in the valley that I venture to say 
have not on!)' been forgotten, but of the existence of wliich there would 
be much doubt had we not the best of evidence substantiating them as 
facts, enactments of the legislature authorizing them. Instancing some 
of these are the following; 

On April 9, 1828, the legislature passed an act organizing the 
"Tioga Coal, Iron, Mining, and Manufacturing Company." The incor- 
porators named were John H. Knapp, Grant B. Baldwin, Henry W. 
Swan, Samuel H. Maxwell, and Levi J. Cooley, and the incorporation 
was for the purpose of " digging and vending coal, manufacturing iron, 
mining and working ores, manufacturing glass," etc., and it was em- 
powered to improve the Chemung River, build towpaths, locks, cul- 
verts, and dams for the purpose of making it more navigable. V'wc 



86 OCR COUXTY A.\D ITS PEOPLE. 

years afterward tlie same company was authorized to lay a railroad to 
the Pennsylvania State line. Five years after that there was another 
company authorized to be incorporated, to be called the " Chemung 
County Mutual Insurance Company." The incorporators named were 
John Arnot, Robert Covell, William Maxwell, Stephen Tuttle, William 
Jenkins, Simeon Benjamin, Samuel Partridge, Theodore North, and 
William Foster. 

There was one more company similarly authorized on May 12, 1837, 
showing how, in that comparatively early day, there were men of fore- 
sight in the valley, reaching out in those directions for advantages 
that have eventually come, but through some other channel. This was 
what was called the " Chemung and Ithaca Railroad Company," and 
contemplated a route from Ithaca down Wynkoop Creek to the Penn- 
sylvania line. The incorporators, all well known, solid men of Chemung, 
were William Guthrie, Asahel Buck, Dexter Newell, John C. Clark, 
Levi Bigelow, and J. B. Clark. Any one who knows of the locality and 
the "lay of the country" through which it was proposed to run the 
line must know that the enterprise presented fewer difficulties than 
those that years afterward were overcome to connect Ithaca with the 
Chemung Valley. 

In public matters they were busy in those early days with dams, 
bridges, and roads. The very first efforts were to provide proper food, 
and the second to spread out from their immediate surroundings and 
get into easy communication with the rest of the world. On the 22d 
of March, 1803, there was an act passed by the State legislature author- 
izing the building of a turnpike road from Newtown to the head of 
Seneca Lake, to meet or connect there with the Catskill turnpike. It 
was not built in 1806, and on April 2d of that year an act was passed ex- 
tending the time for the completion of the road to July I, 1807. A 

little inkling into the cause of the delay may be guessed from a short 

• 
paragraph in the act which sets forth that " instead of the road com- 
mencing at the house of William Dunn, in Newtown, it shall commence 
at or near the dwelling house of Asa Wisner." The Wisner influence 
was stronger than the Dunn " pull," and the road was built, being the 
beginning of what is now Lake street, although Mr. Dunn got even in a 
few years by getting the Asa Wisner corner for his tavern, which stood 



F/MSr ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 87 

tliere many \'eais thereafter. There was also a cliange in the commis- 
sioners who were authorized to open books of subscription for tlie road. 
Instead of Joim Konkie, Joseph Colt, Walter Greive, (iuy Maxwell, and 
Hawes Goldsborough there were appointed as such commissioners 
Robert Lawrence, Asa Wisner, and Abner M. Hetfield. So far as tiie 
roads were concerned there seemed to be more of an effort to make a 
way toward the interior of the State than southward. Perhaps in the 
latter direction it was thought that the river was a sufficient highway. 

In 1807 the mail communication with Wilkesbarre, Pa., was kept 
up by a postboy on horseback, who occupied four days in the journey 
each way. The path was not much better than an Indian trail, over 
which the toughest and strongest wagons found it no easy matter to 
pass. It ran up the east side of the river from Tioga Point, there being 
a ferry at that place. This route, running down Water street in Eimira, 
and so under the eastern hills, passing the '* upper narrows " near Che- 
mung and the " lower narrows " near Factoryville, or Waverly as it is 
now, always continued to be the highway for private conveyances and 
the stage coaches " down the river " toward Wilkesbarre and Owego 
and Binghamton. There were no bridges to cross. In the summer- 
time, with its varying hill and dale, now through level flats and then at 
the foot of precipitous hills with a picturesque landscape always at one 
side or the other and sometimes on both sides, the route was a most 
delightful one, and it is no wonder that persons who passed over it in 
those old times have left written records of it that are all agIo\^■ with 
enthusiasm over its quiet beauty. 

Hut in the winter and sometimes in the spring and fall the angry and 
turbulent Chemung made the narrows not wide enough under the 
mountains to permit, except in one or two places, of the passage of 
teams; terrible places, and robbed the whole route of its attractiveness. 
The route on the west side of the river was not opened until the cent- 
ury had got far along in its teens, and was never anything but a private 
thoroughfare. 

In 1812 the people were making other efforts to get communication 
with the interior of New York State. On June 16th of that year Abner 
Green, of Ithaca, Ebenezer Sayre, of Klmira, and Elijali Hinman, of 
Catherine, were empowered and directed by the legislature " to explore 



88 OUR COL'.XTV A.\D ITS PEOPLE. 

and- lay out in the most direct and practicable route a road from New- 
town to Ithaca," the latter named village being then in Seneca County. 
The word " explore " in the act is a very suggestive one. It was an 
exploration, indeed, in which the commissioners were to be engaged, for 
there must have been a great deal of wild and undiscovered country 
then to pass over and through. Even eleven years later the same re- 
mark must have been true, for on April 17, 1823, the legislature oft'ered 
a reward for the destruction, in the county of Tioga and one or two 
other " frontier " counties, of any full-grown wolf, wolf whelp, or pan- 
ther. P'ive dollars reward was offered for each one of these and $2 
reward for each wild- cat. Only inhabitants of the towns were to be en- 
titled to these rewards. The work of these commissioners is still e.xtant, 
running through Breesport and " Pony Hollow." 

In the matter of bridges the work of the early settlers is just as well 
deserving remembrance. As early as 18 17 the need of a structure of 
the kind named was felt in Newtown. There was a ferry at this time 
across the river, landing on the north side at the foot of Madison avenue 
and on the south side at the foot of Sly street. The boat was run by 
John Kline, who kept the ta\'ern on the Elmira side of the river. He was 
a German, and when he was called from the opposite side by passengers 
to be of service to them his reply was alwa)-s "direct!)', directly." It 
did n't always mean immediately, and his pronunciation of the word with 
its uncertainty made the term a slang expression of the locality that 
lasted long after the ferry was disused. 

On April 7, 18 17, the "Elmira Bridge Company" was formed by 
act of legislature, the incorporators being Matthew Carpenter, Samuel 
Tuthill, Georg C. Edwards, and Solomon L. Smith. The act provided 
that the north end of the bridge should be "not more than 125 }-ards 
from the dwelling house of Grant B. Baldwin, esq.," and in thirty years 
the work was to become the property of the State. This location if 
accepted would have changed the whole character of the town, for Mr. 
Baldwin lived on the north side of West Water street, about midway 
between Main Street and Railroad avenue, and the bridge could not go 
below where the railroad bridge is now on the one side, nor above where 
the Main street bridge is on the other. But the act was without effect 
for some reason or other, and there was no movement toward building. 



THE FIRST liRIDGE OVER CHE.MUXG RIVER. 8'J 

Three \-ears after, on April 14, 1S20, tlie ori<;inaI law was amended 
and the time for the completion of the brid<;;e extended to December i, 
1823. The amendment was that the iiortii end of tiie bridge should be 
near the dwelling house of John Davis. We know where that was, and 
there the location was fixed, at the junction of Lake and Water streets. 
But there was some hitch in this act also ; no work was done, and in 
three years more, on April 16, 1823, a new law was passed incorporat- 
ing the "Elmira and Southport Bridge Company." The first directors 
as appointed by the State were Stephen Tuttle. Ebenczer Sayre, and 
William Maxwell, of Elmira, and Samuel Strong, John 11. Knapp, and 
Piatt Bennett, of Southport. The supervisors of the two towns were 
empowered to lay taxes on the inhabitants thereof for the construction 
of the work. 

The first bridge was finished in 1824, its builders being Stephen Tut- 
tle, John Spicer, and Robert Coveli. There were three piers besides the 
abutments, one in the center of each channel and anotiier on tiie island. 
It sagged considerably in each span after a lime, and once a drove of 
cattJe broke down the first span during high water, and timbers and 
cattle floated away intermixed. There is connected with this bridge a 
curious character, an idiot boy, who for many years made it his race 
course, running for hours at a time along the parapets from one end to 
the other. He was usuallj' accompanied by a long string, to the farther 
end of which was tied a peculiar shaped paper. He would beg the 
string and paper (he could not talk) and prevail upon some one to tie 
the one to the other. If not done in a manner to his liking he would 
show great anger, utter a piercing cry, and bile his hands dreadfully. 
Properly equipped he would search for a wagon to get the tar from its 
hubs, which he would rub on his nose, and would then either seek to 
get on top of a high building from which he could see his paper fly or 
go to the bridge and run back and forth. He once fell off into the 
river where the water was deep, and was rescued when almost dead. 
Every one in the village knew him; he was kindly treated and fed when 
hungry. The bridge stood for si.xteen years, being badly injured in 
1840 by the fire that was called the "great fire" of the village for many 
years. A covered bridge replaced it. A noted builder of those days, 
J. H. Gallagher, superintended the reconstruction, and the work was a 



90 OCJ^ COU.XTY A.\D ITS PEOPLE. 

worthy one This also was burned hi 1850, being ignited from the 
flames of the tannery at the south end. One who was on the bridge at 
the time has said that the smoke and flames came through it as though 
through a flue of a furnace. He had to run at tlie top of his speed to 
keep out of tlieir reach. 

Nothing was known at the time of tlie first building of the bridge 
about " free bridges," or if known they were very lightly considered. 
Rut the toll charged for crossing was very detrimental to the prospects 
of Elmira. Farmers from up Seeley and South Creeks objected to it, and 
turned their horses' heads in another direction. It is not too much to 
say that the brisk little village of Troy, Pa., having a mere beginning 
then, dates its prosperity and growth from this toll bridge into Elmira 
across the Chemung, the further assisted by the plank road to the State 
line laid twenty years thereafter. The first toll-keeper was known all 
the country around as " Papa Dean," and he was a character by him- 
self He was succeeded by Squire Newton, who held the position many 
years. It seems to have been the habit of the bridge company to keep 
its officers long at their posts. Lyman Covell was president of the 
company for twenty- four years. 

Looking at the desolation that reigns thereabouts now it could hardly 
be believed that a flight of steps ran down from the west side of the 
bridge to a spot of the most attractive sylvan loveliness, the island. It 
was a green, grassy, cool retreat in the summer-time, where children went 
to play, where there were frequent picnics, and where were held all the 
public out-of door celebrations and exercises. It was a pleasant spot 
with flowing water on each side, and around great trees that belonged to 
the era of the primeval forests. To those who are able to look back to 
it, distance in time as well as in space adding enchantment to the view, 
what it was assumes perhaps a greater loveliness that is still more en- 
hanced by the contrast that is presented now. 

The current of the river, helped by the frequent freshets, washed 
away the eastern extremity of the island from the bridge. The spot 
was still used, however, as a place for public out-of door gatherings by 
means of what would now be called a pontoon bridge, laid usually just 
east of where Main street bridge is now, and after that bridge was built 
by a stairway down its eastern side. Public parks may be laid out with 



.IXOTHEK n RIDGE CONSTRUCTED. 91 

all the skill and taste that money can command, but I much doubt if to 
the older residents of the valley any artificial ground can be pieparcd 
that will at all equal what nature once bountifully [)ro\idcd in the now 
desolate and rather repulsive island. 

The bridge in its earlier days made the best point of view from which 
to watch the river in its swollen stages and the movements of the arks 
and rafts as they swept swiftly down the stream. The valley in these 
days furnishes no such spectacles as were those. 

This bridge at Newtown urged others in the valley toward similar 
enterprises. On April 26. 1825, the " Chemung Toll Bridge Company " 
was incorporated b\- act of legislature, and the commissioners appointed 
to secure subscriptions were John H. Knapp, Abijah liatterson, Henry 
Wells, John H. Avery, and Isaac Baldwin. These gentlemen met July 
1st of the same year at the house of Isaac Shepherd and began their 
work. The outcome was a bridge near where is now the Williwanna 
station on the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad, and these 
two bridges svere the first that were ever thrown over the Chemung 
River. 

The incoming of the new century saw also the arrival of manj' new 
men to help push along theprosperity of the valley. All of them deserve 
naming, and many of them much more than that. Among those even 
yet well remembered, through his children if not for himself, was John 
Shockey, a painter by trade. lie came to Newtown in 1801 from Lan- 
caster, Pa , traveling all the way by boat. His sons were very active 
politicians; one of them, William, was for so long a time one of the cor- 
oners of the county that it seemed as if his name was always on the 
ticket for that office. Another son, George VV., in his thirteenth year, 
18 1 2, carried the mail on horseback from Newtown to Geneva. John 
Davis was the contractor. Between the two points there were only four 
postoffices. It was a lonesome ride. John Shockey himself some years 
afterward, and before the establishment of stage lines, carried the mail 
over the same route in a one-horse wagon. 

There came another into the valley in 1S03 whose family name has 
been carried down to this generation with pride and honor — John 
Hughes, without doubt the first Irishman to make his home in that 
region. His mother was a member of the O'llanlun family, lords of 



92 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

the Orior, and through her, liad he been able to remain in Ireland, he 
would have inherited many thousands of acres. But he sided with the 
patriots of 1798 and, compelled by their disasters, fled from the green 
isle. Officers were in search of him, and he escaped by the back door 
of his house as they entered the front door. In the darkness of the 
night one of his pursuers struck him in the back of his neck, making a 
great gash and wound, the scar of which remained with him to his 
death. He crept to the hut of one of his comrades, where he lay con- 
cealed while his hurt healed, and until he was able to embark for this 
countr}'. He is remembered as being an unusually handsome man. 
He married a daughter of John Konkle, already named, and sister 
of Aaron Konkle. They lived for many years in a house at the 
corner of Gray and State streets in Elmira. John Hughes came from 
Ireland a Catholic, but became a Methodist, and is affectionately re- 
membered by that church, for which in its early struggles he did 
much as " Father Hughes." One of his daughters married one by the 
name of Mandeville and went to live in Geneva. At her house Mr. 
Hughes died in 1854. His body was brought to Elmira and buried 
witli Masonic rites, he being a member of Union Lodge. One of his 
granddaughters by this daughter became and is now the wife of Solo- 
mon L. Gillett, of Elmira. Another granddaughter was the wife of 
Daniel E. Ufford, also of Elmira. John Hughes's eldest son, George, 
born in Elmira, became a distinguished officer in the United States 
army. He was appointed to West Point by Judge Caleb Baker, mem- 
ber of Congress from 18 19 to 1821, and rode in a lumber wagon from 
his home to Newburgh, occupying more than a week in the journey. 
He reached the Point by sloop and landed there with his trunk by his 
side and twenty-five cents in his pocket. He gave half of this to a 
porter to carry the trunk to the barracks and the officers of the post 
trusted him for his outfit. He served with distinction in the Mexican 
war and attained the rank of colonel. When he returned to Elmira a 
public dinner was given him at Haight's Hotel. It is the only event of 
the kind in the annals of the county or city. Eminent local men made 
speeches, and the affair was a great one for the period. 

John Hughes's second son, named for his uncle, Aaron Konkle 
Hughes, was appointed to the naval service of the United States in 1836 



SOME EARL \ ' PRESB YTERIAX MINISTERS. 03 

by Hon. Hiram Gray, the member of Congress. There was no naval 
academy at Annapolis then. The lad, emulating the e.vample of his 
elder brother, rode in a lumber wagon o\'er the hills to Williamsport 
and was more than a week in getting to Baltimore, where he had been 
ordered to report. He was sent almost immediately to sea and 
" roughed " it severely for several years. During the late war he served 
with great gallantry and won the rank of rear-admiral by distinguished 
services in a number of sharp contests. A retired officer of the navy 
he is now living in Washington, resting contented!)' on his well earned 
laurels. 

In 1804 came the Rev. Simeon R. Jones, the first one bearing that 
name to settle in the valley. He was a minister attached to the Presby- 
terian Church and took up the work left by the Rev. Clark Brown and 
his successor, the Rev. John Smith. Mr, Jones was also a school teacher 
and followed that vocation, uniting the two professions in one. He came 
original!}- from Norwalk, Conn., but removed with his family to Morris- 
town, N. J., where his education was completed. He was well fitted for 
liis church work in those primitive times, being a strong, hearty man 
with a sonorous voice and almost unlimited powers of endurance. But 
the church did not prosper under his ministrations. He was inclined to 
the Congregational method of doing business, being of a ver\' indepen- 
dent turn of mind, and took the church from its Presbyterian affilia- 
tions. There was much trouble and dissatisfaction, which after con- 
tinuing for five years was somewhat calmed and alleviated by a return 
to the Presbyterian fold and a uniting with the Ontario Association. 
This continued four years more, when the church became connected with 
the Geneva Presbytery, was transferred to the Bath Presbytery, and 
finally to a Presbyter}- of its own, the Chemung. There was an actual 
disruption of the church for one year when the Rev. Ambrose Porter, 
who came from the same Presbytery in New Jersey to which Mr. Jones 
belonged, came to the town and acted as pastor. The majority of the 
church went to him, but the minority clung to Mr. Jones. At the end 
of the year Mr. Porter left the field and the division was more or less 
healed. It was entirely so when in i8i6 the Rev. Hezekiah Woodruff 
was called and succeeded Mr. Jones in his labors. There is a rather 
pathetic love story related of Mr. Woodruff. It is said that he became 



94 OUR COU.XTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

very much attached to a daughter of the Hon. Vincent Matthews and 
that, in consequence of a disappointment in that direction, his mind be- 
came affected, his mania or hallucination taking very peculiar turns. He 
built a hut in the lower part of Church street in which he had three 
rooms, one for himself, one for his horse, and one for his hens. He 
busied himself with killing and dissecting chickens, preserving their 
skeletons as specimens — of what no one seemed to know but himself. 
He was very fond of dancing and was an expert in saltatory exercises, 
so much so that he, for this cause, was dismissed from the ministry. On 
this action he studied law and then medicine, but failed in both direc- 
tions. Moving to Erin afterward he bought some land there and lived 
the life of a hermit for nearly a quarter of a century, occasionall}' visit- 
ing Elmira. During this time he made a translation of the Greek Testa- 
ment, putting it into the modern vernacular. This he sold by subscrip- 
tion among his friends, and there are still a number of copies extant in 
the county. It shows the work of a scholar rather than of a misan- 
thrope or an insane man. His mental disturbance never took any vio- 
lent turn. It was more like melancholia than insanity. He died about 
i860. 

The Rev. Henry Ford succeeded Mr. Woodruff in 1820 in the care 
of the church, and remained over it for seven years. Mr. Ford was also 
in charge of the church at " Southport Corners," which was having 
then its feeble beginnings. Previous to his time the church had wor- 
shipped in the court-house. During his incumbency the lot was bought 
at Church and Baldwin streets and a wooden edifice erected. This in a 
few )'ears was removed up Baldwin street, on the lot just south of the 
Methodist Church, and converted into an academy. During his incum- 
bency also, in 1S24, the church got fiilh' back into the Presbyterian 
fold, being recognized as belonging to them by the Presbytery of Geneva. 
The Rev. Eleazer Lathrop came to the church in 1827, succeeding Mr. 
Ford. He remained until 1832, but not being in the most robust 
health was assisted in the latter year of his ministry b)' the Rev. John 
Barton. The Rev. Marshall L. Farnsworth came ne.xt, in 1832, remain- 
ing two years. His wife was a sister of the wife of William Halsey, of 
Ithaca, a member of a very prominent family of Central New York. At 
the time the parsonage of the church was where is now the corner 



OTHER PRESBYTERIAX PASTORS A.XD OFFICERS. 95 

of State and Gra\' streets. Here was born Gen John G. Farnsworth, 
aJjutant-general of tlie State under Governor Cleveland and still con- 
nected with the military affairs of the commonwealth. 

The Rev. Ethan Pratt, who liad been pastor of tlie Horseheads chtircli 
after Mr. Farnsworth resigned, supplied the pulpit until September, 1835, 
when tlie Rev. John Frost was installed. Mr. Pratt's son is now one of 
the prominent merchants of Elmira, being Timothy Pratt, the junior 
member of the firm of Durland & Pratt. Mr. Frost was the fir.st to 
occupy tlie old parsonage that used to stand on William street above 
Second. He remained until February, 1839, and on December of the 
same year he was succeeded by the Rev. Dr. Philomel H. P'owler. 
There is a pleasant recollection of the first coming of this distinguished 
clergyman into the village with his family after he had accepted the 
call extended to him. The stage from the " head of the lake" arrived 
about six o'clock, the old-fasiiioned "tea-time " of our ancestors. The 
new minister and his faniil)' were expected to arrive by that convey- 
ance. The ladies of the church had the house set in order and ever)'- 
thing prepared for the welcome, tea table set, bright fires burning, and a 
toothsome repast prepared. At last the stage was sighted at the junc- 
tion of Lake and William streets, the black " leaders " dancing along 
with shiny coats and the bay " wheel horses" coming heavily after, but 
doing most of the work. Handkerchiefs were waved, and when the 
stage drew up the welcome was hearty and generous and fully appre- 
ciated. Dr. Fowler's pastorate lasted almost exactly eleven years, being 
concluded December 9, 1850. He arose afterward to much distinction 
in the church, was moderator of the General Assembly, and held that 
office when the " old school " and " new school " were united. 

The names of those who were officers of the church during these 
years may be grateful to the remembrance of posterity. Hrinton Paine 
and Stoddard Conkling were the earliest deacons. In 1814 Brinton 
Paine, Selah Matthews, Abram de Labar, John McConnell, and Joel 
Jones were elders. In 1832 John Seloverand Asa Willard were ruling 
elders. In 1836 Dr. Norman Smith, Simeon Henjamin, Hector I. Max- 
well, and Sylvester G. Andrus were ruling elders. In 1841 Hiram 
Potter and Solomon L. Gillett were ruling elders, and in 1S49 Orrin 
Robinson and Lester Smith were so chosen. 



96 OUR COUXTV AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

During Dr. Fowler's pastorate the excitement in relation to the 
question of slavery raged high, and it was the resultant cause of a split in 
the church, or rather of a branch being cut off from the main trunk. 
Since 1S14 to this time there had been received into the church in the 
neighborhood of 500 members. Of these forty were dismissed on Jan- 
uary 4, 1846, to form an Independent Congregational Church. Among 
these were John M. Robinson, Dr. N. Smith, S. G. Andrus, Thomas B. 
Covell, Stephen W. Hanford, Aaron F. Potter, Grandison A. Gridley, 
J. C. Sampson, E. P. Hutchison, Hiram Crane, and Fo.x Holden. This 
little nucleus, in its infancy struggling to keep afloat, grew eventually 
into the now prominent, useful, and prosperous Park Church, and it has 
been greatly blessed. 

Its first services were held in a hall, one time called " Temperance 
Hall," which stood on the north side of Carroll street about midway 
between Lake and Baldwin streets. The society in 1848 built a " lect- 
ure room" on Baldwin street, a bare, uninviting place, where the Arnot 
barns now stand, and in 1850 built a church on the ground now occu- 
pied by Park Church. The pastors of the society have been few. The 
first one was the Rev. F. W. Graves, who remained one year. His wife 
was a sister of the Hon. Stephen T. Hayt, of Corning, N. Y., and his son, 
E. P. Graves, now county clerk of Steuben Countv, was an officer of the 
One Hundred and Seventh Regiment. For a year the new church was 
without a pastor, the public services being led by the members, chief 
among whom in this duty being Dr. Norman Smith. In 1S4S the 
Rev. A. M. Ball was pastor; in 1849 the Rev. E. H. Fairchild. In 
May, 1850, the Rev. William Bement, one of the sweetest in disposition 
of all men, possessing characteristics that fitted him eminenth' for the 
calling of his life, came to the church as its pastor. His son, E. P. Be- 
ment, is now one of the business men of Elmira. 

The Rev. Simeon R. Jones was not the only one of that family deserv- 
ing a place in the records of the county. One of his brothers who 
followed him to the valley from New Jersey was Joel Jones, who was a 
tailor by trade, having his shop in Elmira on the river bank east of tiie 
railroad bridge. His business was good and he was active in the affairs 
of the village, especially in those of the church over which his brother 
had the care. He bought a farm up the valley of Seeley Creek, where 



REV. SI.UEO.X R. JOXES AX/> H/S BROTHERS. 97 

he spent the latter )-ears of his life. His children were numerous, being 
Ward, who became a merchant in l^rookiyn, N. Y.; Elijah, who is a 
lumber merchant in New York cit)' ; Ricliinond, long time a meichant 
in Klniira. whose wife will long be remembered in connection with the 
public charities of that city, and whose son, Millard, is winning distinc- 
tion and fortune as a lawyer in New York ; Jolin R., thirty-five years 
ago the most enterprising merchant in Elmira, whose wife was a member 
of tlie Wisner family of whom I have heretofore spoken ; and George, 
tlie youngest. 

Anotiier brother of the Rev. Simeon R. Jones was Elijah. He \v;is 
a jeweler by trade, but became better known as the landlord of the 
old Mansion House at the corner of Lake and Market streets, a voca- 
tion that fitted in better with his tastes and disposition than any (ither. 
He had the Mansion House during all the period of the stage coaching 
days, and was probablj" better known throughout all the region around 
than any other one man. He was fine looking, and his manners were 
particularly urbane and comteous, not only to the judges and other dis- 
tinguished men who " put up " at his inn, but to the humblest and most 
unfortunate. His wife was the daughter of Samuel Tuthill, one of the 
'93 settlers of the valley in the town of Southport; and she was married 
when only sixteen years of age. Their children were mostly girls. One 
of them was the wife of William L. Gibson, recently deceased, a mer- 
chant of Elmira; another became Mrs. W. i I. Thome; another, was the 
second wife of Hiram Crane; and another was the first wife of Grandison 
A. Gridley. The four sons : Samuel T.; named for his paternal grand- 
father, married the widow of E. R. Hrainard, who built what has since 
become the Rathbun House, and is mnv in the custom house in New 
York city ; Raymond, following the vocation of his father, was for many 
years the landlord of the hotel at Southport Corners, and marrying into 
a Quaker family removed to the far West ; and Maj. Cantine Jones and 
Hiram Jones. 

Still another brother of the Rev. Simeon R. was Philo Jones. He 
was born in Norwalk, Conn., in 1791, and came with his father and the 
family ten years later to Morrislown, N. J. Some of his education he 
received there, but when he was fifteen lie came to Newtown to con- 
tinue his studies under his elder brother, Simeon. In 18 12 I'hilo Jones 
1:1 



98 OL'K COUXTY A.XD ITS PEOPLE. 

married a daughter of Gen. Matthew Carpenter, and they lived in the 
house at Water and Columbia streets, in Elmira, that remained standing 
until within a few years, until 1817. In that year he sold out in the 
village and bought land in the town of Southport about six miles up 
Seeley Creek. It was almost an unbroken wilderness then. But he set 
to work to hew a fortune out of the hemlock forest, and succeeded, his 
farm becoming one of the most productive and valuable in the valley. 
On this spot he lived more than half a century, dying in 1872 at the age 
of eighty years. He repeatedly served as supervisor of his town, and 
in 1850 represented his county in the Assembly. His children, Finley, 
Philo, jr., Laura, Julia, and Mrs. Helms, live now in the neighborhood 
where their father settled on Seeley Creek, having a village almost to 
themselves, with a store, saw- mill, blacksmith shop, and postoffice, the 
latter made possible and convenient by the Tioga branch of the Erie 
Railroad. 

The Joneses having done so well for the valley is suggestive of the 
fact that the Smiths are not far, if at all, behind them. The family of 
this name tliat settled early here came from Monroe township in Orange 
County. Members of it had been conspicuous in the eastern part of the 
State during the Revolutionary war. Five brothers, all men of great 
stature, one six feet four inches in height, came into the county, and 
their descendants made the Smiths numerous at a very early date. Tim- 
othy, one of the five brothers, settled in the valley of South Creek in 
1790. A barn that he built in 1799 and so marked stands on the farm 
that he occupied. His sons were Solomon L., Job, and Uriah, and his 
daughters Elizabeth, Hannah, Peggy, Abbey, and Susan. Solomon L. 
became a very prominent citizen of the county, represented his town in 
the Board of Supervisors a number of terms, and figured largely in 
many public enterprises of his day. He died November 6, 1847. ^ 
son of his, Jud Smith, also represented his town in the Board of Super- 
visors a number of terms and in 1867 was elected sheriff of the county. 
Uriah Smith, another of Timoth3''s sons, was born in Southport in 1799. 
He studied medicine and began the practice of his profession in Elmira 
in 1821. His memory deserves to be kept ever green in the annals of 
the valley. 1 lis whole life was passed in Elmira, and in its evenness and 
gentleness, its seif-sacrificing and kindly characteristics, it was in bar- 



THE SMITH FA MIL V. 99 

mony with the scenes by wliich it was surrounded. He died .Se[>tenibcr 
14, 1S64. l-".lizabeth, a daugliter of Timothy Sniitli, became the wife of 
Dr. Ehas Satterlee. Dr. Satterlee, one of the earUest physicians of tlie 
valley, was born in Connecticut in 1773. His father came to the Wyo- 
ming Valley with a number of other settlers from Connecticut, bringing 
him, the youngest of the twelve children. At the time of the terrible 
massacre the family fled, taking refuge at Tioga Point. Here the father 
died. The lad was taken east by friends, was educated, and returned in 
1800, coming to Newtown in 1803 a full-fledged pln-sician. In 1805 he 
married Miss Elizabeth Smith. Their eldest child, Benedict, on his way 
with his wife as a missionary to the Pawnee countrj', suddenly and totally 
disappeared. No trace of him was ever discovered. Timothy, another 
son, was a very active politician in his day. He died in 1857. The 
three daughters were respective])' the wives of Dr. Jotham Purdy, Thomas 
Dunn, and the Rev. Dr. Lewis, of Wisconsin. I!)r. Elias Satterlee was 
killed November 15, 18 15, by the accidental discharge of a gun in a 
smith's shop. His wife survived him for si.vty years, dying in 1S67. 
Hannah, another daughter of Timothy Smith, became the wife of Will- 
iam Lowe and was the mother of Uriah S. Lowe, of excellent memory. 
Peggy, still another of Timothy's daughters, became the first wife of 
William Hoffman, his second wife being a cousin of hers of the same 
family name. 

John Smith, of the same family, settled in Chemung township in 1S14, 
having bought a farm of 535 acres for $10,000, subsequently occupied 
by William Lowman. Every year for a long time John Smith, on his 
farm, raised fifty acres of wheat and sent it down the river in arks to a 
market. Many of his family were the early settlers of the town of Bald- 
win. A son of his, Timothy, went to Baldwin about 1830 and died in 
1 88 1. He not only owned the large farm upon which he lived for more 
than fifty years, but land also in Van Etten. A sister of his named 
Abigail married Levi Little, an ancestor of the competent Levi D. Little, 
chief of police of the city of Elmira, and his brother, Enoch Little. 
Another sister, Sally, was the wife of Abraham Webb. 

L ofC. 



100 OUR COiWTV AND ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER II. 

Changes in the Civil Organizations of the County — Elniira Named — Adjusting the 
LocaUty of the County Clerk's Otfice — Dr. Jotham Purdy — New towns F"ornied 

— Catlin — Veteran — Big Flats — Dix — Southport — Cayuta — Preparing for 
the new County — A new Court-House — What it was Like — The "Jail Limits" 

— The Poor-House — Organizing a Methodist Church — Isaac Roe and his Fam- 
ily — The First Methodist Class — Methodist Ministers — Dr. J. Dorman Steele — 
Elias S. Huntley — Other prominent Methodists — Robert Covell and his Family 

— Stephen Tuttle — John Arnot and his Family — Dr. Erastus L. Hart — Capt. 
Samuel Partridge. 

DURING the earliest years of this century there was not very 
much done in regard to the civil organizations of the territory 
comprised by the county, but what there was was interesting and some 
of it curious. It has already been intimated what was the origin of the 
name of the city of Elmira. The official change of the name of the 
township came in 1808, the legislature passing the act necessary on 
April 6, the village, however, retaining the name of Newtown. It may 
as well be observed here in connection with this that the village of 
Newtown was incorporated in March, 181 5, and its name changed to 
Elmira not until April 21, 1828. 

The change in the name of the township in 1808 was made b\' Judge 
Emanuel Coryell, member of Assembly at the time. He lived on the 
Susquehanna River between Athens and Owego, and it is said was a 
connection by marriage with the family of Nathan Teall, from whose 
daughter the new name came. The act of the legislature making the 
change was an exceedingly general one, thirty-three towns in the State 
undergoing similar transformations by the same means, and it was 
passed because, as it recites, "considerable inconvenience results from 
several of the towns of the State having the same name." It is worthy 
of observation that in the numerous changes none of the towns fared 
quite as well as did Newtown, and in some of them the change was any- 
thing but to be commended, as witness that of Stafford and Stonington 
in Chenango County, names redolent with recollections of our ancestors, 



.■l.y /A'TF.RESn.XG STORY OF ELM IRA. 101 

to Smyrna and I'liarsalia, smacking unpleasantly of pedantry and the 
classical dictionary, and most decidedly out of place. 

A pretty little story is told of the change of the name of Ne\vto«n, of 
how much truth who shall say? It has lingered in the air and in tradi- 
tion for nearly a century, and there is no one living who can deny it. 
Judge Emanuel Coryell drove frequently from his home to Newtown 
Point, lie must keep in touch with his constituents. Of course he 
stopped at the best tavern in the hamlet, that kept by his kinsman, Na- 
than Teall. The tavern in those da)s was the place where the men of 
the town gathered as men of the present day meet in their club houses. 
The}' gossiped, told stories, discussed the public and private aftairs of 
the neighborhood, smoked, and doubtless lowered materially the contents 
of the bottles that stood on the shelf behind the bar. It was always a 
comfortable room, large, filled with easy chairs, warm and cosy in win- 
ter and bright and airy in summer, and it had an odor that seemed to 
have become soaked into the floor, the furniture, the walls, and the ceil- 
ing: a compound smell that was not precisely disagreeable, borrowed 
from old buffalo robes, horses, a pinch of tobacco smoke, and the fumes 
of rare old whisky. Sometimes one goes into a tavern nowadays that 
has a somewhat similar odor, and when it strikes the organ of smell 
how it revives the recollection of the days when the village inn was the 
most important and most visited place in the neighborhood, and the 
stage driver the best known and most considered man in the county! 

In such a place as Nathan Teall's tavern in Newtown the Hon. Eman- 
uel Coryell, member of Assembly, was the surest to meet the most of 
his constituents. He heard them discuss the name of their town and 
express desire for some change, Often at such times Elmira Teall, a 
bright, black-eyed, dark-haired child of five or six years of age, would 
run in and out of the room, followed as frequently by the voice of her 
mother calling her name "Elmira! Elmira!" In one of her appear- 
ances she clambered into the lap of Judge Coryell, " snuggled " down, 
and fell asleep. He could not fail to be attracted by her beauty and 
her brightness so promising of her future. She was born and bred 
right there, her life being almost co-existent with the township itself. 
At his suggestion her name became its name, and there was no dissen- 
tient voice in the throng. This Teall family afterward removed to On- 



102 OUR COUXTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

tario County, living in Geneva a number of years. One of the children, 
Dr. Horace N. Teall, was a physician in the village of Penn Yan, Yates 
County, for more than half a century, dying there a few years ago at an 
advanced age. 

There was not a similar unanimity in regard to other matters of 
county interest, being much movement here and there preparatory to a 
permanent adjustment of affairs. Altliough courts had been held in 
Newtown for more than five years, and a regular court-house had been 
built there, the place was legally and officially made a half-shire town, 
with Binghamton as the other but not the better half until I So I. Then 
there was constant interference with the county clerk's office. It would 
seem that this office was a moveable quantity, perhaps being kept at 
the house of the incumbent, and to find it in the somewhat extensive 
territory of the county required a " search " indeed, as it appears by an 
act of the legislature passed March 20, 1 804, it was required that it 
must be kept within tliree miles of Owego, — not a very definite location 
at the best. Then on April 7, 1806, it was enacted that the county 
clerk should keep his office in Newtown, any law to the contrary not- 
withstanding. Then came the turn of Spencer. This was in 1813, 
after Broome County was taken from Tioga, which was done in 1S08, 
giving to Binghamton a county all to itself Courts were then decreed 
to be held alternately at Newtown and Spencer. Spencer was then a 
much more promising and prominent place than Owego, compactly 
settled and with easy communication with the East, but it was out of 
the line of subsequent improvement and progress. The court-house 
and jail there were built in 1813 by Andrew Purdy, the father of Dr. 
Jotham Purdy, one of the old-time physicians of Elmira. Dr. Purdy 
was born in Westchester County in 1799 and came to Spencer with 
his father in 1804. He was educated at the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons, New York city, and came to reside permanently in Elmira in 
1823. He died August 11, 1858, fifty-nine years of age. His wife was 
Fanny, the eldest daughter of Dr. Elias Satterlee. Dr. Purdy was a 
Mason of Masons. He was one of the charter members of the newly 
re-organized Union Lodge, of which he was repeatedly master, and at 
the time of his death was high priest of Elmira Chapter, R. A. M. He 
was also a Knight Templar. During his whole career he enjoyed the 



Tin: CIVIL ORGANIZATIOSS. loa 

reputation of being tlie finest surgeon in ail the region, liis sl<ill l)eing 
sought from far and near. Perhajis as a consequent to tliis abiiit}', for 
they often run togetlier, he was a great iiuntcr and enjoyed notiiing 
better than tramping the region around about in searcii of game, very 
plentiful then, deer being abundant as well as numerous smaller varie- 
ties. His son. Dr. Henry H. Purdy, followed worthily in liis father's 
footsteps, successfully practicing his profession until his death in 1886. 

In 1822 the county buildings in Spencer were burned, and the legis- 
lature decreed on March 22d that the courts should be held alternately 
in Newtown and Owego. On April 15th of the next year Parlee E. 
Howe, of Onondaga County, Henry Towar, of Ontario County, and 
Charles Kellogg, of Cayuga County, were appointed commissioners to 
select a site for the clerk's office. They secured one in Owego and 
that settled the county clerk business permanently. The ne.xt year, 
April 21, 1825, the legislature authorized a fire-i^roof office to be built, 
which was speedily done. 

There was just as much changing, re-arranging, and modifying of the 
civil organizations of the county during this period, to fi.\' them as they 
were to be permanently, brought about by the increase of population 
and by the ambitious desires of the prominent men to have local gov- 
ernment of their own. It was a long journe\' to make from the north- 
ern extreme of the township to the place where the town meetings were 
held, and communication was not as easy as it is now. 

The township of Chemung had a slice taken from its northern part 
on March 29, 1822, to form the town of Erin. Why so named it would 
be difficult to tell. Perhaps its green and productive hillsides bore 
some likeness to Ireland, but its rugged landscapes with its narrow val- 
leys and constantly recurring hills are hardly suggestive of the gently 
rolling land one sees in the "gem of the sea." The first town meeting 
was held on the third Tuesday in May at the house of John Handfield. 
That IS a good name in ICrin antl \'an I'.tten, belonging to a famil)- that 
has long been prominent in those localities. A son of the one men- 
tioned, of precisely the same name, represented the county in the As- 
sembly in 1879. The next town meeting of the new organization was 
held at the house of Betsey Warren. On the last Tuesday in May the 
supervisors and overseers of the ])oor of Chemung and Erin met at the 



104 OCR COrXTV A.\D ITS PEOPLE. 

house of Jacob Lowman to divide the moneys that had belonged to the 
old township. 

The next month of the same year, April i6, 1822, the township of 
Elmira had two big slices cut from its territory : a northwestern part 
made the town of Big Flats and the whole of the southern portion south 
of the river became Southport. The name of the first new civil organ- 
ization suggested itself, although I am inclined to think it was an every- 
day if not vulgar adaptation of the ancient name of the locality, " Great 
Plains." This is what the Indians called all that section of country that 
spreads out to such large extent to the north and northwest of Elmira, 
and the new comers readily adopted it. They were "great plains" 
indeed to the settlers who had been all their lives accustomed to the 
rolling and tumbling country in Orange County or the hilly and rocky 
landscapes of New England. They are not "great plains" in com- 
parison with the wide stretch of level land in Ohio or Illinois, but these 
were unknown and unsuspected then. The transition is an easy one 
from "Great Plains " to "Big Flats," and would be readily suggested 
to men who wanted to be curt and perhaps felt themselves a little smart 
in using the change. 

Southport seems strange to those who connect the suffi.x of the word 
only with a place on the borders of the sea, but in times past the little 
place which gave its name to the township was a port. On that side of 
the river it was no uncommon thing for rafts and arks to lay up for the 
night, and there, too, arks were loaded with grain that had been raised 
on the rich flats that lay behind it. It came early to be used in contra- 
distinction to the Newtown or Elmira side of the river. It was an easy 
thing to identify it in those days by answering to one questioning: 
" Why, Robert Covell or John Sly is over at the south port loading an 
ark." Everv one knew where that was. The first town meeting in 
Southport was held on the second Tuesday in May, 1822, at the house 
of John Wair, near where now is located the Bulkhead Hotel, and the 
first town meeting in Big Flats was held on the same day at the house 
of George Gardner; and in September afterward the supervisors met at 
the tavern of John Davis to make an equitable division of the public 
moneys belonging to the old township. 

Still the next year, on April 16, 1S23, the southern end of the town- 




L.-^Cci^^t^'i.-^'^ £^^ 



TOIVXSH/PS ORGANIZED AND NAMED. 105 

ship of Catherine was cut away from it and made into two new town- 
ships, Veteran on the east half and Cathii on tlie west half. Samuel 
Lawrence, Claudius Townsend, and Theodore Valleau were appointed 
the commissioners to determine and make tlie necessary divisions. 

Veteran was so named in honor of a Revolutionary soldier, a veteran 
indeed, Green l-5entley, who resided within the limits of the new town- 
shij), who had come early in the century to the localit)-, and who was 
iield in high honor and respect. Ilis descendants are men of repute 
and worth in the county. 

Catlin took its name from I'hincas Catlin, an active, energetic man, a 
farmer with some knowledge of surveying as well. He came early into 
the county, was prominent in laying out and improving his section by 
building roads and bridges, and served a number of times in the Board 
of Supervisors. The northern half of Catlin was subsequent!}', on April 
'7. 1835, taken to form the township of Di.v, named in honor of Gen. 
Jolin A. Di.v, who had many admirers in that localit)'. It became and 
is now a portion of the county of Schuyler. The first town meeting of 
Catlin was held on the second Tuesday in May, 1823, at the house of 
Uzual Dickerson, and that of Veteran on the same day at the house of 
Theodore Valleau. 

The county as it afterward became was made more symmetrical, 
rectangular in shape, the next year, 1824, March 20, by taking from 
the township of Spencer a triangular-shaped territory and forming it 
into the township of Cayuta. It afterwartl became and is now a por- 
tion of Schuyler County. Alreadj' by these means it would seem that 
the region was getting ready to cut loose from its Tioga associations to 
become a county by itself. It was prepared in another way. In 1824 
a new court-house was built to supercede the one located on Sullivan 
street. It was a jjretentious building for the time, and the people of the 
county took much justifiable pride in it. It stood where the court- 
house now stands in Elmira, and is still in occupation, having been 
moved to Market street, and is used for tiie purposes of the city gov- 
ernment. It is hardly fair to judge it now, in its worn, old, and some- 
what dilapidated state, as it was when it lifted its fair and symmetrical 
proportions among the fields tiiat surrounded it on all sides. When it 
was first built it commanded the admiration of all who saw it. It had, 

14 



106 OUR COUXTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

as it has now, a cupola in wliich a clear and musical bell sounded to 
notify the people of the opening of the court or to call the worship- 
pers together on Sunday. It is full of memories that are precious 
and deserve preservation. If only the names of those who sat upon 
the bench within its precincts and tried to hold the scales of jus- 
tice evenly, or of those who within its bar pleaded earnestly and 
eloqently for their clients, could be called, from justices William M. 
Shankland, Hiram Gray, and Charles Mason, from judges John W. 
Wisner, Ariel Standish Thurston, and Theodore North to justices 
Boardman and Murray and judges G. L. Smith and Thomas Spaulding, 
from Vincent Matthews and George C. Edwards, Alexander S. Diven, 
and Samuel G. Hathaway to John Murdoch, Solomon B. Tomlinson, 
Erastus P. Hart, and H. Boardman Smith, what an array of distin- 
guished men would answer to the names, many of whom have won for 
them a distinction wider than that furnished by the local field of Che- 
mung County. The basement of the new court-house was occupied by 
an under sheriff, jailer, or turnkey. In the north and southeast corners 
of the building on the first floor were strong rooms, laid in with heavy 
logs and protected with iron bars, used as cells for prisoners. The 
other rooms on the first floor looking toward Lake street were the 
offices of the judge, district attorney, and retiring room for juries. On 
the second floor was the court room itself. It was thought a large 
auditorium when first used, but was speedily outgrown. It was not 
easy of access, the aisles were narrow and confined, and all the fittings 
were rude and plain. 

At the time when this court-house was built there were four posts of 
rather peculiar character set up at conspicuous points in the village. 
One was at the north end of Lake street bridge ; another up Water 
street near Williams's tannery, opposite what is now the lower end of 
Davis street ; another where East Union (then Baldwin) street joins 
Lake street; and the fourth down Water (then River) street near Sulli- 
van street. On each of these posts was nailed a sign reading "Jail 
limits." They were all an indication of the existence of a remnant of 
barbarism known as imprisonment for debt. The impecunious debtor 
was permitted, rather than lie in jail, to circulate within the lines marked 
by these boundaries, and thus have opportunity to earn something to 



PUBLIC IMPROVF.MEXTS AXD EARLY METHODISM. I07 

keep liimself from starving, but he must n't go outside tliesc limits. It 
was fully twenty years after tliis before the law, an insult to humanity 
and civilization, was wiped from the statutes of the State. Mow would 
such a sign look now at the foot of Lake street 1 

In 1836, when Chemung Count)' was formed, the little building now 
the office of the district attorney, all brick and iron and as impossible 
to destroy by fire as it would be to burn a piece of asbestos, was put up 
for the use of tlie county clerk. 

On April 15, 1829, there was a further act looling tov\ard the 
wished- for and approaching new couiitj' organisation. The building 
of two poor-houses was then authorized, and one of them was for what 
was to be the county of Chemung. It was a very necessary part of 
the duties of the authorities of a county to care for the unfortunate 
within its limits. Tiie buildings necessarj' for the purpose were erected 
the next year, the one for Chemung where its successor now stands near 
Breesport. 

There were man)' other influences at work in the county to invite 
new settlers and make the locality habitable, prosperous, and of good 
repute. Ever since the beginning of the century there had been 
occasionally a Methodist minister who, riding his circuit, had found the 
little spot on the Chemung, and had ministered to those inclined to his 
faith as he was able. They were but a handful, however, and were not 
of that number that controlled either the capital or the public aftairs of 
the community, or stood forth prominent as those who might be called 
"leaders" in the locality. Then, and for years afterward, the fault was 
found with them, and it was not peculiar to that locality by anj' means, 
that in their public exercises, what with raised \'oiccs, clapping of hands, 
and vigorous shouting, they made too much noise. It disturbed the 
quiet peace of the neighborhood ! It shut them out from the court-house 
and from the school-house that stood at the time on Lake street just 
north of where the Masonic Temple is located, and drove them at one 
time even from the retired sylvan shades of the island. Hut it did n't 
make much difference after all. A power stronger than man can wield 
was behind them. 

In 1 81 2 Newtown was regularly included in a Methodist circuit. It 
was a pretty large one, and the ministers who labored on it had far to 



108 OCR COU.XrV AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

go and were constantly going, reaching at times as far nortli as Livings- 
ton County, N. Y., Ovid and Penn Yan, down to Loyalsock, Wells- 
boro, Pa., and below, sometimes called Catherine circuit, sometimes 
the Genesee circuit, sometimes the Newtown circuit, and sometimes the 
Seneca Lake district. The earliest preachers were the Revs. Loring 
Grant and Nathan B. Dodson. The first class was organized in 1819 
and the first class-leader was Isaac Roe. 

Isaac Roe's father was John Roe, an officer in the Revolutionary war. 
He lived north of New York city in that disputed region that was con- 
stantly overrun, novi' by the Tories and cowboys, now by the Patriots. 
At the conclusion of the war he was a ruined man, and came to settle in 
Chenango County, where he died. Isaac Roe's wife was Hannah Drake, 
a descendant of the famous Drake family of England, so conspicuous in 
the naval affairs of that country. Her father had been, like so many of 
his family, an officer in the English navy. Frequently in New York with 
his ship he met the young woman who afterward became his wife, and 
formed a strong attachment for her. She was a pronounced Yankee 
girl and refused to have anything to do with an English officer. If he 
would resign and become an American she might consider his pro- 
posals. He so resigned, with the upshot that with such a proof of his 
love she could not refuse to become his wife. He ran a packet ship 
between New York and New Orleans some years, and dying his widow 
married the Rev. John Kline, who became in 1819a local preacher in 
Newtown of this iVIethodist Church. Isaac Roe and his wife came to 
Newtown in 18 17, and walked all the way from Owego to get there. 
He was a tanner and shoemaker by trade, and established, with William 
Williams, a tannery far up Water street. In the course of his business 
he early bought land in the western and northwestern parts of Elmira, 
profiting largely thereby. He had numerous children. The eldest, 
John Kline, named for the grandmother's second husband, marked in 
his death an event that was full of meaning and interest to this Metho- 
dist Church of which the father was such an earnest and sturdy sup- 
porter. The lad fitted himself for college unaided, getting a good 
knowledge of Latin and Greek, and entered the institution at Lima in- 
tending to become a Methodist minister. But while there he fell sick and 
•died. He was brought home to Elmira, and his funeral services were 



SOME PROMINEXT METHODISTS. 109 

held in the yd uiifinislicd cluirch which was then buildin<;. It was in 
1 83 I. They were the first services of any character held in the edifice, 
and for a pulpit a carpenter's bench was used. There was an unmis- 
takable meaning in it all, and the event was followed by a revival that 
added a great impetus to the upbuilding of the church. 

Another of Isaac Roe's sons, Fletcher, became an accomplished 
scholar, was a teacher for some years in the Mlmira College, and fol- 
lowed the same profession on the Pacific Coast. Still another son, 
Francis A. Roe, was sent in 1841 to the naval academy at Annapolis by 
Capt. Samuel Partridge, member of Congress at the time, lie served 
gallantly in the navy during the late war, being the commander of a 
wooden vessel that very nearly succeeded in running down a Confeder- 
ate iron ship, a feat none but the most daring officer would have at- 
tempted. He reached the rank of rear-admiral, and now, a retired offi- 
cer, lives at his ease in Washington, D. C, wearing laurels that shed 
honor upon him antl upon our county. 

Others of that class of the Methodist Church of 1819, the advance 
guard of a strong religious influence in the county, are richly deserving 
of remembrance, mostly women, and all bearing names yet and always 
of high repute in the valley, and some of them of the families of those 
who were first in the county. Let us look them over: Hannah Roe, 
Anna Koiikle, I-'.lizabeth Perry, Sally Jenkins, Abitjail Inglis, Sally Gear- 
hart, Lunah Barker. Margaret Lykins, Hezekiah W. Atkins, Nancy At- 
kins, Charles Collingwood, Lydia Collingwood, Kber Palmer, IClizabeth 
Palmer, Sarah Atkins, Anne Hughes, Klsina Cherry, Mary Tubbs, Will- 
iam Greatsinger, John Rhodes, Sarah Tubbs. 

And among those who were young people then, the present genera- 
tion knowing them only as aged and feeble men, were John Konkle 
Perry and William Viall, who early in their youth connected themselves 
with the church, and for long years zealously and loyally supported its 
every movement. They were business men in the village and city and 
active in its interests as well as in those of their church. 

The Rev. Isaac Chamberlayne came to the church in 18 19, formed 
the class I have described, and completed the organization of the society. 
His colleague in the work of the circuit was Horace Agard. It was the 
Catherine circuit then. The Rev. Josej)h McCreery was in charge in 



110 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

1820 and i82i,and the Rev. Nathan B. Dodson came back in 1822. In 
1823 the Rev. Gideon Lanning had charge and the }'ear following the 
Rev. Edmund O'Flyng He was a character as peculiar as his name, 
which reads like that of a character out of one of Thackeray's novels. 
One expression of his is worth recording. He was once on a raft on an 
excursion he was taking for pleasure when the vessel became entangled 
in a jam. The raftsmen were always most picturesque in their profanity, 
and an event of this kind would unbottle it with great profuseness. I\Tr. 
O'Flyng was disturbed greatly by it, and referring to it afterward in 
his pulpit he averred tliat he thought they were all "going to hell by 
water!" His eccentricities were such that he became a great annoy- 
ance to the conference, at one time by its direction receiving a sharp 
reprimand from the bishop. Nevertheless he was eloquent and popular, 
continued in charge of the church four )-ears, and was succeeded by the 
Rev. Robert Burch. During his pastorate the first Sunday school in 
the county was organized in his church. It began with ten children, of 
whom the two families of Roe and Carr contributed eight. 

The Rev. Jonas Dodge was pastor of the church in 1830 and 183 i. 
His presence is memorable from the fact that during it the first church 
building of the organization was erected. It was a wooden structure 
very plain and prim, and stood where the present comfortable parson- 
age is located. At first the location was at what is now the corner of 
State and Church streets, but the running of the canal through State 
street drove it from that spot. 

The subscription list to this first church is a curious document, show- 
ing how affairs of the kind were conducted in that early day, and might 
stand as an example of all the other efforts in the same direction. 
lohn \V. Wisner promises to deliver at the meeting-house site twenty 
perch of stone, value, $120; Miles Covell, in store goods, $20; Samuel 
Tuttle, 3,000 feet of lumber ; John Arnot, "in goods at my store," $20 ; 
Michael Black, in blacksmithing, $5 ; Thomas Dunn, 1,000 feet of lum- 
ber ; Samuel Riker, in work, $10; Guy N. Perry, in hats, $5 ; William 
Maxwell, in good notes, $40; Thomas M. Perry, in teaming, $10; with 
some few others in gifts in cash. 

Mr. Dodge was followed in 1832 by the Rev. Samuel Parker, in 1833 
by the Rev. Calven S. Coates, and in 1834 by the Rev. Allen Steele. 



AfORE ME THOD/S T MI. WIS TERS. 1 1 1 

Mr. Steele's son, who became Dr. J. Dorman Steele, was not born until 
two years after this. lie arose to great distinction as an author of school 
text-books and achieved a national if not an European reputation, be- 
coming one of the most distinguished men in whom and whose memory 
the county has a right to take great pride. He died in 1885. Mr. Steele 
was followed in charge of the Methodist Church in 1835 by the Kev. 
Ebenezer Lattimer, who remained two years, followed in 1837 by the 
Rev. Philo W'oodworth and in 1838 by the Rev. Calven S. Coates, who 
was returned to the charge, one of the most energetic and popular 
preachers ever stationed in Elmira. During Mr. Coates's pastorate the 
village was honored by having within it held the twenty-ninth session 
of the Genesee Conference. Hishop Hedding was present. It was 
at the time when the anti-slavery excitement was just beginning to be 
felt. An effort was made to have a public meeting on the island, and 
one gathered there to hear an address on the subject prepared for the 
occasion. The address was read, but the gathering was broken up by a 
small mob of boys with drums and other noisy instruments. 

One of the most active men of the church from the moment of his 
first coming to Newtown, in 1828, was Elias S. Huntley. He was always 
nobly seconded by his wife. He was also a good citizen. He opened 
the first book store and bindery in the village, it being located opposite 
Baldwin street on Water street. He was subsequently connected with 
the Whig newspaper of the day, the Elmira Republican, and for many 
years in the latter part of his life was the faithful and trustworthy col- 
lector of the Elmira Advertiser. For sixty- four years he was a class- 
leader in his church and for nineteen years its Sunday school superin- 
tendent. What a blessed record to carry with one over to the other 
side! He died at eighty years of age on June 2, 1886. His son, E. De- 
witt Huntley, is one of the strongest and brightest clergjnien now in 
the Methodist Church. 

In the years 1839 and 1840 the Rev. Benjamin Shipman was pastor 
of the church, and the Rev. J. T. Arnold followed him in the years 1841 
and 1842. In Mr. Arnold's time the second meeting house, a brick 
one, was built on the lot south of the old one, that being changed into 
a parsonage with rooms left in it for social worship. During these 
years, too, the church was visited by the somewhat well known revival- 



112 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ist, John N. Mafifit. He was a dapper little man, usually wearing a dark- 
green frock coat with the lower part buttoned close to his trim figure. 
He had a sonorous voice that was very sweet and touching when he 
chose to make it so. His labors were exceedingly successful. The fol- 
lowing named were in charge of the church from 1843 to 1850, the first 
two remaining each one year and the last three each remaining two 
years: Revs. Elijah Hebard, Abner Chase, Philo E. Brown, H. N. Sea- 
ver, and Moses Crow. 

I think in our memories we are apt to connect men with those things 
in which they were the most active and prominent, whether it is their 
daily avocations or in other lines than in those by which they earn their 
bread, and which thus become secondary considerations. There were 
some men who, whatever else they may have been, were Methodists first 
and foremost before everything else. They were good in their profes- 
sions, trades, or callings, but one recollects them as Methodists rather 
than as doctors, lawyers, or carpenters. It is not detrimental to them or 
their characters either. I cannot refrain from speaking in such connec- 
tion of three or four. Dr. H. S. Chubbuck is one. He came from a 
Methodist family, and was born in Ellington, Tolland County, Conn., 
March 13, 1809, the family removing in 18 18 to Orwell, Bradford 
County, Pa. Of the same family was the Rev. E. A. Chubbuck, a long- 
time citizen of Elmira. Dr. Chubbuck came to Elmira in 1838, and for 
more than fort)' years practiced his profession with much success. He 
died March 5, 1883. Socrates Ayres is another. His business was that 
of a jeweler, and his "store" for many years was at the eastern corner of 
the Lake street entrance to the bridge. His citizenship never took on 
anything of a public nature, but he was always held in the highest esti- 
mation. Ephraim P. Davenport is another, a tinner by trade, who came 
to Elmira in the 'thirties, and for many \-ears bore the work-end of the 
long time known and successful hardware firm, the first of the kind 
established in the valley, of Gridley & Davenport. He died April lO, 
1873. Abel Stowell is another, a carpenter whose handiwork is still 
plain all over the city of Palmira, and whose sons in goodly number are 
now bearing the family name with honor and credit if not with distinc- 
tion. Joseph Dumars is another, long time a merchant in Elmira, and 
who yet at an ad\'anced age dwells amid scenes that he loves. He mar- 




J^. 0. /I r^^a.^ 



ROBERT COVELL THE ELDER. 113 

ried a daiij;liter of \\ )'att Carr, the village auctioneer, and removed to 
Aurora, lil., for a time, but returned to his old home in the valley. N. W. 
Gardiner is another, a hatter by trade and an estimable gentleman as 
well. These all are names of another generation than this, and most of 
them can be read on the tombstones at Second street or in VVoodlaun, 
but they go to make up the record that has to do with a very important 
and interesting period in the history of the \alle\-. 

Hut tiiere arc others whose coming into the valley in these years made 
marked events in its historj' from the influences thc\' exerted on its con- 
cerns. Tiie year 1807 saw the advent into the valley of the first mem- 
ber of a family that has mucii to do with tlie early history of Elmira. 
This was Robert Covell the elder. His father was Dr. Matthew Cov- 
ell, of Wilkesbarre, Pa., who came to that village from Glastonbury, 
Conn., where he was born in 1760. In his time he was one of the fore- 
most physicians of his region. His wife was Orella Tuttle. Robert 
Covell in the year named established himself in the mercantile trade in 
Elmira with iiis uncle, Stephen Tutde, under the firm name of Tuttle & 
Covell, his place of business being on the river side of Water street 
about opposite where is now the Chemung Canal Bank. The business 
was so continued for a quarter of a century. Robert Covell built and 
lived in for many j'ears the house, one of the most conspicuous now in 
the Fifth ward, at Pennsylvania avenue and Mt. Zoar street. Subse- 
quently he bought and carried on the farm above the college, afterward 
the home of Gen. William Irvine. Robert Covell's wife was Almira, a sis- 
ter of Maj. Isaac Baldwin. Two of their sons, Robert and Edward Cov- 
ell, were among the old merchants of Elmira, their sign R. & E. Covell 
being very familiar on Water street during the latter half of the period 
of which I write. In all there were eleven children, most of whom 
are dead, Robert, just named, having died in January, 1890, at the age 
of seventy-five years. Another son of Dr. Matthew Covell, Miles, fol- 
lowed his elder brother, Robert, to Newtown, and was also for a num- 
ber of years a merchant there. His wife was the daughter of Jacob 
Miller and sister of the Hon. Edmund Miller heretofore named. Still 
another son of Dr. Covell came to Newtown in 1809, Lyman Covell, 
who became the most prominent member of the family in the valley 
and one of the most conspicuous citizens of the county. He like his 
13 



lU OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

brotliers was a merchant, but he was constantly engaged in public 
affairs. He was sheriff of the county in 1 83 I, surrogate in 1836, and 
also served in very many other minor official positions. He died in 1886 
at the age of ninety-one years. His wife was Susan, a daughter of W'ill- 
iam Dunn, and there was a large family of children. The family name 
of Covell, that half a century ago was so prominent in the valley, is now 
almost extinct. 

Stephen Tuttle, who was engaged with his nephew, Robert Covell, in 
business in Newtown from 1807, did not himself come there to live 
until 18 1 8. His wife was a step-daughter of Col. Matthias Hollenback, 
and with him Mr. Tuttle had been in business in Tioga Point and 
Wilkesbarre. He was a son of one of the same name, and was born 
in Canaan, Conn., August 4, 1772. Of all the agents and partners 
brought into the valley by Colonel Hollenback he was the most active 
in public affairs and the most successful in his own private fortune. 
Near where he established himself in business he continued to reside 
while he lived. His house, built in the early years of this century, is 
still standing, .changed over into a hotel. In company with Guy Ma.x- 
well he built the original mill near the mouth of Newtown Creek, which, 
now known by the name of Arnot mills, was much longer known as 
the Tuttle mills. He owned all that large extent of land lying between 
the mills and the city. He was a public spirited man, active in church 
matters and in the cause of education, giving generously for both pur- 
poses. He was tall and well formed, with the air and bearing of one 
accustomed to control his fellowmen, and his name frequently appears 
in the history of the county as one chosen to manage the public affairs 
of his fellow citizens. He died January 12, 185 i, at the age of seventy- 
eight years. Mrs. Tuttle was a woman of as much influence and 
strength of character in her sphere as was her husband in his. She 
died in January, 1861, aged eighty-seven years. This couple were the 
parents of the elder Mrs. John Arnot. 

Foremost among those of this time, however, was John Arnot, a name 
that is yet potent to conjure with in the county and in fact in all the 
counties round about, his descendants having added luster to it, inspired 
by the career of him who first wore it in the region. He was born in 
Perthshire, Scotland, September 25, 1789, and came with his father's 



A SKETCH OF JOHX ARNOT. 115 

f.iniily to tliis country in 1801. They settled near Albany, N. Y., from 
which place he came into the Chemung Valley in 18 19 on a mercantile 
venture with a gentleman named Egbert Egberts, the firm name for 
some years being John Arnot & Co. There were not many merchants 
in Newtown then, chief of them being Tuttle & CovcU, Miles Covell, Ly- 
man Coveli, John H. Knapp, Isaac Reynolds, and Isaac Baldwin. In 
less than ten years the new firm was doing more business than any of 
the old ones. The goods to stock the store were purchased twice a 
year in New York city, and were brought by the Hudson River, the 
Erie Canal, Seneca Lake, and wagon to their place of destination. The 
nearest bank was in Ithaca, but bank accommodations were not very 
much needed then. Business was done with very little circulating me- 
dium; barter was the style instead of greenbacks, so many yards of cloth for 
so much wheat, so much sugar for so much butter. The products of the 
farms were stored away until a convenient season for shipping them 
down the river. As an illustration of the business that was done in 
those old days, seventy years ago, it may be stated that in the spring of 
1829 Mr. Arnot ran down the river nineteen arks loaded with wheat. 
As each ark would hold about 1,800 bushels it will be seen that he ship- 
ped nearly 35,000 bushels of wheat, which was pretty lively trading for 
those days. Mr. Arnot was closely connected with every public enter- 
prise in the valley for more than half a century, and often with the 
large means at his command in times of general financial distress held 
up the credit of the city and county with a firm and unyielding hand. 
He became a rock against which the waves of financial trouble, no mat- 
ter how high they might roll, dashed in vain, and those who sought 
refuge with him found themselves safe. It would be necessary to go 
over every enterprise that was contemplated in Elmira or for the good 
of Elmira during his active career, from a patent right for an automatic 
oiler to the latest railroad, to touch everything that was fostered by his 
means and aided by his wise counsels. Hut he was a private citizen all 
his life. Except serving in bodies that looked to the care of the educa- 
tion of. children he held no public position. He did not wish it, as he 
did not need it to make him prominent or powerful. The name of 
John Arnot in the valley of the Chemung will not need any ])refi.x or 
affix to make it honored and remembered so long as water shall run 



116 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

down hill and blades of grass shall continue to raise their heads toward 
the sky. He died in November, 1S73, in the eightieth year of his age. 
His eldest son, Stephen Tuttle Arnot, for many years was prominent 
as a politician, not only in the county, but in the State. He served 
continuously in the common council of the city of Elmira and was 
mayor of the city in 1883, serving out the unexpired term of Mayor 
David B. Hill, who had been elected lieutenant-governor of the State. 
Mr. Arnot took an intense and intelligent interest in the fire depart- 
ment of the city, and during the time that he was one of the fire com- 
mittee of the common council the department arose to its greatest 
efficiency. He died November 18, 1884, at the age of fifty- six. John 
Arnot, jr., the second son, it would be difficult for any one in Elmira, 
or in the county for that matter, to speak of without having a tender 
and warm feeling in his heart. He lived a life so full of generous 
actions and loving kindness to all that no epithet will adequately or ac- 
curately describe it. Before the people in any capacity he was invinci- 
ble. They were all and always for him. He was continuously a mem- 
ber of the Board of Education of the city of Elmira, served as president 
of the Board of Trustees for the last three years of the village ex- 
istence of Elmira, and was its first mayor when the mantle of its city 
charter fell upon it. He was again ma)'or in iS/Oand 1874, and in 
1882 was elected member of Congress of the district, being re-elected 
with little if any opposition in 1884. In October, 1884, he met with a 
curious and serious accident that ultimately caused his death. In open- 
ing the doors of the vaults of his bank in the morning there was an 
explosion of gas that had accumulated in some unaccountable manner 
in the confined space during the night. Mr. Arnot, in the direct path 
of the flame and explosion, was thrown across the room and against the 
desks there. He was severely burned and bruised, and never recovered 
from his injuries. He died in November, 1886. John Arnot's eldest 
daughter, Marianna, became the wife of William B. Ogden, one of the 
founders of the city of Chicago and its first mayor, and the youngest 
daughter, Fanny, is the wife of G. G. Havens, a conspicuous citizen 
of New York city. Matthias Hollenback Arnot, the third son, bears 
upon his shoulders the weight of the responsibility of the vast estate 
left by his father, and in his competent hands there are no evidences 



DR. ERASTl'S L. HART. 117 

tliat it will deteriorate or be ciiverteti from channels marked out b)- its 
great originator and founder. There is a third John Arnotof this gen- 
eration, a thoughtful young gentleman of education and high breeding. 
No more can be expected of him, no more could be expected of him, 
than that, as time rolls on, he should show that the same blood runs in 
his veins as that which gave life, prominence, power, and popularity to 
his honored ancestors. 

One more excellent name of those old times — Dr. Erastus L. Hart, 
lie came to Elmira from Litchfield, Conn., in 1825, and for more than 
half a century was the " good physician " of many a family in the 
county whose coming was often watched for with anxiety. Outside of 
his profefsion he was an active man in his church, the Presbyterian, and 
in the school matters of the village and city. He was for many years a 
leading trustee of the old Elmira Academy, and served eight years as 
president of the Board of Education of the city of Elmira from its first 
formation in 1859. His two sons, W'illiam E. Hart and Erastus V. Hart, 
were for many years among Elmira's most active and worthy citizens. 
The first named was a merchant, learning his knowledge of the business 
of his brother-in-law, Capt. Samuel Partridge, whose store was on the 
northwest corner of Lake and East Water streets. This place of busi- 
ness Mr. Hart, in connection with John Hill, purchased in 1842, the 
firm name of Hart & Hill becoming as familiar to the ears in those 
days all over the county as is the river during a freshet to the sight. He 
afterward was in similar trade with David Bulmer, and then ivas alone, 
subsequently, however, associating with himself in trade his son Frank. 
They were the first dry goods merchants to move west of Railroad 
avenue on Water street, doing so in 1877. In 1882 Mr. Hart retired 
from business entirely, and now lives pleasantly enjoying the fruits of 
his labors of forty years. Erastus P. Hart, his brother, became one of 
the foremost lawyers of the county and the State, enjoying a reputation 
at the bar for learning, probity, and a zealous care of his clients' inter- 
ests that makes his memory among his brethren a cherished one. He 
died in 1 886. Emma, the eldest daughter of Dr. Hart, became the 
wife of Capt. Samuel Partridge. This gentleman was in these daj-s 
one of the public men of the county and district. He came from New 
Hampshire into the region in 1830 for the purpose of benefitting his 



118 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

health, and remained until the time of his death, which occurred after he 
had passed his ninetieth year. He was twenty-two years of age at the 
time of the War of 1812, and got his title in that struggle. He was 
member of Congress from the district from 1841 to 1843, having beaten 
the Whig candidate, Judge James Dunn, in the canvass that carried 
General Harrison to the presidency. Another daughter of Dr. Hart be- 
came the wife of Judge Ariel Standish Thurston, and a third daughter 
is the wife of a nephew of Capt. Samuel Partridge, Henry M. Partridge, 
a thriving and well-to-do lumber merchant of the city of Elmira. 



CHAPTER HI. 



Internal Improvements — Dams Authorized to be Built — Charley Bird, who became 
a Mormon — An Ice Freshet — Isaac Baldwin — The Hatch Family — David Rey- 
nolds and his Descendants — The Chemung Canal — Enthusiasm caused by its 
Completion — Judge Caleb Baker — 'Squire Robinson — Changes made by the 
Canal — The "Feeder" — Horseheads an Important "Port" — Boat Building — 
Capt. Henry C. Spaulding — Capt. Eli Wheeler, the Inventor of the Sleeping Car 
— Judge Hiram Gray — Gen. Alexanders. Diven — Green M. Tuthill — Col. Sam- 
uel G. Hathaway, jr. — James L. Woods — Judge Ariel Standish Thurston — Miss 
Clarissa Thurston. 

THERE were frequent and needed internal improvements in the 
county all of this time besides the roads and bridges. The most 
important was the erection of dams in the river to secure water-power. 
The fall in the course of the stream was considerable, but hardly suf- 
ficient for any other purposes than the running of flouring and saw-mills, 
and steam had not yet been heard of in any of its numerous ramifica- 
tions and uses, either for heating or power purposes. Of course there 
was great opposition to these constructions on the part of the traders of 
the region. It might, as it sometimes did, obstruct the only highway 
they had over which they could transport their products to market. 
They used it indeed at times only when the water was so high that any 
construction in the river would be out of sight, but even at that its 



F/KSr DAMS CONSTRUCTED. 119 

position was always perceptible, the heavy waves making long, grace- 
ful sweeps over it, thundering as they surmounted the obstacle beneath. 
Very often, too, a raft or an ark, though built to yield and sway with the 
current, setting sail too early or too late in the flood, came to grief over 
one and swung to pieces against the bank, or floated on disjointed 
down the stream. 

The opponents to these " obstructions to navigation " formed a pow- 
erful and numerous class, but the people must have flour and boards. 
It was not until January 27, 1824, that the legislature authorized the 
erection of a dam in the river. This authority was granted to Isaac 
Baldwin and the location as fixed by the act was near Lake street 
bridge. But this did not at all meet the views of the public, and the 
dam was not built there. On January 27, 1826, the second authoriza- 
tion for a similar surpose was granted by the legislature to Asa and 
Isaac Parshall, the location being in the town of Chemung just below 
the present village. That dam was constructed and was the first one 
laid in the river in the county. On March 19, 1827, authority was 
given Isaac Baldwin to build his dam and mill farther up the river, in 
the place where one is now located near the foot of College avenue in 
Klmira. That tliorougfare was for a long time, by reason of the mill, 
called Mill street, taking its name from the object at one termination. 
The name was changed out of compliment to the institution that was 
afterward erected near its other termination and when the old mill had 
ceased to be as important a factor in the interests of the inhabitants as 
it was when it was first built. 

The authority to build the dam located it between tlie mainland 
and "Davis" Island, so called, having been purchased by John Davis 
of the tavern. The dam was erected and the mill to which it furnished 
power in 1828. The dam was constructed of a conglomerate mass of 
stone and brush, the material being drawn from the plain west of the 
village, where there was plenty of both. The croakings of the oppo- 
nents to this kind of dams, who when speaking of them often used the 
other kind, had some fruition in the fall of the same year, when the 
work was swept away by an ice freshet. As if to emphasize the objec- 
tion to such objects nature got up a flood then that was quite an event 
in the valley, and has not been equalled in one respect since. Great 



120 OCR COUXTV AND ITS PEOPLE. 

cakes of ice were piled up on Water street to the height of four or five 
feet, extending from what is now College avenue to way above Colum- 
bia street. The upper part of the village was cut off from the lower part 
in the usual means of communication, and the inhabitants had to " cut 
across Isaac Roe's four-acre lot" and go down Gray street to get into 
town. But the dam was rebuilt the next year, stronger, and stood many 
years before it was again overhauled. 

A " wool -carding machine" was connected with the flouring-mill, an 
instrument little known these days, but very useful and important then, 
when the "women folk" spun and wove so mucii cloth for home con- 
sumption. The machine was operated by one by the name of Charley 
Bird, who was a curious combination of a man. He became afflicted 
with the Mormon dispensation that about that time began to raise its 
head so that it could be seen, and he joined the new religion, emigrat- 
ing with its adherents into Ohio and then to Illinois. He took with 
him into the "promised land" three Misses Campbell, who kept a millin- 
ery shop where Greener's piano manufactory is now located. Whether 
they became "birds" all together or waited for their wings until they 
reached the Mormon heaven doth not appear. 

This Isaac Baldwin, the builder of the dam and mill, was a member 
of that numerous and important family of whom I iiave already spoken. 
He was the third of the Isaacs and of the fourth generation counting 
the first Isaac, the original settler in the valley and the origin of the 
family, as the first. He was a power in the village and county during 
his active career, a man of magnificent personal presence, and he had 
things while he lived pretty much his own way. He was a merchant, 
a miller, a trader, the owner of a large landed property, and was the 
prime mover and instigator of the greatest undertaking of his time in 
the valley, the Chemung Canal. The street in Elmira on which is be- 
stowed his family name, from beginning to end, runs and was opened 
through his farm. He lived once on the corner now occupied by the 
Rathbun House, in a home that was one of the pleasantest and most 
comfortable in the whole valley. His name occurs more frequently in 
the records and public matters of that early day than any other one 
citizen of the county. There is no one of the present generation whose 
public local prominence can be compared with that of Isaac Baldwin in 



THE HATCH BROTHERS AND DA V/D REYNOLDS. 121 

his time. His wife was the daughter of William Dunn and sister of 
Judge James Dunn, and their children wortiiily bore their name after 
them. J. Davis Baldwin, the eldest, whose deatli dccurred in 1888, was 
a man "without fear and without reproach." Isaac Baldwin repre- 
sented the county in the Assembly in 1826. He died in 1850 at an ad- 
vanced af;e. 

When Isaac Baldwin gave up this mill he had built it was taken by 
a member of a family that filled much space in the village life at that 
time, — Damon Hatch. There were three brothers of them, Dorus 
and Harry besides Damon. They were sons of a Dr. Hatch who, 
besides practicing his profession, kept a public house in Richfiekl, 
Otsego County. It was then on the great "turnpike road" leading 
from Albany to Bufialo, a favorite stopping-place for travelers. The 
village has since attained great fashionable popularity by reason of its 
Sjirings, and off from the main thoroughfare is a quiet and delightful 
retreat. The three brothers came to IClmira in 1828. Damon built the 
house now occupied by the Tjler family on Main street, in those days 
esteemed a mansion. Dorus occupied a house on the lot where now 
stands the residence of Henry W. Rathbone, esq. The house had been 
before used by the Misses O'Flyng, wife and sister of the Methodist 
minister, for the purposes of a select school. The Hatch families were 
instrumental and active in the organization of the Ivpiscopal Church, of 
which Dorus was for years one of the wardens. ^ 

The authority for building the dams across the river thus begun was yS 
followed by similar authorizations all up and down the river, some of 
which were acted upon, some not. On April 6, 1827, David Reynolds 
was given the right for a dam opposite his own land in Big Flats. Mr. 
Reynolds was an active, industrious man, and one of the earliest settlers 
of his township. He was a native of Orange County and of New Eng- 
land extraction, one of his ancestors being Thomas Hooker, prominent 
among the Puritans. His early life was a romance. At nineteen years 
of age, becoming enamored of the daughter of a neighbor, Sally Gallo- 
way, of honorable Irish descent, and meeting with opposition in liis 
wishes. Pi sometimes happens, this time perhaps founded on reason, the 
damsel I ;ing but fifteen years of age, he ran away and married her, 
which in hose days also often happened. The very immature couple 
ir, 



122 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

went first into Northumberland County, Pa., and thence into Lycoming 
County, Newberry. They evidently prospered, for there are houses 
now standing in the borough named that he built, although one of 
them, a comfortable dwelling where he lived, was very recently burned. 
Such matches usually result in large families and this one was no ex- 
ception. There were twelve children, six sons and six daughters. In 
1815 the family came to Big Flats with the exception of an elder 
daughter, who remained in Lycoming County as Mrs. Mahaft'y. All 
the other children who arrived at maturity married and settled in the 
neighborhood of their father's farm. James lived on one near Horse- 
heads, but went early to Illinois, where his children now reside. Alex- 
ander owned and occupied a place two miles west of Elmira, subse- 
quently known as the " Eldridge farm." He, too, after a time in his 
turn became a pioneer, going to Michigan, where he was one of the early 
Settlers of the well known town of Coldwater. He was the father of 
Maj. George A. Reynolds, of Kansas, a prominent officer during the 
late war in the troops from his State, and of Milton \V. Reynolds, a 
newspaper man of nuicii note in Kansas, editor of the Kansas State 
Journal a.nd a leading politician. 

Jane, a daughter of David Reynolds, married Dr. Lewis Gardner, 
and Betsey, another daughter, became Mrs. Durham. Both of these 
ladies are still living, the former in I*llmira the latter in New York cit\', 
at very advanced ages, hale and hearty physically, and mentally as 
bright as the sun that shines over the home of their childhood in tiie 
" Great Plains." 

Charles Reynolds, another of David's sons, was one of the most 
promising young men that the county ever owned as an oftspring, 
possessing great capacity, judgment, and foresight in business, and it 
was prophesied of him that, should he live, he would take rank with the 
most successful men of his time and locality. But he died early in life. 
His wife was a daughter of Samuel Tuthill, of Southport, and their son, 
named for the grandfather, S. T. Reynolds, is and has long been one of 
the most prominent citizens of Elmira. 

Nathan Reynolds was the third son of David Reynolds. He married 
a Virginian, Matilda Dinwiddle de Armand, a member of one of the 
most noted families of that State. Her grandmother, a sister of Gov- 



A CANAL PROPOSED. iL'.i 

ernor Dinwiddle, of Virginia, was the wife of Alexander Stewart, one of 
the Scotch Covenanters. Nathan Rej'nolds built the first brick liouse 
in Big Flats. It was a large, roomy building. A curious fact in con- 
nection with it is tliat the present owner of the premises, on the plea 
that he was not able to take care of so large and fine a mansion, tore it 
down and put up in its stead a small wooden house! In 1850 Nathan 
Reynolds removed to Palmira, where he died at an advanced age. One 
of his daughters became the wife of W. W. Cooper, a member of the 
same family as J. h'enimore Cooper, who for thirty years was a dis- 
tinguished officer of the United States Coast Survey, and another daugh- 
ter was the wife of Colonel Farnham, a prominent business man and 
politician of Addison, Steuben County. John A. Reynolds, esq., the 
senior member of the law firm of Reynolds, Stanchfield & Collins in 
Elmira, is a son of Nathan Reynolds. 

Other persons granted the privilege of "obstructing navigation" by 
erecting dams in the Chemung River, and in these same years, were 
John and Josiah Brown in the town of Elmira, February 13, 1827; 
Stephen Tuttle, February 28, 1828 ; and Robert Covell on the same 
date. The second described was built just cast of the L,ake street 
bridge reaching from the south shore to the island. It was built to 
stay, for portions of its foundations, laid deep in the bed of the river, 
were visible not many years ago. The dam itself went down stream a 
long time ago. 

These very years were most important ones to the county. In the 
rush and hurrj' of the present age we can hardly appreciate the force of 
the anticipation to a quiet, shut-in, country village of a proposed canal. 
It was like opening the door to all the world to a long confined and im- 
patient prisoner, or giving the control of affairs to a joung man hereto- 
fore held in parental restraint. It had long been hoped for and long 
talked about, and the first thing that looked to making it a certainty was 
on April 25, 1825, when the legislature directed the canal commission- 
ers to take means to ascertain the most eligible route from Seneca Lake 
to the Chemung River for a canal. It is to be noted that tliis is the 
first time in an official document that the river was so called. Hereto- 
fore it had been the "Tioga." It was in the year when the Erie Canal 
was completed and De Witt Clinton, the great promoter of that public 



124 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

work, was governor of the State. The people were, it might be said, 
" canal hungry," the feeling being stimulated \yy the success of the great 
work that connected the Hudson River with Lake Erie. It is a little 
peculiar that at that session of the legislature there was no representa- 
tive from the immediate locality of the proposed enterprise. The near- 
est in the Assembly was Charles Punipelly, of Owego, and the nearest 
in the Senate was John G. Spencer, of Canandaigua. 

It was four years more before the undertaking had definite shape. 
On April 15, 1829, $300,000 was appropriated by the legislature for 
the purpose of constructing the Chemung Canal and feeder. How long 
ago it seems ! Martin Van Buren had been elected governor of the 
State for the period including this year, but had resigned the office to 
become President Jackson's Secretary of State, and the lieutenant-gover- 
nor, Enos T. Throop, was tilling out the unexpired term. Judge Caleb 
Baker was one of the members of Assembly of the county, and his 
services had not been small in pushing the bill through. He was one 
of the strong men of the county of his time, and had been in the As- 
sembly twice before, in i8i4and '15. He belonged in the township 
of Chemung, where he settled in 1798. A daughter of his married one 
of the same name, but of no kin, Richard A. Baker, of Southport, who 
filled out to the full the measure of a good man's life. He was much in 
the public service, serving three years as the supervisor from his town 
and one term, from 1855 to 1858, as county clerk. His son, the be- 
loved and lamented C. Hamilton Baker, was also county clerk in 1876 
and died while in that office. Another son, Leroy A. Baker, seems 
by inheritance and experience to have acquired a knowledge of the 
same office, its duties, and its records that is equalled by no living man. 
Judge Caleb Baker's name is of frequent occurrence in this record. 

On that spring day when the news of the passage of the Chemung 
Canal Bill was received in the county there was intense gratification not 
to say excitement. In Elmira the satisfaction was unbounded. In the 
evening there was a celebration ; not a formal, conventional affair, but an 
" old-time jollification." It did n't mean exactly what the same terms 
import these days, but one who was there is on record as having said 
that on the occasion the " whole town was drunk !'' Let us be charita- 
ble enough to hope that some of it at least was caused by the high 



CHEMUXG CANAL LOCATED AND COMPLETED. 125 

spirits and hiyli hopes that were aroused rather tlian that all was pro- 
duced by the high wines that undoubtedly, in their various forms, 
flowed liberally. 

Then there came the struggle as to the route the canal should take 
through the village. Every one wanted it to come through his land, 
and the interests of the Tuttles, Covells, and their adherents in the lower 
part of the village, near and below the foot of Lake street, were antago- 
nistic to those of the Baldwins and Maxwells, who wanted it farther west 
in the newer and more sparsely settled portions of the village. It is not 
well always to revive the recollection of such contests, for sometimes 
the sting of them remains for many years, but in this case it is merely a 
matter of curiosity and local history that is and has been repeated over 
and over again as regards other enterprises. The Baldwin influence 
won; it was a paramount and appreciable quantity in those days, and 
the canal was located " up town," State street now occupying its place. 
Its construction was begun in the spring of 1 830 with quite impressive 
ceremonies. The inhabitants gathered at a spot a little north of Second 
street to view the first spadeful of earth thrown up for the work. This 
was done by Col. John Hendy, who stood in a small row boat or skiff, 
the nearest approach that could be made to a canal boat. James Rob- 
inson, justice of the peace, delivered an address. This gentleman was 
one of the characters of the time. There are many stories related of 
his eccentricites and peculiar utterances, but at this distance of time 
from him it is a little difficult to tell whether the fun it is said he made 
was made by him or at him. One characteristic of those primitive 
times was the practice of making practical jokes of a very rude nature. 
He may have been the victim of a perpetual one. 

The canal was two years in construction, being completed in 1832. 
In May of that year there was a celebration in honor of the event. A 
boat-load of celebrants went up as far as Pine Valle_\-, having added to 
their number others from Horseheads and on the way. The boat used 
was a scow owned by Frederick Granger, and its usual employment was 
in bringing down stone from the narrows up the river for building pur- 
poses. Granger was a big, stalwart man more than six feet in height 
and capable of great endurance. He lived far down toward the creek, on 
River street as Water street was called. The craft at the celebration 



126 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

was crowded and all had to stand up, but the enjoyment was great at 
the cost of a "shilling" a head. A great many flags were flying ; there 
were speeches and songs, and much genuine rejoicing. 

The canal changed very materially the position of affairs in the val- 
ley and almost the face of nature in the region, as much so as it did 
when, forty-five years later, it was abandoned as useless and filled up. 
The memory of it is to those who have one rather pleasant than other- 
wise, although connected with it are recollections of its surroundings 
that may just as well be forgotten. This generation knows nothing of 
the narrow, regular line it made through the valley, looking from a 
height like a streak of quicksilver through the green meadows ; of the 
locks that here and there broke its continuity ; of the long skating park 
it made in the winter before the water was let out and "navigation 
closed " ; of the great high bridges that added a foreign aspect to the 
landscape, and in the village, like the one across Church or Second street, 
afforded no inconsiderable hills for the boys to ride down on in the 
winter-time on their sleds; of the basins where the boats laid at rest or 
waited for a load, the one just below Church street and the other be- 
tween what is now Nicks and Market streets ; of the great storehouse 
fronting on the first named street, into which was loaded and unloaded 
most of the general merchandise that came into the village and went out 
of it for nearly twenty years. The " feeder" that was constructed from 
Horseheads to Corning made Corning as the canal made Elmira, and 
was the cause of the building of the Blossburg Railroad. It had 
been expected, and it was one argument for the construction of the 
canal, that the salt, plaster, and gypsum from the beds in the central 
part of the State, which had been a large portion of the traffic " down 
the river," and which it had been necessary to draw from Seneca Lake 
in wagons, could by the canal be transported in large quantities and at 
much less expense into Pennsylvania, and that State would in return 
send back its wealth of coal and iron by the same route. These hopes 
were not realized in the large measure expected, and in that respect the 
canal was a disappointment, but in other matters it more than made up 
for what it lost in this. 

Horseheads, being at the junction of the " feeder " with the main canal, 
assumed considerable importance thereby. Here was located the office 



/ rs [NFL UENCE ON INDUS TRIA L IX TERES fS. 1 27 

of the collector of the tolls, a busy, responsible position, ami maintained 
there for forty-three years. Its duties in the early liaj-s of the canal 
were no sinecure. Clearances were made out at all hours of the day 
and night, and the person in charge had need of great powers of endur- 
ance to stand the pressure during tlie early and closing months of navi- 
gation. Some of tlie best men of the county were occupants of the 
office during its continuance, among them being Thomas Maxwell, 
Mordecai Rickey, D. B. Smith, Col. John Hendy, William Dunn, Col. 
John N. Beers, W. T. Reeder. and J. 1). Williams. The ofifice in the 
height of its usefulness was considered quite a "plum" in a political and 
financial way. Perhaps it was from the nature and importance of the 
office established there that Horseheads sought and secured for itself a 
new nanie having something of a seafaring significance attached to it. 
At all events a few j-ears after the opening of the canal, on May 15, 
1837, the village was incorporated under the name of " Fairport." It 
was quite accurate, for it certainly was " fair " and it was a "port." 
The people stood this designation for eight years, and whether or not 
the new name would not stick, or there was a greater love for the 
ancient one, on April 18, 1845, they went back by act of legislature 
to the honest descriptive old Sa.xon " Horseheads." May it ever re- 
main thus ! 

The canal was the parent of the industry of boat building that helped 
perceptibly the business of the county. There was a boatyard on the 
river bank just west of the Southport end of the Lake street bridge and 
another one near the canal where is now the lumber j-ard of H. C. 
Spaulding, and the little village of Millport was largely given up to the 
business. Many were the scows with prows straight as a twelve-inch 
board, and "lakers" with bows curved like those of a sea-going vessel, 
turned out from these yards and manufactured of Chemung lumber. 

And many a man starting from the side or the surface of the canal 
accumulated wealth and gained honor, respect, and responsibility, some 
of them retaining the title they acquired when in command of a craft. 
Elmira owes several of her best citizens to the canal. Peter Biggs, e.x- 
tensive manufacturer of soap, possessed of ample means, and enjoying 
the highest respect of the community, is one. There was a time when he 
was the most musical of whistlers as he strode behind his team. Capt. 



128 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Henry C. Spaulding was once in command of a boat when such com- 
mand gave a man a position among liis fellowmen. In 1841 he was 
able to estabhsh the lumber business which, through successive years of 
good fortune and good management, has grown to such immense pro- 
portions. Captain Spaulding's only son married a granddaughter of 
John Sly, one of the oldest settlers of the valley ; his elder daughter is 
the wife of Charles E. Rapelyea, and his younger daughter was mar- 
ried to John B. Stanchfield. In 1890 Captain and Mrs. Spaulding 
celebrated their golden wedding, at which time was made manifest the 
very high estimation in which they are held by the whole of the city of 
Elmira. 

Capt. Eli Wheeler was also once in command of a boat. He after- 
ward engaged in the foundry business in the old foundry on Lake street. 
He deserves a much wider than mere local remembrance from the fact 
that he was the inventor of the modern sleeping car, or of the bottom 
principles of that traveling luxury. The car built according to his in- 
vention was the first one of the kind ever put on rails ; the reversed seats 
and the lowering upper berths are precisely in action as he first planned 
them. But as is often the case some other person has reaped not only 
the financial reward of the invention, but the glory as well. Captain 
Wheeler died December 12, 1882. 

While yet the Chemung Canal was in contemplation, and before it 
was an assured fact, there were attracted to the county a number of 
men who observed the spirit of enterprise and earnestness that seemed 
to control its leading men, and saw much promise for themselves within 
its borders. To be named first among these in honor for the eminent 
position he attained and for the luster his life and memory cast upon 
his adopted home is Hiram Gray. He came to Elmira in 1825 and 
remained one of its foremost citizens for more than sixty years. He 
was a man of splendid presence, and in his youth noticeable for it among 
a thousand. His mental caliber was in harmony with his physical pro- 
portions. He married, in 1830, Aurelia, the eldest daughter of Robert 
Covell, and at their home on Water street, in the western part of the 
city, a life of more than half a century was passed ideal in its purity and 
completeness. He died in April, 1890. 

One closely connected with Judge Gray, a graduate to the bar of the 



SOME PROM I NEXT CITIZENS. 129 

State from his office, and fillinj,' a large space with great honor to him- 
self and usefulness to the county, was Alexander S. Diven, who first came 
to Elmira in 1830 in the twent,\-first year of his age. Here he cast his 
first vote, and it was given to General Jackson for the presidency. lie 
did as many a young man who has risen to distinction has done before 
and since his time, taught school and studied law. He stu;iied law in 
the office of Judge Gray, an office situated in a wooden building known 
as " Viall's block," standing on the river bank on Water street some 
what east of the foot of Baldwin street. Benedict Satterlee, already 
named, was a student in the same office. General Diven's school-house 
was on William street, where the sheriff's residence is now located. It 
was the only public school in the village at the time. It was small and 
yellow and uncomfortable, standing in an open field and opposite a great 
lonesome brickj-ard. 

Other men are remembered as having wielded the rod in the same 
locality, among them E. V. Coulton, a little Irishman with very pro- 
nounced notions in regard to the use of the switch, and Hugh Riddle, 
who was afterward superintendent of the Erie Railway and now occu- 
pies a high position on the Rock Island road. 

After a year in Elmira General Diven went to Rochester into the 
office of Fletcher Haight, and from there to Owcgo and was deputy 
clerk of the county under Green M. Tuthill. This gentleman became 
a citizen of Elmira and was one of its earliest merchants, having been 
in business with Timothy Satterlee under the firm name of Tuthill & 
Satterlee. Me was also clerk of Chemung County from 1846 to 1849. 
A melancholy interest attaches to his family from the fact that his 
daughter, the wife of John Decker, at the time a partner with Robert 
Covell, jr., in the mercantile business, was killed at the terrible disaster 
at Carr's Rock on the Erie in 1868. Never any trace of her was recov- 
ered after the accident. 

In 1845 the law firm of Gray & Hathaway was about being dissolved 
on account of the appointment of the senior member to the Supreme 
Bench of the State. At that time was formed the law firm of Diven, 
Hathaway & Woods, which for sixteen years took rank as the leading 
law firm of the whole region round about, and is still remembered as a 
combination of unusual harmony and strength. 

17 



l:«) OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Col. Samuel G. Hathaway, jr., the second member of this firm, was 
an exceptional man in physical proportions and mental capacity. He 
was the son of Gen. Samuel G. Hathaway, of Cortland County, the 
oldest of si.v sons in a famil\- of eleven children. He earned his military 
title from the position he held on his father's staff when he was but 
eighteen years of age. He was graduated at Union College, began the 
study of law in Cortlaiul, and finished his preparation for the bar with 
Judge Gray in Elmira in 1835. He was in partnership with Judge 
James Dunn for a year and then entered into business with his precep- 
tor, Judge Gray, which was dissolved and a new connection formed as 
we have seen. He was the member of Assembly of the county in 1842 
and 1843. I" 1862 he became the commanding officer of the One 
Hundred and Forty-first Regiment, N. Y. V., and in the field was a por- 
tion of the time in command of the brigade to which his regiment was 
attached He contracted a disease while in the service from the eft'ects 
of which he died April 15, 1864. He was generous, charitable, and 
always kind hearted, and his many virtues so far outweighed his faults 
that the latter are forgotten and the former treasured as a heritage that 
belong not only to the county, but to all mankind. 

James L. Woods, the third member of the firm, came also from Cort- 
land County. A lawyer of great learning and consummate judgment 
his place at the bar of the State is a high one. He has for many years 
been a United States commissioner, and has had the unusual privilege 
of declining a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court of the State of 
New York. Much interested in the cause of education he has served 
many years on the board of the citj' of Elmira, most of the time as its 
president. 

General Diven was responsible for the coming to Elmira soon after 
he arrived there of another one who, with him, has always upheld the 
name and credit of the city of his adoption. Judge Ariel Standish Thurs- 
ton. He wrote to him of the advantages of the promised land, and Judge 
Thurston came to view them for himself He was pleased and remained. 
He was born in Goffstown, N. H., June 10, 1810, and is a direct de- 
scendant from the Miles Standish so well known in the annals of New 
England, and from whose family comes his second Christian name. His 
father was fifth irv descent from Daniel Thurston of old Newbury and 



JUDGE THURSTOX AXJ^ HIS S/STEK. i:il 

the fiftli in descent from Miles St.inciish, I'lymoutli's military com- 
mander. It mij^ht be observed licri.- that Judf^e Tliurston put into 
rhyme the famous poem by Longfellow concerning Priscilla's suitor, and 
the transformation makes pleasant music of the verse. Judge Thurston 
is a graduate of Amherst Coiiege. He came to Elmira in 1830 and 
studied law witli Judge Gray. At the same time he conducted a select 
school, and was admitted to the bar in 1835. For some time he was 
in tlie office in New York city of Benjanun V. Butler, who was one of 
General Jackson's attorney-generals. Judge Thurston returned to 
Elmira in 1836 and has resided there ever since. For eleven years he 
was the partner of Judge John W. Wisner, and when that gentleman in 
1850 resigned from the bench of the County Court Judge Thurston was 
elected to fill the vacancy, being re-elected the next year for the full 
term. In 1859 he was one of the State assessors, and during his active 
career was prt)minent in State politics. In a hale and hearty old age 
by the quiet of his fireside, in the company of those whom he loves and 
who love him, surrounded by his books, he passes the time in an ease 
and comfort that he has honestly won and surely deserves. 

Almost unconsciously with the mention of this family name comes the 
recollection of one whose influence in Elmira, through the young women 
who owe to her their education, it will take a long time to be entirely 
effaced. This is Miss Clarissa, more familarly known as Miss Clara 
Thurston, a sister of Judge Thurston. After teaching in Maine and Geor- 
gia, in Geneva and Brockport, N. Y., and in Bloomfield, N. J., in 1847 
she came to Elmira and opened there a female seminary, which speedily 
became and continued for many years one of the noted educational in- 
stitutions of the State. The Elmira College for Women, which was 
established in 1855, was an immediate outcome of this seminary. Its 
success was an assurance that the locality was fitted for an experiment 
that has proved eminently successful. Miss Thurston was a favorite 
writer for a number of periodicals, and published three books, the last 
one, "Light from History, or the Story ofFulfdled Prophecy," was is- 
sued after she had passed her eightieth year. At the age of seventy 
she sailed alone for Europe, and meeting friends made the tour of the 
continent. When past eighty she traveled extensively over this coun- 
try. One Sunday morning in 1884, on lier way to church, at the Sec- 



132 OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ond street crossing in Elmira, she was struck by a wrecking train and 
instantly killed. Aged, feeble, somewhat deaf, and doubtless pre-occu- 
pied with her thoughts she did not hear the repeated warnings given. 
Seldom has a death occurred anywhere that sent such a shock through 
the whole community, and the memory of it will long continue in the 
city and be recalled with a shudder. She was nearly eighty-three years 
of age. 



CHAPTER IV. 



The stage-coach Period in the History of the Valley — Cooley & Maxwell — Levi J. 
Cooley — The " Eagle Tavern " — Silas Haight — Other old Hotels — Public Halls 
from the earliest Times — Mechanics Hall — Pattinson Hall — The Elmira and 
Williamsport Railroad — The New York and Erie Railroad — The Chemimg Rail- 
road — Visit of the President of the United States to the Valley — Daniel Web- 
ster, Stephen A. Douglas, and Gen. Winfield Scott in Elmira — Local Officers of 
the Erie — William E. Rutter — James H. Rutter — Superintendents of the Susque- 
hanna Division — Gen. D. C. McCallum — H. D.\". Pratt — Old-time Conductors — 
The Chemimg Canal Bank — Organization of the Baptist and Episcopal Churches 
— " Aunty Hill " — Hervey Luce — Early Rectors of Trinity Church — The Hus- 
band of " Widow Bedott " — Rev. Dr. Andrew Hull — The Elmira Mechanics 
Society — Gen. William R. Judson — Chemung County Organized — First Officers 
of the County. 

■^T^HESE last three decades of the first half of this century made the 
I stage-coach period of the history of the region. By an imagina- 
tive person they might readilj^, and perhaps accurateh', be termed the 
romantic age of the valley, as the preceding years were certainly the 
heroic age and the years following the realistic and iron age. The bus- 
iness was of but little moment until somewhat after 1820. Before that 
year the carrying of the mails, which made the financial foundation of 
most of the stage lines, was done on horseback, and then when the roads 
permitted by means of one-horse wagons or sulkies. It was sufficient for 
the needs of the time, for communication by mail was but little cared for 
in those days and somewhat expensive. One would not have to be very 



THE STAGE-COACH PERIOD. 1.(3 

old at the present time to rcnieiiiber when sixpences and shillings were 
required to pay the postage on a letter at its starting point or destina- 
tion, and an eighteen-pence rate was common even for what would now 
be c.illed short distances. John Davis, of the " Black Horse " Tavern, to 
whom frequent reference has to be made in any record of the city of 
Elmira, ran the first stage, and that was to " Catherine Landing " at the 
head of Seneca Lake, now Watkins. Soon after, however, the business 
fell into the hands of other men who expanded it greatly, making El- 
mira a center of the interest. Among these was John Magee, of Hath, 
whose fortune from such small beginnings grew before he died into one 
of the largest in the whole region. His son. Gen. George J. Magee, of 
Watkins, worthily wears the mantle of business capacity and sagacity of 
his father before him. 

Among others of Elmira who at one time or another control'eti the 
stage lines of the period were J. Davis Baldwin, Sly & McGrath, and 
Gen. Whitney Gates, the first named a son of Major Isaac Baldwin, 
the second firm being Matthew McR. Slj', a son of John Sly, and George 
McGrath, a brother of the wife of Robert Covell, jr. They were the last 
stage proprietors of the valley, running their coaches until the whistle 
of the locomotive was heard. Gen. Whitney Gates was a noted char- 
acter of his time. He came into the valley in 1825 and at first began 
driving stage for Cooley & Maxwell, and became at length a proprietor 
of a line. The latter years of his life were employed in transferring the 
mail between the postoffice and the railroad station. 

The firm that conducted the stage business in its widest extent was 
that of Cooley & Maxwell. Their names were on the panels of the doors 
of the numerous Concord coaches that made good time all through the 
valley, and the firm's initials were on the blinders of hundreds and hun- 
dreds of four-horse team harnesses. The Maxwell of the concern was 
Samuel H. Maxwell, son of Guy Maxwell. He was an enterprising bus- 
iness man and an active citizen of his time. His wife was a daughter of 
Vincent Conkling, of 1 lorseheads, an early settler of that place of credit 
and renown. Mr. Maxwell represented the town of Horseheads in the 
Board of Supervisors of the county in 1853, '54, and '55. He died in 
Elmira in May, 1865. 

Levi J. Cooley, the senior member of the firm, was a verj- conspicu- 



134 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ous citizen of Elmira in his time. He was born in Sugar Loaf, Orange 
County, N. Y., in 1801, and came with his father to the Chemung Val- 
ley in 1805, the elder Cooley dying that same year. The lad grew up 
and received his education in his adopted home. In October, 1824, he 
married Susan, the only daughter of Guy Maxwell. About the same time 
he was engaged in the iron business in Blossburg, Pa., where he erected 
a furnace, but the expense of marketing such products without canals 
or railroads was not profitable and he returned to Elmira. He was a 
public man in all respects, serving several times in the Board of Super- 
visors of the county. The stage lines with which he was connected ran 
north to Jefferson or Watkins, west to Corning and Bath, south to Will- 
iamsport, and east to Owego, Ithaca, and Wilkesbarre. He died in 
Elmira, May 31, 1874, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. Mr. Cool- 
ey's only son, Jesse L. Cooley, was ten times the clerk of the Board of 
Supervisors and served as county treasurer twelve years. As one of 
the officers of the powerful organization, the Elmira Rolling-Mill Com- 
pany, he has contributed by his energy and capacity to the furtherance 
of its business and enjoyed its prosperity. Few men ever lived in the 
county who were more entitled to the popularity he has always pos- 
sessed and the kindly good feeling that was always extended to him by 
his fellow citizens. 

The offices of the stage lines of Cooley & Maxwell were in the " Ea- 
gle Tavern," a public house that was the immediate predecessor of the 
Rathbun House. This hotel was built in 1833 by Abram Riker for a 
company. It was quite a pretentious structure for that period, although 
it was very plain and bare, being of brick, three stories in height, and 
surmounted by a dome or cupola. On the Water street side were 
some tall columns of wood that were quite imposing. It had the honor 
at one time of being rather extensively and not very agreeably adver- 
tised by the famous writer, N. P. Willis. He was living at the time at 
" Glen Mary," near Owego, and came through Elmira on a tour with 
his wife. In one of his characteristic articles under the general title of 
" Letters froin under a Bridge " he refers to the hotel b)' name and its 
landlords in not very complimentary terms. The first landlords were 
Gamble & Hess, both from Bath, N. Y., and the}' were followed by 
one by the name of Webb, an elderly gentleman. None of these re- 



EARL y TA VERXS A.XD LANDLORDS. 135 

mained in Elmira after givinij up tlieir liotcl leases. Mr. Webb was still 
in charge in 1841-42 when the Washingtonian temperance wave rolled 
over the valley. It engulfed him, for he banished all liquors from liis 
house and went under. 

Silas Haight then became landlortl of the Eagle. Mr. Haiglit is one 
of those older citizens of Elmira tlie naming of whom brings fresh to 
the recollection of those who were fortunate enough to live in that gen- 
eration, and this too, some of the pleasantest and brightest days of the 
valley. There are mingled with them a few clouds and sadness, but the 
clouds are bright on the other side and the sting of the sadness is all 
gone. Mr. Haight came to Elmira in 1836 and engaged in the mercan- 
tile business, the firm being Haight & Holmes. The life was not one 
that fitted him and after two years he became the superintendent of the 
Chemung Canal "feeder." In 1839 E.Jones retired from the old Man- 
sion House on Lake street and Mr. Haight became its landlord. Erom 
that time for more than forty years his business was of that nature in the 
city of Elmira. In 1841 he took the Eagle and continued its proprietor 
until 1844, when he went back to the Mansion House. In 1849110 en- 
larged this building, and the next year it was burned and rebuilt with 
brick, all in five months, being rechristened "Haight's Hotel." This 
was also burned and again rebuilt to be called this time the "Hathaway 
House." 

In 1844 the Eagle Tavern was taken by IC. K. Hrainard, who c;ime 
from Franklin, Delaware County, N. Y. He made a most acceptable 
and popular landlord, but was unfortunate and not in good health. In 
September, 1849, tlie hotel was burned. It was a memorable fire in El- 
mira, for the Erie Railroad had been completed, passengers were com- 
pelled to tarry at least over night, and the hotel accommodations were 
meager. Mr. Brainard at once began rebuilding and completed the 
new hotel the next year. It was called the Hrainard House, although 
since and now known as the Ratlibun House, but very considerably en- 
larged and greatly changed in the interior. Mr Brainard died the ne.st 
year and his widow endeavored to conduct the place, but the load was 
too heavy to carry and the building passed into the possession of Julin 
T. Rathbun. The landlords of this comfortable hostelry since have 
been numerous, beginning with Coleman & Pike and continuing with 



136 OUR COUXTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

Landlords Blossom, Christopher Slater, and Col. E. R. Abbott to 
the present competent and popular one, Hugh C. Haj't. 

Old records continually speak of the taverns of the times. Away 
down on the old Water street, below Sullivan, was the first public house 
of the place. It was built of logs and not a vestige of it now remains. 
Tradition connects one by the name of Granger with it as its landlord. 
Then came the Kline House, farther up the river between what is now 
Fox street and Madison avenue; then the "Black Horse" Tavern, con- 
ducted by John Davis, at the corner of Lake and Water streets. Mr. 
Davis died in 1847, and the next year the building was torn down to 
give place to the block now occupying the ite. The old tavern was a 
low, rambling structure, with its yard and barns reaching away back 
and up almost half way to Carroll street. The next was the Mansion 
House on the south side of Water street about midway between Lake 
and Baldwin streets. Above it in the third story was the Masonic 
Hall. It was kept by a landlord b\' the name of Bundy, variously called 
" Judge " Bundy from the fact that in some of the practical jokes of the 
day the culprit was always taken before him and tried. Bundy after- 
ward engaged in the grocery business. One of his daughters married 
S. G. Andrus, a lumber merchant of Elmira, and another Benjamin 
Chatfield, a well known citizen of Owego. When Bundy's Mansion 
House ceased to e.xist as a public house there was a new Mansion 
House built, about 1830, at Lake and Market streets. It has already 
been alluded to as the spot made popular by Elijah Jones and Silas 
Haight. 

When the canal was being constructed a new public house was built 
at the northwest corner of what is now East Water and State streets. 
It was named the Elmira Hotel, and under that name it continued to 
exist until the canal was no more. It possessed one attraction for a 
certain class of characters that they enjoyed hugely in the summer-time. 
Upon the wide uncovered porch running along its east side one could 
sit facing the canal and listen to the constant and not unmusical fall of 
the waters as they tumbled from the canal into the lock there that let 
them free into the river below. Among the landlords of this hotel in 
its best days were William Dunn, Erastus Goodrich, and Henry Potter. 

There deserves mentioning the fact that what is now the Pattinson 



HOTELS AXD PUBLIC HALLS. I:t7 

House was at one time the only hotel of any consequence tliat l-^lmira 
possessed, and in a time, too, when one was sorely needed. The Eagle 
was being rebuilt and Haight's Hotel was in ashes. The Erie was just 
finished, and every night the solitary train that ran to E^linira and 
stopped there was unloading a crowd of hungry anil tired passengers. 
The hotel then was very much as it is now. It has been somewhat en- 
larged and re-arranged from a private house that had been occupied by 
E. S. Huntley. It was called the Temperance House, and was kept by 
GifTord J. Booth, a short, stout individual and the busiest man in town. 
The few months that he had the whole run of the traveling custom were 
exceeding!}- profitable to him and set him far on the way to being a 
rich man. M. L. Roll, since and now an esteemed citizen of Eimira, 
was connected with this profitable venture in entertaining tiie public. 
GifTord J. Booth removed to Fulton Cit)', 111., where he is now an editor 
of a newspaper. A brother of his, Raymond liooth, at the time had a 
sash and blind factory at the southeast corner of Lake and Market 
streets. He built what is now the Frasier House, at first and for many 
years called the American Hotel. 

Right opposite the Temperance House was another old-time hotel 
called the Chemung House, long in possession of the Cherry famih', 
who were descendants of John Cherry, one of the earliest settlers in the 
valley. Its landlord for a long time was Erastus Goodrich. He came 
to this house from the one already spoken of near the canal, the " Ei- 
mira Hotel." 

Hotels or taverns in those early days, provided always with a large 
" ball-room," possessed the only places that could be called public halls 
where entertainments could be given in the way of what were called 
" shows." The first of these places was in the " Eimira Hotel" near the 
canal, the house being kept by Dunn & Hawks, the first named having been 
William Dunn already spoken of Here was given the first public drama- 
tic entertainment ever produced in the village, the company being that of 
Gilbert & Trobridge, composed of these gentlemen and their wives with 
two or three other members. The Gilbert of the firm was John Gilbert, 
who afterward, in connection with the Wallacks of New York, attained 
to much distinction in his j)rofession, and who died recently. One of 
the members of the company was an aspirant for histrionic fame, n.imed 

18 



138 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Neafie, who afterward acquired some distinction playing a similar line 
of characters to those taken by Forrest, Eddy, and Boniface. He was 
leading man at the old Bowery in New York for some years. This 
troupe undertook such ambitious works as " Pizarro" and " The Lady 
of the Lake " with old stock farces like " The Spectre Bridegroom." 

The "Eagle Tavern's" ball-room furnished the next public hall. It 
was not very large, its seating capacity not being much beyond 300 or 
400. Here appeared many of the public persons, men and women of 
tiie period, among them the famous song-writer and singer, Henry Rus- 
sell. The next hall was that in the building of the Mechanics Society 
on the west side of Lake street about midway between Water and Car- 
roll streets. It was in the third story, and coming into it was like com- 
ing from the hold of the vessel out upon the upper deck. The stairs 
ended right in the hall with a railing around the edges. The famous 
Hutchinson family sang in this hall a number of times, and here were 
held the church fairs and school e.xhibitions of the day. Here also were 
delivered the lectures under the auspices of the Young Men's Associa- 
tion, a society incorporated by act of the legislature April 1 1, 1842, the 
predecessor of the Young Men's Christian Association, and the precursor 
of the lyceum lectures of ten or fifteen years later. That same winter 
there was a " course " made up mostly of local talent, including such 
men as Judge Dunn, Judge A. S. Thurston, Rev. Dr. P. H. Fowler, and 
Thomas Maxwell, esq. In after years names in similar "courses" were 
more familiar to the world at large. 

After Mechanics Hall came Pattinson Hall on the opposite side of 
the street a little south. It also was in the third story, and was the first 
hall in the village fitted up with a regular stage with all its appoint- 
ments. One of the most familiarly known of the " lessees " of this place 
was Garry Hough, who had a "circuit" in that region, including most 
of the neighboring towns. He brought to Elmira some conspicuous 
talent, among his leading people being Julia Dean Hayne, Susan and 
Kate Denin, and William MulhoUand. About this time there was an- 
other hall on Carroll street, a mere lane then, called Temperance Hall. 
It was used for some public entertainments, but became a school-house 
eventually and a church. 

This Pattinson Hall was built by George Pattinson, who had made a 



RAILROAD COMPA.XIES INCORPORA TED. 139 

goodly sum of money in the cattle business. His father, Thomas Pattin- 
son, came to h-lmira from Canada in 1830. He had a meat market on 
the south side of Water street. He had a great savage bulldog named 
" Axam " that was a terror to ever\one, and which one day flew at 
Judge Grant B. Baldwin, but was called off by his master before doing 
much damage. Judge Baldwin got a rifle and shot at the dog at short 
range. It ran off, but died from the wound. Mr. Pattinson's wife was the 
granddaughter of the famous English inventor and engineer, George Ste- 
phenson, and his children have endeavored to obtain some portion of 
the large property left by him, but without success. Mr. Pattinson died 
in 1838. Besides George, who died sometime after building the Pattin- 
son Hall block, Mr. Pattinson's children were Thomas S. and Betsey. 
Thomas married Clarinda, a daughter of Comfort Bennett, and has long 
been a merchant and one of the most esteemed citizens of Elmira. 
Betsey became the wife of John Fosnaught, at one time a prosperous 
mason and builder of Elmira. Both George and Thomas S. Pattinson 
were active in public affairs, and were especiallj' prominent in the fire 
department in its early volunteer days. 

It has heretofore been intimated that many enterprises were origin- 
ated in the county that were never even practically begun. In the midst 
of this stage-coaching era there was incorporated by the laws of the 
State a railroad company whose full purpose was not reached until 
twenty years thereafter. This was the Elmira and Williamsport Rail- 
road Company, and the act was passed before that authorizing the Erie 
Company, showing that there was a feeling to reach toward the South 
even then ratiier than toward the North and East. The act referred 
to was passed by the legislature on April 21, 1832. Solomon L. Smith 
and William Maxwell were two of the directors appointed, and Caleb 
Baker, Solomon L. Smith, William Jenkins, Abraham McHenry, James 
Griswold, Robert Covell, Isaac Baldwin, William Maxwell, Charles Or- 
wan, Darius Bentley, John Jackson, William Baldwin, and George Gard- 
ner were appointed commissioners to obtain subscriptions to the stock. 
The enterprise at that time did not get beyond the law authorizing it. 

It was only three days after the date named, April 24, 1832, that the 
legislature passed the act incorporating the New York and P>ie Rail- 
road. Among the commissioners appointed to receive subscriptions 



UO OUR COUXTV A.XD ITS PEOPLE. 

were James Pumpelly, Lyman Covell, William Maxwell, Grant B. Bald- 
win, Darius Bentley, and John Jackson. These names and those pre- 
ceding show who were the active men of the county of the period. But 
the scheme was a wild one and has been called by a harsher name. 

The story of the Erie Railway as it is popularly known, although the 
line has had several other corporate names from the time when, in 1825, 
there was a survey made by order of the legislature and the route being 
decided to be an impracticable one, down to the present moment would 
be one worth the telling. It is a history in itself that in its struggles, trials, 
disappointments, and triumphs, in its fights against bitter opposition 
from other portions of the State, and its life while in the hands of 
schemers and wreckers, would be one of intense interest, and would bear 
more than favorable comparison with the history of some nations or 
races. 

The first Erie was built in patches, just enough here and there to 
comply with the requirements of the statute authorizing it that the 
money the State was to supply might be handled. It was built on 
piles, and until within twenty years or so back these might be seen here 
and there through the valley, mostly just along the side of the track as it 
was eventually laid. It was not the purpose to grade up to the rails, 
but to lay them on top of the piles named, the unevenness of the surface 
of the country being provided for by the piles themselves, their tops 
being level however much or little they might be driven into the ground. 
The Chemung was bridged in the same places it is now; that is, there 
were piers built in the river which remained where they were placed for 
a number of years. The line through Elmira ran something as it does 
now, e.xcept it bore toward the east, crossing the canal a little above 
Washington avenue and again crossing it near the Home for the Aged. 
Bridges were built at those two places, the course continuing then much 
as it does now to Big Flats and Corning. But the company broke down 
in 1 841 and the next year was revived, the work then proceeding to 
completion. It was opened to Elmiia in the latter part of the year 
1849, the contractors for the building from Binghamton there being 
John Arnot, Constant Cook, John Magee, and Charles Cook, the firm 
name being " Constant Cook & Co." Constant Cook and John Magee 
were Bath (Steuben County) men and Charles Cook of Havana. 



THE ERIE RAILROAD liUILT AND OPENED. 141 

It would have been a poor outlook for a railroad at that time to trr- 
minate in Elmira, but an outlet had been provided for. On May 14, 184S, 
the Chemung Railroad Conii)an\' was incorporatLd, the commissioners 
to [procure subscriptions being Charles Cook, William Maxwell, and Ly- 
man Covell. Not much was done at that time, but when the coming of 
the Erie was assured work was begun in earnest, in January, 1848, 
Simeon l^enjamin, John Arnot, Solomon I,. Gilleit, David H. Tuthill, 
Samuel B. Strang, Henry M. Partridge, and others took hold of the en- 
terprise and pushed it through, being materially assisted by tiie Erie 
company itself, who agreed to lease the road for twenty years at the 
rate of eight per cent, on its entire cost. Sylvester W. Hall, a civil 
engineer of much capacity who married Anna, a daughter of Capt. 
Samuel Partridge now living in Elmira, a farmer and a graceful writer 
for the public press, ran the line of the road and upon his surveys it was 
built for the company by Carmichael & Brayton. It was finished in 
December, 1849. This formed what might be called an outlet for the 
Erie at Elmira. That company ran its trains to W'atkins until its line 
was opened to Dunkirk. At Watkins a steamer on Seneca Lake carried 
passengers to Geneva, where connection was made with what is now 
the New York Central road. It was a great era for Seneca Lake. The 
passenger boat was one of the largest and finest ever seen on our inland 
waters. It was named the Ben Loder for the president of the Erie 
road at the time, and its accommoda'tions attracted many tourists from 
all over the country to view scenery that for quiet beaut}' is surpassed 
nowhere. 

The Erie was opened to Dunkirk on May 14, 1S51, and the event 
was signalized by the passage of the President of the United States and 
his Cabinet, with several prominent members of Congress, from one 
terminus to the other. The train conveying them remained over night 
in Elmira. President Fillmore, Secretary of State Daniel Webster, and 
others of that party were entertained at Haight's Hotel and the visit 
was one long remembered. Mr. Webster made a speech from the Lake 
street balcony that was listened to by a large and admiring throng. It 
was the only time that the voice of that great man was ever heard in the 
valley. Among those at the Brainard House was Stephen A. Douglas, 
then coming into great prominence as the senator from Illinois, the 



142 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

"Little Giant" of the West, lie also spoke from the balcony of the 
hotel where he was staying. It was a great night for the little village. 

In the fall of the same year Gen. Winfield Scott, passing over the 
line to view the new region, also remained over night and at Haight's 
Hotel. His visit excited a great deal of interest, and persons came 
from all the surrounding country to see one whose career had made so 
large a part of the history of his country. 

Elmira was on the Susquehanna division of the railroad and was 
made the headquarters of the superintendent of the division. It has so 
remained since, with the exception of brief intervals when the offices 
were kept at Owego and Susquehanna. The first superintendent of the 
division was William E. Rutter, one of the most competent and expe- 
rienced of railroad men, who came from Providence, R. I., and who con- 
ceived a great liking for Elmira and continued one of its citizens as long 
as he lived. He established a manufactory for the building of railroad 
cars, which was afterward transferred to the Erie company and made as 
well a repair shop for the division. It continued as such for more than 
a quarter of a century, adding much to the wealth, prosperity, and pop- 
ulation of the village and city. Mr. Rutter died in the 'seventies. 

Mr. Rutter had three sons, all of whom as youth and men were above 
the ordinary in capacity and experience. They were all bred in Elmira. 
James H. Rutter, the eldest, after a time spent in a railroad office in 
Chicago, returned to Elmira as the station agent of the Erie. He served 
there as such during the early years of the war when the position was 
one of great anno}'ance and perplexity. He was then transferred to the 
Buffalo station of the road and thence to the general freight office in New 
York. His abilities recommended him to Mr. Vanderbilt, the president 
of the New York Central Railroad, of which company he was made the 
third vice-president, subsequently succeeding Mr. Vanderbilt as the 
president of the road. He gave his life to the work of this great corpo- 
ration, dying June 15, 1885, considerably less than fifty years of age. 
William E. Rutter's second son, named for his father, did not arrive at 
man's estate, but showed in his brief life capacities that indicated, had 
he lived, that his career would have been a prominent and successful 
one. He was the foreman of a youth's fire company to whom the 
trustees of the village, in the time of the volunteer fire department, had 



SKETCHES OF ITS SUPERINTENDENTS. 143 

i^iantetl the use of an old machine and regularly enrolled them in the 
department Their services on several occasions showed that no mis- 
take IkkI been made by the trustees. At the Iiead of his company one 
night, and while proceeding in the line of his duty toward a fire, young 
Rutter fell dead. It was an event even yet often referred to in the an- 
nals of a department of wliich Elmira has reason to be proud. Capt. 
Nathaniel E. Rutter, the third son of William E. Rutter, well loved and 
admired by his comrades, was an officer in the One Hundred and 
Seventh Regiment and lost his life during the war. 

Mr. Rutter was succeeded in the superintendency of the division by 
Henry Coffin, who, however, only acted as such. He boarded with his 
wife at Haight's Hotel, his room being on the highest floor in the north- 
east corner of the building. He chose this location because of his fond- 
ness for playing the cornet. Early in the bright summer mornings the 
notes of his instrument, clear, sweet, and strong, could be heard, as he 
was a fine performer, like the bugle calls of an army in the field. Those 
who heard them in their early morning sleep were disposed to sweeter 
slumbers. 

D. C. McCallum was the next superintendent of the division. He 
was an Owego man who had attained some railroad prominence in con- 
nection with a wooden truss bridge that bore his name. He established 
the offices of the division in Owego, where they remained for the brief 
time that he was superintendent. He is somewhat noted as the author 
of the lines entitled " The Water-IVIill," in which occurs the refrain: 
"The wheel will never grind with the water that is passed" ; pretty in 
sentiment and versification, but somewhat hackneyed with frequent rep- 
etition. Mr. McCallum subsequently became the general superintend- 
ent of the road, and during the war had charge of the military railroads 
of the country, having tiie rank of brigadier general. He was suc- 
ceeded in the superintendency of the division by R. N. Brown, who had 
been the engineer of the road, and, after him, J. A. Hart. H. H. Smith 
came next. He held the position from 1858 to 1865. He was after- 
ward the station agent in Elmira, and is now connected with the Lehigh 
X'alley Railroad. 

The next superintendent was H. de Valson I'ratt, who served in the 
capacity for the longest time of any who had ever filled the position, 



144 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

his term continuing for more than eight years from 1865 to 1873. His 
abilities as a railroad man are conceded, his services proving them con- 
stantly. He worked his way up from the track and knew the division 
from the spikes in the most obscure and least used switch to the work- 
ings of the finest locomotive as familiarly as a farmer knows the path 
from his house to his barns. The division was never in as compact, 
well in hand, and ready for any emergency condition as during the 
years it was in charge of Mr. Pratt, and the people of Elmira appreci- 
ated it. He subsequently became the general superintendent of the 
road, where his abilities had a wider field and filled it. It was a depri- 
vation to the public when the change in the administration of the road 
took him from the position he filled so creditabl)'. He is still one of 
the most worthy and honored citizens of Elmira, whose judgment in 
public as well as in private affairs is often appealed to and never without 
good results. His son. Dr. H. D. V. Pratt, is one of the brightest and 
most skillful physicians of the day in the county. 

Mr. Pratt was succeeded as superintendent of the division by Chaun- 
cey W. Gardner, who had been long the "division dispatcher" and 
was thoroughly acquainted with the portion of the line of which he had 
control. He was popular and efficient, and was transferred to the Brad- 
ford (Pa.) division just then on account of the oil interests arising to 
great importance. He was succeeded in Elmira in the year 1877 by R. B. 
Cable, who came to the division from tiie general offices of the company 
in New York. The following named have been superintendents of the 
division since Mr. Cable retired from the position in 1883: Jeremiah 
Jolls for two years; Mr. Cable again for one year; D. H. Blackham, 
1886; A. M. Tucker, 1887; W. B. Coffin, 1887-89; J. H. Parsons, 
one year; M. W. Maguire, 1891. 

The early conductors of the road were conspicuous men in their time 
and deserve some remembrance. Many of them had their homes in 
Elmira and many of them rose from the command of trains to the com- 
mand of stations and divisions. The names of Henry Ayres, William 
H. Thorne, George Congdon, Jesse Owen, John A. McWilliams, Solo- 
mon Bowles, William H. Masterson, Henry F. Svvectzer, A. D. Thomp- 
son, Isaac H. Wood, George Wooley, R. H. Stuart, Charles Greene, 
Fred Butler, Capt. Jack Lee, Thomas Dndd, Samuel Crouch, Robert 



AMONG THE COXDUCTORS. 145 

Warren, Charles E. Gillett, Jerome Dennis, J. H. Judd, George M. 
Writer, Ira A. Post, Scott Harris. George W. Parsons, Hiram Hurty, 
George Hacker, Henry Kipp, Morgan L. Wood, and later Harvey Lamb, 
Charles Graves, and W. H. Peters have a place in the history of the 
Erie in the valley that should not be left blank. Among them A. D. 
Thompson, known from Dunkirk to Jersey City as "Tone" Thompson,, 
is still in command of a train between Owego and Susquehanna, prob- 
ably the oldest conductor now in actual service in the United States. 
And Charley Greene, handsome as the day, always as neat as wax even 
after a run of 300 miles on the dustiest summer day, a natural born 
conductor, polite, accommodating, and of the most excellent judgment 
on all occasions. J. B Judd is also in the service, having charge of a pas- 
senger train on the Tioga branch. Another of them, John A. McWill- 
iams, was long time a highly regarded citizen of Elmira. He was an 
Orange County man and was one of the first conductors of the Erie, hav- 
ing charge of a train that ran only between Pierniont and Sufiferns. Soon 
after the road was opened to Elmira he came to that city to live, and there 
he resided for more than twenty years, going to Buffalo in the insurance 
business in 1874 and dying there in March, 1881. He was very active 
during the war in assisting to raise troops. His wife was a sister of Judge 
Wilkins, of Middletown, Orange County, N. Y. Their sons Daniel E., 
John J., and Joseph became active and prominent business men. A 
daughter is the wife of Stephen Rose, the hardware merchant of Elmira. 
Another of these conductors was Henry Ayres, known all along the 
line as Captain Ayres. He was for thirty- two years a conductor, be- 
ginning such service on the old Harlem road in 1837 and cuming to the 
Erie in 1841. Previous to 1837 'i^ 'I'ld been in the United States army 
and was with it in Florida in 1820, when that State was taken posses- 
sion of by the United States. Captain Ayres was the first one to use 
the present bell-rope system on railroads. P^e continued to run a train 
until 1869, in the seventieth year of his age, and continued to draw half 
pay from the Erie as a retired conductor. He died in October, 1880. 

An absorbing interest in those early days of the railroad in the valley 
centered about the locomotives. They were thought of and talked about 
almost as if they were living creatures of a new order just discovered. 
They could be distinguished and recognized at a distance, and were 

19 



146 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

known for miles by the sound of their " voices," whistle?, or bells. It 
is easy to recall the Norris engines Nos. i and lo, the Swinburns Nos. 
15 and 16. Wayne No. 25, Seneca No. 27, and "Old Tioga" herself 
No. 23, the favorite of them all. Then they began to multiply and 
there came the Taunton engines Nos. 61 and 62 and 114 to ii8, and 
the Hinkleys Nos. 90 to 99 and 120 to 124. Three light passenger en- 
gines, Nos. 52, 87, and 1 12, were great pets. They had but one driving 
wheel on a side and were great runners with trains of only three or four 
cars. These machines were all " wood burners," and with their large 
funnel- shaped smoke stacks looked very different from the trim cigarette- 
topped locomotives of this day. They were more trouble to the train- 
men, too, for they had to be " wooded up " very frequently at stations 
where great piles of wood were kept ready at hand for the purpose. 

Some of the old engineers of the division were Pat Donohue, Will- 
iam Tripp, Nathan Whitney, Harry Goodell, Peter Clow, William Conk- 
lin, John Donohue, James B. Salmon, Thomas Tennant, Peter Crane, 
Charles Rogers, Mark Marcane, John Hall, S. Thatcher, L. C. Pitcher, 
William Goodell, C. A. Millard, John Donavan, Charles Coffey, Thomas 
Devvitt, — all a noble lot of men and some still running on the division, 
marking their connection with the road for almost forty years. Among 
these are Thomas Tennant, Charles Rogers, John Donohue, S. Thatcher, 
and Charles Coffey. D. B. Goodell, an old time engineer, was after- 
ward made foreman of the shops in Elmira and has held a number of 
official positions in the city. 

All of these important changes from the time of the opening of the 
canal required other changes in the way of doing business. A circu- 
lating medium became absolutely necessary, the wider and more com- 
plicated interests demanding some other system than that long in vogue, 
barter. The products of the soil were valuable and plentiful, but men 
required something besides a wagon-load of wheat or a bin of oats with 
which to pay their debts. Therefore was the first bank in the valk-y, 
with a rather peculiar and suggestive combination of words, organized 
and named the " Chemung Canal Bank." Its charter was obtained from 
the legislature April 9, 1833, and the following named were appointed 
commissioners to obtain subscriptions to its stock : Abraham McHenrj-, 
Lyman Covell, Thomas Maxwell, John Jackson, Henry W. Swan, Darius 



THE CHEMUNG CANAL BANK. 147 

Bentley, Levi J. Cooley, Horace IMack, and Elijah Goodwin. It would 
seem that very little trouble or solicitation was necessary to raise the 
amount of the stock, which had been fixed at $200,000. Subscriptions 
poured in at such a rate that the sum reached by them amounted to 
nearly five times the capital required, in e.xact figures $1,434,450. Not 
only local funds came in, but there were subscribers from far away places, 
among them appearing Gabriel Wisner, William B. Ogden, and Jona- 
than Lawrence, of New York ; John Van Northwick, of Penn Yan ; Jef- 
frey Wisner, of Orange County; Daniel S. Dickinson, of Binghamton ; 
Clarence Shephard, of Bath ; and Ira Harris, of Albany. In July, 1833, 
the stockholders held their first meeting at the Mansion House of Elijah 
Jcnes. John G. McDowell, William Maxwell, Lyman Covell, Horace 
Mack (of Ithaca, of the publishing firm of Mack, Andrus & Co.), E. H. 
Goodwin, Levi J. Cooley, Jacob Westlake (of Horseheads), John Jack- 
son (of Horseheads), Miles Covell, A. S. Lawrence, John Arnot, Mat- 
thew McReynolds, and Hiram Gray were elected directors. John G. 
McDowell was elected president and William Maxwell cashier. There 
were few changes until 1842, when John Arnot was elected president. 
Since that time the institution has been controlled by him and his fam- 
ily. Its afifairs were started at a high tide of prosperity and there has 
never been any ebb. F"or five years from 1865 to 1870 it worked un- 
der a charter from the national government, becoming then and since 
continuing a private concern under the laws of the State of New York. 
The incoming of new settlers and the increase in population brought 
into the valley new religious interests and those whose faith did not or 
could not subscribe to those church influences that had already been 
established. All men do not and cannot think alike. Reference has 
already been made to " Parson " Goff, a Baptist who, in the early part 
of the century, preached in the neighborhood of Wellsburg. His labors 
extended to the town of Southport, and he held occasional services also 
in that region. It is fair to presume that his efforts grew into the 
formation of a society, the first definite signs of which are to be ob- 
served in 1829, on May i6th of that year, the "Southport and Elmira 
Baptist Church " having been constituted by delegates from the cl'iurches 
at Big I""lats and Elmira, N. Y., and Springfield and Canton, Pa. Two 
years afterward, in 1831, the society was legally recognized by act of 



148 OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the legislature, and twenty years afterward, April ii, 1849, the act or- 
ganizing the "Baptist Church and congregation of the towns of South- 
port and Elmira " was confirmed. On June 24, 1853, the name was 
changed to the First Baptist Church of Elmira. The early church was 
indebted for its organization to the Rev. P. D. Gillette, an enthusiastic, 
eloquent, and able man. He was of French descent and came from 
Washington County, N. Y. His father intended hini for a physician, and 
he pursued his studies for the profession until he was converted and his 
whole career thereby changed. He came to Elmira in 1829 and was 
married to a daughter of Jeffrey Wisner, much spoken of before this. 
Mr. Wisner gave the plot of ground on which the first church of the or- 
ganization was built in 1830. Mr. Gillette established other Baptist 
churches in the region, including the one still existing and prosperous 
in Horseheads. He remained in Elmira until 1836. He died in Horse- 
heads in 1845 ^"'^ '^'s body lies buried in the cemetery of that village. 
One of his daughters married one well known in Elmira for years as a 
sound and substantial business man, ex-Alderman H A. Scott, and an- 
other daughter was the wife of another well known old Elniran, promi- 
nent in real estate operations and of an old county family, Mason P. 
Fitch. A son, Wisner Gillette, is now a citizen of Los Angeles, Cal. 

The names of those connected with this early church are mostly 
known in the annals of Southport, from which neighborhood, as its name 
might import, it received tiie most of its strength. The first deacons 
were John Waeir, jr., and David Howell, both Southport men, and the 
first clerk William Lowe. There were thirty-eight constituent mem- 
bers, among them being John P. Stryker, Polly Stryker, Henrietta See- 
ley, Joseph Grover, Hannah Grover, Julia Howell, John Bower, Abigail 
Cassada, Elizabeth Paine, Jonathan Rowley, Sally Cassada, Jude Ham- 
mond, John Sl_\-, Polly Sly, Zina Jenkins, Sally Tubbs, Nancy Beckwith. 
Mr. Gillette was succeeded in charge of the church by the Rev. H. C. 
Vogel, and he in succession by the Revs. D. Robinson, Z. Grinnel, E. W. 
Dickinson, J. G. Binney, D.D., C. N. Chandler, R. J. Wilson, E. An- 
drews, and M. C. Manning. All of these rendered good service to the 
people over whose spiritual welfare they were placed, and most of them 
are remembered with pleasant and grateful recollections. A new church 
was built in 1849. 



TRIXITY CHURCH. 149 

Almost exactly conteniporaiy with the organization of this religious 
society was tiiat of the Episcopal Church of Elmira called from the start 
"Trinity." In 1.S33 the Rev. John G. Carder, rector of a church in 
Ithaca, came to the village occasionally and held services in the old 
school-house that stood on the Main Street Park a few feet east from the 
eastern entrance of the present Park Church. His coming was more or 
less an event in the village, his robes and his prayer book being por- 
tions of religious services to which the neighborhood had never been 
accustomed. The societj', at first a mere handful, was a struggling little 
organization, there being but few who were of that communion in the 
village. Some of those ujion whose shoulders fell the early burdens of 
the church are remembered with a feeling, almost of reverence. The 
Hatch families already referred to are among them, and one who, by a 
kind heartedness and never-disturbed good humor, acquired the name 
of " Aunty Hill " was instant and constant in her labors for the church. 
She and her husband, " Tommy" Hill, kept a garden on what is now 
Gray street (it had no name then) which was rich in fruits and berries. 
"Tommy" had charge of the stables at the "Black Horse" Tavern as 
long as he was able to care for them, — rather a responsible position in the 
stage-coaching times. The couple came from Ireland in the 'twenties, 
and there were rumors of the pleasant spot they were obliged to leave 
in that land during some of the political eruptions to which it was then 
and still is subject. Their children all became worthy citizens of V.\- 
mira : John and Henry merchants, Robert a carriage manufacturer, and 
Thomas a livery stable owner. Another one to whose labors is due 
the early organization of the church was Hervey Luce. He came from 
Cooperstown, Otsego County, in 1828 and built a house on the spot 
where now stands Grace Chapel. His wife was a descendant and mem- 
ber of the Campbell family so famous in Scottish history, one of her 
name, W. W. Campbell, afterward being one of the justices of the Su- 
preme Court of the State of New York of the district in which Elmira is 
located. Mr. Luce was a hatter, and carried on that business in Elmira 
for some years. His daughter was the wife of the Hon. William T. Post, 
long time and yet a busy business man of Elmira, postmaster of the city 
one term, and member of Assembly from the district in 1864 and 1865. 
His daughter married a distant relative of his family of the same name 



150 OUR COU.XTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

wlio was United States consul at Vienna, Austria, a number of years, 
and is now member of Congress from the State of Illinois. Mr Luce 
was one of the first wardens of Trinity Church and served as such for 
many years. 

Trinity Church was regularly organized on March 31,1 834, the follow- 
ing named composinrj the first vestry: Wardens, Hervey Luce, Eph- 
raim Wheeler ; vestrymen, Piatt Bennett, Samuel H. Maxwell, Mat- 
thew McReynolds, Levi J. Cooley, Linus Griswold, Amnion Beardsley, 
Ransom Birdsall, A. S. Lawrence, Dr. Theseus Brooks. The first rector 
of the church was the Rev. Thomas Clark, who remained three years and 
was succeeded in 1836 by the Rev. Richard Smith. During this gentle- 
man's rectorship the first church building was erected at the southwest 
corner of what is now West Church street and Railroad avenue. It cost 
$3,150 and was consecrated by Bishop B. T. Onderdonk, August 27, 
1837. In 1838 came as rector the Rev. Gordon Winslow, followed in 
1841 by the Rev. Kendrick Metcalf and in 1842 by the Rev. Stephen 
Douglas. The Rev. Washington Van Zandt came as rector in 1844. 
He remained three years, and was one of the most eloquent men in the 
pulpit that ever took orders, but unfortunate in his social relations. In 
April, 1847, he was succeeded by the Rev. B. W. Whitcher, whose wife 
was the famous author of the "Widow Bedott" papers, the making known 
of which fact cost him his rectorship. In 1849 the Rev. Dr. Andrew Hull 
became the rector of the church. Dr. Hull was born in Hartford, N. Y., 
on June 13, 1811. He was graduated from Hamilton College in June, 
1836, and three years afterward from the Theological Seminary in New 
York city. On June 30, 1839, he was ordained a deacon by Bishop On- 
derdonk in the Church of the Annunciation, New York city. He had 
received a number of calls from prosperous and prominent churches, but 
declined them all and offered himself to his bishop to be sent as a mis- 
sionary to any field of labor where a minister having a family could not 
obtain adequate support. He was sent into Otsego County to take 
charge of two churches, one at Oneonta and another in Otego, little 
hamlets within ten miles of each other. In Oneonta Dr. Hull built a 
chapel. In the pretty little stone church in Otego Dr. Hull received 
priest's orders from Bishop Onderdonk on August 9, 1840. March 5, 
i84i,Dr. Hull accepted a call to St. Andrews's Church, New Berlin, Che- 



DR. HULLS LO.\G AND FAITHFUL MINISTRY. 151 

nango County, N. Y., and during his rectorship thereof eight years he 
built a new cliurch of stone designed by Upjohn, the architect of Trinity 
Church, New York. It was consecrated by Bishop De Lancy, October 
1 8, 1848. Dr. Hull was called to Elniira and entered in charge July i, 
1849. He received his degree of D.D from Hobart College, Geneva, in 
1864. No unmeaning compliment was it, as was truly observed at the 
time, but a well deserved tribute to the learning, talents, ami devoted fidel- 
ity to the duties of a Christian teacher of him upon whom the title was 
conferred. In i860, after seventeen years of faithful service over Trin- 
ity Church in Elmira, Dr. Hull resigned his rectorship there and in No- 
vember. 1868, took charge of St. Paul's Church, Steubenville, O. In 
July, 1871, he accepted a call to Christ Church, Montpelier, Vt, and 
remained there eight years, at the end of which time, having completed 
the fortieth }'ear of his ministry, he retired from further parochial serv- 
ice. In January, 1880, he returned to l^hnira to live, where he now re- 
sides in his declining years surrounded by scenes that he loves and by 
friends that are dear to him and who fill his life with devoted attention. 
Dr. Hull has always been steadfast to the duties to which he was called. 
Trinity Church in Elmira owes him a debt that it can never repay. It 
was only through his constant self sacrifices and heroic self-denial that 
the beautiful Trinity edifice became possible. Men of less fortitude or 
strength of character than he, laboring under the disad\antagfs that 
surrounded him, would have given up in despair. He clung to his work, 
and when the church was completed and paid for resigned. He had had 
many opportunities to go to easier, more profitable, and less embarrass- 
ing fields, but he declined them all and remained until his dutj' was 
accomplished. Outside of his own parish he has been bus\- with mis- 
sionary services. He started the churches at Big Flats and llorseheads 
upon their careers of usefulness. Among other duties he was for sev- 
eral years one of the trustees of the General Theological Seminary in 
New York and of Hobart College, Geneva. In 1886 he wrote by se- 
lection the semi-centennial letter of Hamilton College due from the 
class with which he graduated, a paper that was greatly prized. 

Looking to the material interests of the people there was an organ- 
ization formed these years that was extraordinary both for the princi- 
ples on which it was founded and for the vitality that was infused 



1-32 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

in it from the start. In January, 1834, a company of men met at the 
residence of Orizon Birdsall and organized the Elmira Mechanics So- 
ciety. The object of this new society was "to accumulate a fund for 
the mutual benefit of its members." The first officers were: Presi- 
dent, Charles Orwan; vice-president, Abram Riker ; secretary, Ran- 
som Birdsall; treasurer, Francis Collingwood ; directors, J.A.Smith, 
Sylvester Munger, William R. Judson, John C. Roe, Levi J. Cooley ; 
Prudential Committee, Francis Smith, William Williams, Hunt Pome- 
roy, Orizon Birdsall, Daniel Stephens, Henry Potter, Archibald Heggie. 
There were fifty members in the new organization, and as showing the 
healthy condition of the village it may be said that they were all 
mechanics. There was a small initiation fee and weekly dues of an 
equally small amount. In lending the capital thus acquired the mem- 
bers had and have the preference. 

Some of these named as officers have already received the attention 
they deserve ; others as being the bone and sinew of the village should 
have some remembrance. Charles Orwan, the president of the society, 
was a gunsmith and had his shop and residence on Main street between 
Gray and Market streets. He was a highl}' respected citizen. It was 
in his shop that Dr. Satterlee lost his life in the accidental discharge of 
a gun that he was examining. Mr. Orwan left Elmira, going to Illinois. 
Abram Riker, first vice-president of the society, was probably the largest 
contracting carpenter of the time in Elmira. He came from Spencer, 
where his father, Teunis Riker, lived a man of considerable wealth. 
The once famous Recorder Riker, of New York city, was of the family. 
Abram Riker was prosperous and at one time owned all the land on 
the east side of Baldwin street between Church and Second streets. 
He gave the land on which now stands the First Methodist Church and 
parsonage. His sister Sarah married Samuel Jones, another early car- 
penter of the village, and to them two daughters were born. One of 
them married Josiah Bartholomew, still another carpenter, one of the 
best and busiest of the trade ever in the village or city, and another mar- 
ried Robert F. Hylen, who came near to being a carpenter, being a 
mason instead. He came to Elmira in 1834 and some of the most 
substantial buildings in the city show his handiwork. Being a man of 
enterprise, care, and judgment he acquired a competency and turned 




^•'^''•yl:aXirnml'V 




THE MECffAX/CS SOCIETY. 153 

his attention to other affairs. At one time he was an assistant assessor 
of the internal revenue, and served many terms as one of the city 
assessors, for which his judgment and experience especiall)- fitted him. 
He died June 19, 1880. 

Earher than Abram Riker as a contracting builder in Elmira was 
Amnion Beardsley, who came to the village from Johnson's Settlement, 
now in Schuyler County, in 1827. He built for John Arnot the old 
brick store that used to stand at the northwest corner of Lake and Water 
streets, and also the building now occupied by the Chemung Canal 
Bank. Among the dwellings now standing that he put up are the John 
Arnot homestead on Lake street, the house now occupied by Capt. J. 
Riley Reid, built for David H. Tuthill, and the William Hoffman home 
far up W'ater street. Mr. Beardsley removed to Ohio in 1837 ^nd 
became a farmer. A son of his, Irad L. Beardsley, was at one time one 
of the proprietors of the Elmira Gazette. 

Among other carpenters and bifilders contemporary with Abram 
Riker were Joseph P. Burt, Josiah Dunham, David Wightman, and Jabez 
Beers. The last named, Jabez Beers, came from Orange County in 1818 
to Wells, Bradford County, Pa., and from there to Elmira in 1S27. He 
bought of William Hoffman a lot now known as Nos. 413, 415, 417 
West Water street, which is .still in the family. His first dwelh'ng here 
was a double log house in which he and his brother William lived with 
their families, and where several of his children were born. Tiiere were 
thirteen in all, most of whom are living at ages varying from fifty to 
seventy- five years: Susan is Mrs. Norwood, of Hornellsville, N. Y.; 
Eliza is Mrs. E. C. Oliver, of Troy, Pa. ; Thomas W. lives in Illinois; 
George Ei., Edmund O., Amanda M. (Mrs. John T. Davidson), Frances 
(Mrs. O. N. Smith), and Elsie (Mrs. Dr. E. C. Terry) all live in Elmira ; 
Mary (Mrs. William Lownian) lives in Lowmanvillc, N. Y. ; and Jacob H. 
is a citizen of Trenton, N. J. Joseph D. Beers, who learned his trade 
of printer in tlie old Elmira Gazette office, was for thirty years an 
attache of the New York Herald office. 

Ransom Birdsall, the secretary of the Mechanics Society, came to 

Elmira in 1830 and with E. S. Huntley purchased the Elmira Weekly 

Republican, a paper devoted to Whig interests. This newspaper was 

first started in 1820, its name being changed in 1828 by its publisher, 

20 



154 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

James Durliam, to the Elmira Whig. In 1829, being in the hands of 
Chauncey Morgan, it resumed its name of Repiiblitaii, and for a time 
was also called the Elmira Republican and Canal Advertiser. Just before 
Birdsall & Huntley purchased it it was owned by John Dufty, and its 
old original name of Republican alone was given it. Mr. Birdsall 
edited the newspaper and attended to the book store, which was a part 
of the firm's assets, and Mr. Huntley carried on the book-bindery por- 
tion. Mr. Birdsall laid claim to being a good Latin scholar and wrote 
the inscription still visible over the doorway of the brick building in 
Southport, near the south end of the Lake street bridge, originally built 
in 183 I for the purpose of a tavern. The line reads "Anster Partus Di- 
versorinn." If the final « had been an in it might have meant the 
" Southport Hotel," and that was what was meant to be meant, but the 
stone on which it was cut was not measured accurately ; there is not 
room for an in and the Latin was ruined for want of space. In the 
newspaper controversies carried on at the time and afterward Mr. 
Birdsall was usually referred to by the Democratic Gazette as " Old Aus- 
terportus." It is well enough to say here of this Republican newspaper 
that, in 1836, Mr. Huntley sold out to Mr. Birdsall, and in 1840 he sold 
to William PoUeys and Alvah T. Carter, who had been apprentices in 
the establishment. They published the sheet under the name of Polleys 
& Carter. William Polleys afterward was for many years the editor and 
proprietor of the Waverly Advocate. Alvah Carter's parents lived sev- 
eral miles out of town. Ransom Birdsall was active in public affairs, 
was a trustee of the Elmira Academy, and in 1841 was appointed post- 
master by President Harrison. 

Francis Collingwood, the first treasurer of the Elmira Mechanics So- 
ciety, was born November 2, 1780, in the little hamlet of Manton, in 
the county of Rutlandshire, England, where the family had been settled 
for more than a century. He was educated in a school at Uppingham, 
four miles from his birthplace, one of those fine old English schools that 
is now in its 308th year. He came to America, first to Bucks County, 
Pa., in 1816, and in 1822 to Elmira, where he carried on the jewelry 
business for a number of years. When he transferred his allegiance to 
this country he became a citizen in real earnest and took an active inter- 
est in all public affairs, serving at one time as president of the village of 



FRANCIS COLLING WOOD, ITS FIRST TREASURER. 155 

Elmira and on the Hoard of Trustees of the academy. His home and 
place of business at first was just where Carroll street now opens into 
Lake, the building being removed for the first named thoroughfare. At 
one time he owned all the frontage on Lake street between Carroll and 
Market streets. He went afterward to Water street, and being burned 
out there in the fire of June, 1S41, he located on the river side of the 
street just below the Lake street bridge. His health failing him he sold 
out to Socrates Ayres, who long continued the business at the place 
named. Mr. Coilingwood was a great lover of nature, and there are 
still traditions of the garden he had on Lake street, made after the 
English fashion, training his fruit trees against the fences, walls, and 
lattices. He also introduced into the valley a number of now familiar 
English flowers. Becoming a sturdy American he nevertheless re- 
tained a great love for old English customs and games, and always at 
Christmas had served at his dinner a plum pudding. He died February 
2, 1849. His wife was Elizabeth, a daughter of John Kline, who ran 
the ferry over the Chemung. There were six children : Francis, named 
for his father, some time a citizen of Elmira, a civil engineer by profes- 
sion ; Robert, who carried on the jewelry business in Elmira for some 
years, now a resident of Pasadena, Cal.; Mary Ann, who married 
George W. Mason, of the Elmira Gazette, and died in 1847; Elizabeth, 
who became the second wife of Mr. Mason ; Emily, who lives in Michi- 
gan ; and Caroline, now living in Maplewood, N. J. 

Francis Coilingwood had a brother Charles who followed him to El- 
mira, but moved from there to Rockland County, Pa. Charles could 
never get over the little difficulty that Englishmen sometimes have with 
the aspirate of our alphabet. While he lived in Elmira Charles Dunn, 
noted as a fisherman, tried to teach him how to fish for eels. During 
the first lesson Coilingwood caught a bullhead and the plucky little fish 
pricked him severely on the hand. Pained and surprised he called out 
sharply to Mr. Dunn : " Charles! Charles! do eels 'ave 'orns ? " 

Job A Smiti), the first director named of the first Board of Directors 
of the Mechanics Society, was the editor and proprietor of the Elmira 
Gazette at the time. He was a member of the Southport Smith family. 
In 1820 he started a newspaper called the Investigator, whose name in 
1822 he changed to the Tioga Register, and that in 1828 to the Elmira 



15G OUR COUNTY A.\D ITS PEOPLE. 

Gazette, which under difi'erent proprietors remains to this day. Prior 
to Mr. Smith's first enterprise, the Investigator, there had been two vent- 
ures in Elmira newspaperdom of brief existence. The Telegraph was 
started in 1815 by Prindle & Murphy, the first newspaper printed in 
the county. In 1816 its name was changed to the Mdette and its pub- 
lisher was William Murphy. It had a brief existence. Job Smith was 
a quiet, scholarly man, but possessed hardly the snap and vim for a po- 
litical editor. His first wife was Miss Elizabeth Fulton, a niece of the 
Knapps, of Southport, his second wife being the daughter of Elkanah 
Smith, a saddler and harnessmaker of Elmira. Job Smith moved in 
1834 to Paw Paw, 111. 

Sylvester Munger, another director of the Mechanics Society, was 
a silversmith who came from Ithaca in 1830. He remained in Elmira 
only three or four years, returning to Ithaca. 

William R. Judson is one of the strong names of the time in the 
county. He was a saddler and harnessmaker by trade, which entitled 
him to a place in the Mechanics Society. He was born in Butternuts, 
Otsego County, N. Y., October 25, 1810, a lineal descendant from Will- 
iam Judson, who in 1634 came from Stratford-on-Avon, England, and 
settled in Stratford, Conn. Silas B. Judson, Colonel Judson's father, 
was one of the earliest settlers of Otsego County, but came to Chemung 
County in 18 1 2, settling near the locality of the Sullivan battlefield. 
The family subsequently removed up Seeley Creek, the father dying in 
1839 and the mother in 1842. Young Judson was apprenticed to learn 
the saddlery and harnessmaking business with Maj. Levi J. Cooley in 
the firm of Cooley & Maxwell. He bought out the business of his em- 
ployers and in company with Wakeman Mervvin continued it as Judson & 
Merwin till 1841, when he sold out to William Hoffman, jr. The firm of 
Merwin & Hoftnian was for many years one of the staunch business 
places of the city. From 1844 to 1850 General Judson was engaged 
in the lumber business, and from the latter date until the time of his 
death, February 5, 1880, he operated in Kansas and Michigan. In the 
ten years between 1856 and 1866 he made twenty-one round trips be- 
tween Elmira, where he always made his home, and the State of Kansas. 
In that State he controlled a large tract of land, in the midst of it start- 
ing a town that he named Elmira after the city of his youth. He was 



OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BODY. 157 

a politician of much note during his active career and held a number of 
public positions. In 1840 he was the census marshal for Chemung 
County, its population then not being as large as that of Elmira is now. 
In 1 841 he was under sheriff (Samuel Minier being the sheriff), carrying 
on all the business of the office, Mr. Minier not moving from his home 
in Big Flats. In 1843 General Judson was himself elected sheriff. In 
1847 he was marshal of the district under the bankrupt law, in 1866 
the internal revenue assessor of the district, and in 1868 one of the 
presidential electors of the State. He came of a military family and up- 
held its reputation. In 1 834 he was a member of the local organization 
known as the " Elmira Guards," and in the same year was a captain in 
the regiment assigned to this portion of the State, the next j'ear its 
lieutenant-colonel, and in 1842 its colonel. During the late war he was 
colonel of the Sixth Kansas Cavalry and was wounded at an engage- 
ment at Fort Smith, Ark. In 1 863 he was breveted a brigadier-general. 
He was three times married, his first wife being the daughter of Maj. 
Charles Orwan, an early settler of Elmira whose home was at what is 
now the corner of Clinton street and College avenue. One daughter of 
this marriage became the wife of E. S. Lowman, of the Chemung family 
of Lowmans, and another married Maj. George A. Reynolds heretofore 
named. Both these daughters became residents of the State of Kansas. 
In 1861 General Judson married a daughter of Thomas Hulitt, of Rut- 
land, Vt., and some time after her death he married Sarah K., the 
daughter oT Dr. Erastus L. Hart. None of his descendants are now 
residents of the county. 

John C. Roe was a brother of Isaac Roe and a tailor by trade. He 
was very successful in his business operations and died a man of much 
wealth. 

Francis Smith, the first of the Prudential Committee of the Mechanics 
Society, was a saddler and harnessmaker by trade, a son of Elkanah 
Smith, a snare drummer and village politician about five feet two inches 
high. He wrote more or less for the Gazette, too. He was a genial, 
pleasant man with the laugh of a giant. He went to Troy, Pa., to live. 
Hunt Pomeroy was a resident of Elmira but a few years. He was a 
combmaker, his shop being on the river bank opposite what is now the 
Rathbun House. Orizon Birdsall was a dealer in lumber and a car- 



158 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

penter, but he was not long a resident of Elmira. Daniel Stephens was 
a blacksmith when he first came to Elmira, and was the junior member 
of the firm of Breese & Stephens, their shop being on the east side of 
Lake street just below Market. Breese retired, and Mr. Stephens con- 
tinued the business until he went to California, where he acquired a 
competency, and returned to Elmira to become a politician of great 
influence and power, a member of what was known as the " Lake Street 
Regency." fie was postmaster of the city from 1853 to 1861. His 
wife was a daughter of John Gregg the elder. One of his sons was 
Robert Stephens, whose career as a lawyer was as brilliant as it was 
brief One of his daughters became the wife of Jesse Cooley. 

Henry Potter, another of the Prudential Committee, was a cabinet- 
maker by trade, and was born in Berlin, Rensselaer County, N. Y., June 
19, 1801. He came to Elmira in 1827 and for a time was a clerk in 
the dry goods store of Gregg & Baldwin. He was then in the cabinet- 
making business with John K. Perry. In 1839 he undertook the man- 
agement of the Elmira Hotel, near the canal lock on Water street, and 
continued there until 1848. He held several offices: was town clerk, 
poormaster, and justice of the peace. He had been re-elected to the lat- 
ter named office at the time of his death, March 19, 1854. May 7, 1831, 
he was appointed lieutenant in the Seventy-ninth Regiment of Infantry, 
the military organization of the locality. His wife was the niece of Mrs. 
John Gregg, sr. There were seven children of the family. The eldest 
of these was William C. Potter, born January i, 1833, and died Novem- 
ber 27, 1867. His genius (for it deserves no other term) and his ability 
are entitled to more lines than these. Under more favorable environ- 
ment, and with some strong hand to have led and guided him until he 
was firmly established, "Will" Potter might have been a name among 
the most eminent of the country. He was primarily an artist, but in 
all wa}-s his mental caliber was extraordinary. Most delicately con- 
structed in mind and body he was unfitted for the rude buffets and 
wrestling of the world that had not the gumption to understand or ap- 
preciate him, and at thirty four he died, having accomplished nothing 
when he was capable of so much. 

He is not the only artist of much deserving that the county can 
claim. George W. Waters, although reported as having a studio in 



THE SOCIETY INCORPORATED. 159 

New York city, is an Elmira man. He was born in Coventry, Chenango 
County, N. Y., March 31, 1832, and came to Elmira in 1861. He has 
studied in New York and Munich, and lias exhibited in the National 
Academy in New York for thirty years, his pictures having a ready 
sale. Through his membership in the New York Art Guild he has also 
exhibited in most of the principal cities of the Union. He has many 
notable pictures scattered throughout the country. His portrait of 
ex-Gov. Lucius Robinson is in the council chamber of the city of 
Albany and that of ex-Gov. Alexander W. Randall is in Wiscon- 
sin. He excels in landscape, and many of his pictures have met with 
the highest commendation from those the most competent to judge. His 
work reflects credit upon the city that claims him as a citizen. The Art 
Department at the Elmira College has been for sometime in his charge. 

Another artist of some capacity took his start from Elmira. There 
in 1861, and for some years thereafter, Samuel Conkey was a dentist. 
He developed much taste and skill as a sculptor, some of his work in 
busts as well as ideal efforts manifesting considerable ability. He mod- 
eled the bust of Simeon Benjamin that ornaments the chapel of the 
college. He went to Chicago, and was there at the time of the great 
fire in 1871, losing heavily thereby. He is now in New York. 

Archibald Heggie, the last of the first Prudential Committee of the Me- 
chanics Society, was a hatter who came to Elmira from Ithaca in 1830. 
He built the home at Market and Main streets, now the residence of 
Dr. H. D. V. Pratt, jr., but remained in Elmira only a short time, re- 
turning to Ithaca. 

The official records of the officers of this society are something re- 
markable. John C. Roe served as director continuously for thirty- 
three years. There have been thirteen presidents, and of these Josiah 
Bartholomew served twenty-one years. The present officers of the 
society are : President, G. A. Gerow, sixth term ; vice-president, E. B. 
Hubbell; secretary, Arthur T. Fitch, fifth term; treasurer, J. E. Lar- 
kin, eleventh term. 

The Mechanics Society was not regularly incorporated until two 
years after its first organization, this being by act of legislature passed 
May 26, 1836, the incorporators being F"rancis CoUingwood, Raymond 
Booth, P. B. Tenbroeck, Ransom Birdsall, Archibald Heggie, W. R. 



160 OUJ? COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

Judson, and Wakeman Merwin. The society did not restrict itself to 
the mere financial interests of its members, but reached out in other 
directions. A library of well selected books was collected and for 
many years formed the only public institution of the kind in the village, 
and in 1840 the Mechanics Hall, midway between Water and Carroll 
on the west side of Lake street, was erected. It was a large wooden 
building with stores on the ground floor, offices on the second floor, and 
a public hall on the third floor. It was burned in 1866. 

The event of all this period, for which preparations had been making 
for a number of years and which had been looked forward to with 
interest all that time, happened the same year. March 29, 1836, Che- 
mung County was organized by the legislature. It comprised the pres- 
ent territory of the county and besides it the towns of Catherine, Dix, 
Montour, and Cayuta in Schuyler County. Lyman Covell, Charles 
Orwan, and Elijah Sexton were appointed commissioners to select a site 
for the county clerk's office, and Thomas Farrington, Thomas Maxwell, 
and Frederick W. Ritter commissioners to have the county records 
transcribed, procure stationery, and the necessary books for the same 
office. There was an effort made to have the new organization carry 
with it the name of the old one from which it had been taken, and 
which came from the river that flowed within its borders. There was 
some reason for this. The river did not touch the old county, but was 
entirely within the borders of the new one. There was much feeling 
about it, but the effort failed. Perhaps it is just as well. The county 
gave its name to the river that waters it, which is no longer known by 
its old designation, and Tioga County itself can give no reason for its 
being so called. With equal propriety its name might be Mohawk, or 
Narragansett, or Passamaquoddy, or that of some other river that is 
nowhere near its boundaries. 

It is not generally remembered either that there was a well defined 
effort to have the county seat of the new county located in Horseheads ! 
There was even a newspaper started called the Chemung County Patriot 
and Central Advocate, and published by J. Taj'lor Bradt, whose sole 
mission was to settle such location. But the court-house had been built 
in anticipation of the event in the village of Elmira, and the county 
buildings were all soon located where they have remained ever since. 



F//i!Sr COUNTY OFFICERS. 161 

Tlie newspaper named had a very brief existence, and Horseheads had 
to content itself witli becoming the political capital of the county, as it 
has always been, in the way of having all the conventions of the vari- 
ous parties held there. 

The first Board of Supervisors of the new county was as follows: 
From Big Flats, Samuel Minier; Catlin, Timothy Wheat; Cayuta, 
Jacob Swartwood ; Catherine, John G. Henrj' ; Chemung, Isaac Shep- 
herd; Dix, Green Bennett; Elmira, John \V. W'isner ; Erin, Robert 
Stewart; Southport, Albert A. Beckwith ; Veteran, Asahel Hulett. It 
is the merest justice also to them to name the other first officers of the 
new county. Jacob Westlake, of Horseheads, was the first member of 
Assembly; Andrew K. Gregg was the first district attorney ; Joseph L. 
Darling the first county judge; Isaac Baldwin the first county clerk; 
A. A. Beckwith the first sheriff; Hon. D. S. Dickinson was the State 
senator from the district in which the new county was situated ; and 
Hiram Gray was the first congressman taken from the county. How 
unfamiliar most of these names read to those of this generation unless, 
as to some, a ray or two of recognition falls on them by what has pre- 
ceded this mention of them ! 

The county was by no means at the time very large in population. 
The census of the preceding year only gave it as numbering 17,465 
souls, only about half as large as is now the city of Elmira alone. This 
total was divided among the townships as follows: Big Flats, 1,238; 
Catherine, 2,261 ; Cayuta, 765 ; Catlin, 2,356; Chemung, 2,23 i ; Elmira, 
3.879; Erin, 1,099; Southport, 1,711; Veteran, 1,925. 
21 



162 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER V. 

The Growth of the County — Some of the old-time Industries — Statistics Compared 

— The Lumber Business — Those Prominent in It — Samuel B. Strang — The 
Fitch Family — Mercantile Men of the Time — David H. Tuthill — Tracy Beadle — 
Simeon Benjamin — Anson C. Ely — The Pratt Brothers and their Woolen-Mills 

— The old-lime Fire Department — Organizing Fire Companies — The I. O. O. F. 

— Continuing the local History of Masonry — The Chemung County Medical So- 
ciety — Introduction of a Telegraph Line — The Newspapers of Elmira — The 
Daily Karlon — The Elmira Gazette, the Republican, and the Chemung Demo- 
crat — The Fort Henderson Meddlar — Charles G. Fairman — His views of the 
Politics of the Times —Samuel C. Taber — The Valley a " Gateway to Freedom " 

— Jervis Langdon — John M. Robinson — Thomas S. Day — John Turner — The 
Catholics, their first Church and their Priests — Burial Grounds and Cemeteries 

— Names of those holding Public official Positions — Postmasters of the County. 

THE impulse given to the population of the county by the comple- 
tion of the canal was very marked. Every town more than 
doubled its numbers, the most noticeable increase being in the towns of 
Elmira and Southport. In 1829 the census of the first named town 
showed 1,915 inhabitants; in 1835 '^ was 3,879; and in i860 there were 
only 8,682. In Southport in 1829 the inhabitants numbered 1,114; '» 
'835, 1,711. There were in Chemung in 1829 1,150 inhabitants; in 
1835, 2,231. The increase in the other towns was not quite up to these 
figures. The census of 1829 showed some statistics that were curious. 
A very large proportion of the land was unimproved. Out of 249,000 
acres only a little more than 30,000 acres had been improved at the date 
named. In the township of Elmira only 9,037 acres were improved ; 
26,963 acres were unimproved. In Chemung the discrepancy was 
much greater. There 5,489 acres had been improved and 42,511 acres 
unimproved. It was better in Southport, 5,714 acres being improved and 
27,786 unimproved. Looking now over the rich and productive lands 
that cover the same acres it would hardly seem that they were ever in 
the condition as set forth in the census of 1 829. The wealth of the county 
was not very great then, either, the bulk of it being in the three 
towns already named. Elmira is credited with $187,476 in real prop- 



5 TA TIS r/CS OF OLD-TIME IXD US TRIES. 1 C3 

erty and $35,708 in personal property; Chemung with $142,274 in 
real and $5,604 in personal propertj' ; Sonthport with $129,779 in 
real and $9,223 in personal property; Catlin with $126,636 in real and 
$1,592 in personal property; and these were the only localities where 
the wealth reached over $100,000. The county, however, at the time 
was well supplied with cattle and horses and especially sheep. In El- 
mira alone there were 4,202 of the latter. It is to be doubted if that 
number could be now summed up in the whole county. 

There was in still another particular great difference in the year named 
from the present times — the manufacture of linen and woolen cloth. In 
the year 1829 the township of Chemung led in these, there being in the 
manufacture of linen in that locality 7,726 yards ; in Elmira 6,707 
yards ; in Southport 6,348 yards ; in Veteran 6,623 yards. Of fulled 
cloth the manufacture was not large, Elmira being credited with 3,321 
yards for the year and Chemung with 1,813 )'ards. These things show 
the industries that were carried on in the " old time," of a kind so dif- 
ferent from the present daj'. 

It is curious to note at this time referred to the number of voters in 
the several townships and the number of those liable to military duty. 
In Elmira there were 382 of the former, not as many as now come up 
annually to the polls in the smallest ward of the city. In the same 
town there were 290 men of the militia of the State, the difference 
being caused by the number of those exempt by reason of their age 
from military dut)\ In Chemung the number of voters was 237, of 
militia 150; in Southport 227 voters, 141 militia; in Veteran 232 
voters, 128 militia. 

One new industry besides these already named sprang up rapidly 
and flourished with great productiveness, and much to the profit of 
those engaged in it, in a few years after the completion of the canal — 
the lumber business. It continued in its flood- tide for about twenty 
years. Some of the best of the elder business men of Elmira became 
its citizens at this period of its history and most of them remained in the 
place. 

If one could draw a picture of what is now State street as it was when 
the waters of the canal first flowed through its line it would not be rec- 
ognized by many of this generation. From what is now Market up as 



164 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

far as Second street on either bank were piled high pine boards and 
shingles awaiting shipment, and at intervals small houses, the offices of 
the dealers. During the season long lines of teams came from over 
the river and up Seeley Creek toward the State line, drawing the 
lumber manufactured in that region to the market. Most of it was 
shipped to Albany. For a long time it was of the best quality then 
known, "Chemung lumber" rating the highest in the best markets. 
Those engaged in the business were closely occupied only in the sum- 
mer months, and during the winter, having much leisure, made the 
social life of the town very lively. While the business of the canal was 
at its height society in Elmira was very bright and animated. During 
those years there was no week that passed during the winters that did 
not witness a private party where the gayety was of the liveliest char- 
acter. Everybody who was anybody was invited, and they all went. 
It was the time, too, when New Year's day's calls were very popular, 
and rare was the dwelling in the whole village and all the surround- 
ing country where the ladies did not " receive." 

Many of these lumber merchants, as among the earlier and successful 
business men of the town, deserve attention and remembrance. Taking 
them at random as they were located on the banks of the cana! there 
were Samuel Barto Strang, Benjamin A. Towner, Asaph Colburn, 
Lyman Gibson, William Woodward, Arvine Clark, William S. Hatch 
(subsequently Hatch & Partridge), Bradley Griffin, J. C. Sampson, 
Hiram Crane, W. E. Judson, Aaron F. Potter, William L. Gibson, 
Andrus & Langdon, Richmond Jones, Ward Jones, James Fairman, 
Henry C. Spaulding, William Halliday, William Birdsall. Others there 
were, but their fortunes were not for long united with those of Elmira. 
Of those named Samuel B. Strang came to Elmira in 1837. Previous 
to that he had been a dry goods merchant in New York city, and in the 
course of his business had occasion to cross the Atlantic a number of 
times. It was a journey then that gave a prominence and distinction 
to one who had accomplished it once. Mr. Strang was born in Peeks- 
kill, N. Y., October 4, 1805, his father having been a physician of prom- 
inence. He was finely educated, a man of extensive reading and wide 
experience, and few could excel him in calling to his memory the one 
or in relating the other. In 184 1 Mr. Strang in connection with Rich- 



SOME EARL V L UMBER DEALERS. 165 

ard Towner, of Peekskill, and J. O. Towner, of Ithaca, started a line of 
canal boats from Elmira to New York. In 1843 with the same persons 
he embarked in the lumber business, and the firm name of S. B. Strang 
& Co. in Khuira was long known as among the soundest and most 
prosperous in the locality. Mr. Strang married, on January 20, 1843, 
Amanda Malvina Eldridge, the daughter of one who for many years had 
been the warden of the State prison at Sing Sing, N. Y. He became 
a resident of Elmira some time previous to the coming of Mr. Strang, 
lived at the northeast corner of Baldwin and Market streets, and was 
engaged in the manufacture of lumber in the northern part of the 
county. Mr. Strang took the house at Lake and Church streets, located 
where is now the mansion of Mrs. S. T. Reynolds, after it was given up 
by Samuel H. Maxwell, who built it, and lived there many years. It 
was always an elegant and refined home. Among the children of Mr. 
Strang are Henry VV. Strang, still a citizen of Elmira of good repute, 
and Samuel B. Strang, jr., who is a prosperous merchant in Chatta- 
nooga, Tenn. Mr. Strang was always interested in the public affairs of 
Elmira, his name figuring continually in enterprises for the welfare of 
the city. He died December 15, 1863. 

The brothers Fitch were very largely interested in the lumber busi- 
ness of the county, manufacturing probably more than any other one 
concern. There were four of them, all young men who came first to 
Elmira from Greene, Chenango County, in 1832, D. H., O. H., John S., 
and Lewis. An uncle, John Sharp, had preceded them and built a saw- 
mill between Elmira and Big Flats, which the first two named bought 
out. The father's name was Ezra, and he with his wife and another son, 
Mason P. Fitch, and four daughters followed the first of the family into 
the county in a year or two. The mother was a sister of Mrs. Judge 
Balconi, of Painted Post. The father, Ezra Fitch, was drowned in the 
Chemung River near the mill in March, 1840, in the si.xty- ninth year 
of his age. His wife died in July, 1855, ■'* the age of seventy-one years. 
The mill was successively in the hands of all the brothers, who con- 
ducted it with much profit, clearing off a large farm and cutting more 
than 30,000,000 feet of lumber therefrom. The eldest brother, D. H., 
is still living a hearty man more than eighty-two years of age. His 
wife was Mary Wells, a daughter of Isaac Wells. John S. died in Louis- 



166 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

iana, where he married in 1883, seventy-two years of age. O. H. 
Fitch married Eliza Hathorn, a daughter of John Hatliorn. He died in 
Ehnira in August, 1891. Mason P. Fitch, born in 1814, married as we 
have seen the daughter of the first Baptist clergyman of Elmira, the 
Rev. P. D. Gillette. He died in 1882. Lewis Fitch was born in 18 16. 
His wife was Minerva, the daughter of A. A. Beckwith, the first sherifif 
of Chemung County. He is now a resident of Horseheads. One of 
his sons is the senior member of the lively firm of Fitch & Aldrich, in 
Elmira, who manufacture sash, blinds, and articles of that nature. 

Ezra Fitch's oldest daughter married the Rev. Demas Robinson, one 
of the early clergymen of the Baptist Church. They live now in Iowa. 
Annie H., Ezra Fitch's second daughter, married Willis Sayre, a promi- 
nent citizen of Horseheads, and Mandane, the third daughter, was the 
wife of Charles Hendy, a son of that John Hendy of whom we have heard 
before. She lives in Elmira a widow. The Fitch bridge, so well known 
three miles up the river from Elmira, gets its name from the family. 
They lived near it. D. H. Fitch was the prime mover in its original 
construction. He contributed toward its building $1,000, and raised 
the remainder himself among the neighbors in town and city. 

There were other merchants than these who, in the years concerning 
which I write, came to Elmira, adding to its prosperity and credit, and 
watching its growth with satisfaction while their own stores increased. 
They located between Lake and Baldwin streets, for the business part 
of the town did not then extend west of the last named thoroughfare. 
Going over the list is like striking the chords of a harp that has long 
been mute. David H. Tuthill, Benjamin C. Wickham, Matthew Mc- 
Reynolds, Joseph Dumars, S. S. Luce, S. B. Hubbell, J. M. Robinson, 
R. & E. Covell, Miles Covell, William Viall, Norris North, E. L. Skin- 
ner, Green M. Tuthill, Timothy Satterlee, William Foster, George Kings- 
bury, John Selover, R. F. Seabury, James Reeves, John Parmenter, 
D. A. Towner, Brinton Paine, Solomon L. Gillett, William Hoftman, 
Wakeman Merwin, Riggs Watrous, G. A. Gridley, S. S. Hamlin (who 
with his family connection, R. C. Rice, made up the firm of Hamlin & 
Rice), J. K. Perry, John Hill, David Buhner, John N. Elmore, T. O. El- 
more, William P. Yates, Samuel Hall, Samuel Partridge, William Ogden, 
Tracy Beadle, Simeon Benjamin, Anson C. Ely, Francis Hall, Christo- 



OTHER EARLY MERCHA.XTS OF ELM IRA. 167 

pher Presvvick, A. Z. Sickles, James T. Dudley, Stephen Hill, Erastus 
Hill, Henry Wilson. Edward Maxwell, William E. Hart, Seth Kelly, 
Elijah Jones, Noah Robinson, H. M. Seward, Fox Holden, E. P. Hutch- 
inson, H. D. Treadwell, Stephen McDonald, John R. Jones, the Han- 
fords (boot and shoe men), Piatt Cole, F. A. Scribner, E. S. Palmer, 
Thomas S. Pattinson, George Pattinson, Ephraim P. Davenport, — names 
none of which now, even through descendants of their owners, with one 
exception, stare one in the face on a thoroughfare in which they were 
all once so conspicuous. 

George Kingsbury named was of the firm of Perry & Kingsbury, 
dry goods merchants. His wife was Elizabeth, one of the daughters of 
Dr. Rulandus Bancroft, who in the second decade of this century lived 
in a dwelling on the north side of Water street the third or fourth lot 
east of Baldwin street. Dr. Bancroft came from Otsego County, N. Y., 
and was a practicing physician, a man of very many peculiarities and 
eccentricities, but exceedingly skillful in his profession. A son of his, Le 
Grand Bancroft, born in Elmira, went in 1843 to Albany, N. Y., where 
he became one of the leading law yers of the State and where he died 
in January, 1880. Mrs. Kingsbury and her sister, Harriet, during their 
young Iad)'hood were the belles of the valley, being very beautiful girls 
and both finely educated, graduates of a famous New Haven female 
seminary. Their piano- forte was one of the only two that were owned 
in the valley for many years. In the great fire of 1840 Dr. Bancroft's 
dwelh'ng was burned and the family removed to a farm a little south of 
where the reformatory is located, a farm that has been in the family ever 
since. Mrs. Kingsbury died on Februarj^ 6, 1881, at the age of sixty- 
eight years. Her only daughter became the wife of George S. McCann. 

Some of the merchants named became of note in other lines than 
those of trade. David H. Tuthill was concerned in public enterprises 
like the Chemung Railroad, and was one of the incorporators of the El- 
mira Bank, an organization out of which eventually grew, when its affairs 
were closed up, the Second National Bank. E. L. Skinner was the 
first merchant in Elmira who dealt to any great extent in ready-made 
clothing. He had a large store on the south side of Water street just 
east of Baldwin street. D. A. Towner after a time resumed the profes- 
sion of medicine, for which he had been educated, and introduced into 
that region the homceopatliic system of practice with pronounced success. 



1G8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Tracy Beadle was a druggist and came to Elinira from Cooperstown, 
N. Y., in 1835. With everything that the words imply he was indeed 
always one of the leading citizens of the village and city. He was 
closely identified with the First Presbyterian Church and merited the 
title of Christian gentleman. In connection with Capt. Samuel Part- 
ridge he opened up and developed what is now the Fifth ward of the 
city of Elmira, buying it as a farm and cutting it up into city lots. He 
was one of the organizers of the Bank of Chemung in 1856, represented 
the county in the Assembly in 1862, and was a member at large of the 
Constitutional Convention of 1867. He died March 2, 1877. 

Simeon Benjamin came to Elmira in 1833 from New York, where he 
had been a merchant and accumulated a competency. For many years 
after his settling in the village he enjoyed the distinction of being the 
wealthiest man in the county. He was far-seeing and enlightened, and 
a business man of much more than ordinary capacity. He also was one 
of the organizers of the Bank of Chemung and its president as long as 
he lived. His benefactions to the Elmira College made that institution 
possible. 

Anson C. Ely was one of the thriftiest and most public spirited of 
men. He was one of the organizers of the Elmira Bank and in 185 I 
built what is now called the Academy of Music, or Stancliff Hall block, 
originally named for its builder and part owner, Ely Hall. It provided 
for Elmira its first public hall of suitable proportions for the growing 
town It was in the height of the popularity of the lyceum lectures, and 
supplied a place where they could be heard with pleasure and comfort. 
Its walls have echoed the eloquence of all of those famous lyceum ora- 
tors of the time, Edwin H, Chapin, George William Curtis, Henry Ward 
Beecher, and John B. Gough. Among other spirited offers made by 
Mr. Ely was one to the effect that he would be one of ten men to give 
$1,000 for the proper care and preservation of the island, at the time still 
retaining much of its primitive loveliness. The other nine men could 
not be found. 

The establishment of the woolen- mills on Newtown Creek, near the 
foot of East ?Iill back of the old Matthew Carpenter farm, in 1842 was 
an enterprise that led in the direction of manufactures that gave great 
hopes of the future. The undertaking was that of Daniel and Ransom 



REMINISCENCES OF BUSINESS MEN. 1G9 

IVatt, brothers, far-siglited Scotchmen whose forethought was backed 
by great prudence and industry. They came first into the northern part 
of the county near Havana, but changed their location to the one named 
after a year or two. They had a fine water privilege on the crcei<, but 
at first only engaged in cloth-dressing, custom wool- carding, and a 
small woolen manufacturing business. They were the first to introduce 
into the county the power loom and wool-condensing machines. Their 
mill was burned in 1848, after which they organized a company to con- 
duct the business. It increased very largely so that during the war they 
were able to produce under contract 1,000 yards of army clotii per day 
for many days. Both of the brothers in operations in wool shrewdly 
conducted became very wealthy, and in 1863 were tlie principal per- 
sons engaged in the organization of the Second National Bank, whicii 
they eventuall)' controlled for more than a quarter of a centur}-. 

Mercliants and professional men were not all that made up the de- 
sirable population of the village, although they leave a record that is 
more easily traced, and their names frequently seen and spoken make a 
sharper line on the memory. Elisha Briggs was a blacksmith whose 
shop was on Water street above the flouring-mill, his house being oppo- 
site. His son, Piercy Briggs, carried on a similar business into the time 
of the present generation : a good man and a well-liked citizen. North 
& Viall (Norris North and William Viall) were tinners with their place of 
business on the south side of Water street east of Baldwin street. Norris 
North married a daughter of Isaac Roe, and died February 12, iSgi.ata 
very advanced age. William McClure and Christian Smith (McClure & 
Smith) were very early dealers in boots and shoes. In 1830 their shop 
was on Lake just below Carroll street. Mr. McClure carried on a tan- 
nery in the same locality afterward. He subsequently went to Califor- 
nia, being one of the " '49ers." In 1 840 the Whigs during the presiden - 
tial canvass built a log cabin south of the old basin in a large vacant 
space where Nicks street runs now. They also put up a tall pine pole 
near by, the flag halyards of which were carried through an upper win- 
dow of a building close at hand. One night these halyards were got 
down, and a hoop, being placed in a red petticoat belonging to Mrs. Mc- 
Clure, was attached to the halyards, and thus distended was drawn to 
the top of the pole. A knot tied in the rope was drawn through the 

22 



170 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

block, making it impossible to get the peculiar standard down. It flew 
at the masthead for several days, much to the amusement of the Demo- 
crats and annoyance to the Whigs. Finally a zealous Whig named Bul- 
lock slung a basket full of slats to his shoulders, and nailing them above 
him as he went up ascended to the top of the pole and took the obnox- 
ious garment down. A motto was found attached to the petticoat, be- 
ing these words: "In hoc signo vinces!" Asa Kliven was a machinist 
who came to Elmira in 1837, ^'^ ^''st working in the foundry on Lake 
street operated at the time by Arnot & Potter. In time he became the 
proprietor of the old Phcenix furnace and foundry at the southeast cor- 
ner of Church street and Railroad avenue. He was burned out there, 
but soon established himself again on the opposite corner where the first 
Episcopal Church of the village stood. Here also in 1865 he was the 
victim of fire, but rebuilt with increased facilities and for many years 
carried on a large business. His two sons, Charles and George, became 
associated with him. The property is now controlled by Reid & Cooper 
(Capt. J. Riley Reid and John N. Cooper). 

The photographic art, now so admirably represented in Elmira by 
such artists as Larkin, Van Aken, and Tomlinson, was introduced there 
within the period now under consideration, and within eight years after 
Daguerre had announced his wonderful discovery to the French Acad- 
emy. In 1847 an artist b}' the name of Johnson opened a gallery in 
the old Eagle Tavern block. It was the first enterprise of the kind in 
the locality. Johnson remained only a few months, his "sun pictures" 
not seeming to take very well with the villagers or on the plates. In 
the latter part of the year named A. P. Hart purchased the busi- 
ness and has continued in that line until the present time. Mr. Hart 
came originally from Litchfield, Conn., but before coming to Elmira 
had been for some time in Goshen, Orange County, N. Y. He used for 
a time at first as a galler)' a little room off from the library in the old 
Mechanics Hall on Lake street. In 1850 he opened and established the 
gallery at 3 17 East Water street, which has ever since been occupied by 
the business. He sold out to W. J. Moulton, and he to J. E. Larkin, 
the present proprietor. Mr. Hart is still in the business in Elmira, and 
is likely to round out half a century at it. 

With our present facilities it is strange to know that at one time all 



THE FIRST RESTAURANT AND EARL V SALOONS. 171 

the supplies of iron and nails for I'llniira came to it in wagons. In 1827 
Philip Schaltz, assisted by his brother John, did the work. He had 
a large, broad-wheeled, covered wagon, as expansive as a " prairie 
schooner," that was drawn by four horses and plied between liimira and 
Bellefonte, Pa. Each trip occupied two or three weeks, and the return 
was almost as much of an event to the village as when a ship comes in. 

The first attempt at a restaurant in Elmira, and it was a simple affair, 
was made by Capt. Benajah B. Paine, who came from " Pony Hollow " 
to the village in 1827. He built the house still standing on the south- 
east corner of Church and Baldwin streets. His store, where he sold 
notions, toys, and candies, and in the rear of which was his " restau- 
rant," was on Water street between Lake and Baldwin. He afterward 
built a brick store just a little west of the Rathbun House, still stand- 
ing. He was elected a justice of the peace in 1839 and was an acti\e, 
thriving man. He eventually emigrated to St. Charles, 111. 

For so small a hamlet there were a great many places in the village 
where whisky was sold. In 1830 the temperance wave which swept 
over the country reached the vallev. One notorious place was kept by 
Ben Dudley. He dressed all the bottles in his bar in temperance 
tracts, but continued to sell secretly. One "Jim" Carpenter kept 
rather a hard place half way to Horseheads He was a cripple, one leg 
much shorter than the other, and being arrested was brought before a 
justice in Elmira. In a moment of carelessness of the officers he saw 
his chance and sprang from the room. All the bystanders and boys 
pursued him, but he made such wonderful speed considering his physi- 
cal disabilities that he got to the thick pine woods, where the Erie depot 
is now situated, before anj'one had come up to him. Benedict Satter- 
lee reached him first, but armed with a threatening club he arove him 
back and escaped. 

Like all small inland places the village of Elmira in its first rapid 
growth suffered heavily from fires, some of which in comparison with 
the size of the place deserve, indeed, to be called conflagrations. Most 
of the buildings erected, put up because they ^vere sorely needed, were 
of wood and mere shells, tinder bo.xes. mere food for flames when they 
had got well under way. Protection against the devastating element up to 
the time of the opening of the Chemung Canal was of a very primitive 



172 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and insufficient character. Every householder was required b\' law to 
keep upon his premises one or more " fire buckets," long and slender 
vessels made of leather, and in time of fire to turn out with them to try 
and subdue the flames. Two lines were formed : one to pass the buck- 
ets full from the source of supply of the water to the flames, the other 
to pass them back empty. The men who filled the buckets and those 
who emptied them had the hardest and most uncomfortable places in 
the line. It was a curious sight to see, as it is a peculiar one to remem- 
ber, this method of endeavoring to put out a fire, there being oftentimes 
in the line, one side or the other, women who, physically able, rather 
enjoyed the work than otherwise, or interested for themselves or their 
neighbors in the saving of property did not hesitate to do a man's duty 
for hours without flinching. 

In 1830 the president and Board of Trustees of the village appointed 
Miles Covell, John Arnot, and Abram Riker fire wardens of the corpo- 
ration, their duties being to take charge of the forces during a fire; and 
in the month of November of the same year the following named were 
appointed "firemen of the village": Erastus Goodrich, John Arnot, 
Charles Miller, Benjamin C. Wickham, George Burnett, Elijah Jones, 
Isaac Roe, R. F. Seabury, John L. Shockey, William Viall, Elijah Briggs, 
Miles Covell, William Williams, Henry Potter, Peter Brotherson, Will- 
iam Foster, John Gregg, George Kingsbury, Jacob 'Shockey, Brinton 
Paine, John Selover, Daniel Stephens, Asa Willard, Isaac Wood, Benedict 
Satterlee, James Hill, S. L. Gillett, C. Howell, Ammon Beardsley, David 
H. Tuthill. There was no formal company organization of these men, 
their appointment being for the simple purpose of having a number who 
in time of need would be recognized as having authority. 

In May, 1834, a fire engine was purchased for $250. It was the an- 
cient affair known as the " Old Goose-Neck," and was long preserved as 
a relic of old times. It did very respectable duty for its day. The fire- 
men already named, being organized then into a company, had charge of 
this machine. It was known as "Torrent Fire Company, No. i." Its 
inadequacy was demonstrated in the fire of 1840, when Water street was 
visited by a conflagration that destroyed the buildings on both sides for 
a large space between Lake and Baldwin streets. This fire was one that 
for the losses sustained and the inconvenience consequent thereon has 



rRIMlTIVE FIRE ORGAXI/.ATIONS. 173 

not since been equalled in comparison with the size of tlie city. It was 
about as if you should sweep both sides of the street now from Baldwin 
street up to Railroad avenue. 

A hook and ladder company was organized, the first in tiie village, 
in January, 1844, with Thomas S. Pattinson as foreman. It was dis- 
banded in 1846, the members becoming displeased because in a Fourth 
of July celebration of that year, being originally assigned to the head of 
the procession, they were, when the line was formed, ordered to the rear. 
The following named were the original members of the company : 
A. D. Reynolds, Thomas Freeborn, Charles Daniels, Samuel Riker, 
Thomas Collingwood, William Wisner, A. L. Merritf, Isaac Mead, Will- 
iam Beebe, William C. Rhodes, T. F. Minier, Thomas Maxwell, 2d, 
William Stephens, George W. Harmon, W. H. Moore, A. E. Reynolds, 
Joseph Fausnaught, H. M. Orwan, Lyman Merwin, Joseph Dean, N. W. 
Gardiner, Jonas Strouse, Samuel Jones, S. T. Bell, J. B. Gregg, Silas 
Haight, T. J. Otis, William Cherry. Three years afterward, in 1^49, 
the company re-organized, E. Van Epps being elected foreman. 

In June, 1844, Fire Company, No. 2, called also Neptune Company, 
was organized with George Pattinson as foreman ; Chauncey Snell, as- 
sistant foreman ; and Edward Covell, secretary. The following named 
were the members : Joseph C. Sampson, Edward Palmer, G. A. Gridley, 
Henry Hill, William Polleys, F. B. Townsend, Samuel Millikens, jr., 
Edward -Maxwell, William M. Hill, E. N. Boynton, Azor Forsyth, Will- 
iam T. Post, Thomas B. Covell, William M. Gregg, Erastus Burch, 
Baldwin Little, Benjamin French, S. Reynolds, S. W. Hanford, E. F. 
Deming, W. B. Dewitt, Charles Parks, George French, William Halli- 
day, Samuel B. Strang, Joseph W. Chapman, E. M. Stocum, and Walter 
Hamilton. 

" Red Rover Fire Company, No. 3," so styled perhaps because their 
uniform consisted in its most conspicuous portion of red flannel shirts, 
was organized August 21, 1848, with J. M. Robinson, foreman, who 
was succeeded by John I. Nicks. The members of this company were 
Henry Hanford, R. Covell, jr., F. Hall, William Woodward, N. H. 
Robinson, A. F. Potter, W. R. Hepburn, D. H. Tuthill, S. S. Hamlin, 
Tracy Beadle, S. Ayres, B. Griffin, R. Watrous, John Arnot, Asaph Col- 
burn, E. N. Barbour, Nathan J. Brown. 



174 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Silas Haiglit was the first chief engineer of the department, being ap- 
pointed in June, 1S39. Solomon L. Gillett succeeded him in 1840 and 
Levi J. Cooley in 1841, the latter named serving until May, 1845, when 
Timothy Satterlee was appointed to the office. In May, 1849, William 
H. Harrison was chief engineer; Levi J. Cooley, first assistant; and 
E. P. Brooks, second assistant; but in July of that year Silas Haight 
was re-appointed chief witii Daniel S. Hamilton as first assistant. 

A benevolent order was organized in Elmira these years that has been 
very beneficent in its career — Chemung Lodge of the I. O. O. F., No. 
127. In the summer of 1844 R. B. Sharpsteen, E. J. Home, D. C. 
Mallory, George P. Tyler, and Fred Leach, worthy and reputable citi- 
zens of Elmira making what is known in the order the " magic number 
five," went over to Ithaca and were initiated in Ithaca Lodge, No. 71. 
They soon after applied for a charter, and on October 11, 1844, Che- 
mung Lodge, No. 127, 1. O. O. F. of Elmira, was instituted. On that same 
evening J. D. Baldwin, W. H. Thorne, Washington Thurman, N. B. 
Launey, George W. Harrison, Edward Covell, and Samuel Brock were 
initiated into the order. These were the first Odd Fellows in Elmira. 
The lodge room at first was over John Parmenter's store on Water 
street, north side, a little east of Baldwin street ; it afterward had rooms 
on the west side of Lake street about midway between Water and Car- 
roll streets. The first officers were R. B. Sharpsteen, N. G.; E. J. 
Home, V. G.; D. C. Mallory, secretary; George P. Tyler, treasurer. 
On the first day of the next year the lodge numbered forty-four mem- 
bers, among them being H. B. Noyes, William Hoffman, William Hal- 
liday, Theodore L. Minier, Washington Van Zandt (who was the Epis- 
copal clergyman at the time), Thomas Perry, William Polleys, and 
W. L. Gibson. The latter named went as high in the order during his 
life-time as it was possible for him to go, and his interest in it never 
abated nor grew cold. He died in September, 1890. 

Those " who passed the chair" in these early days of the order after 
R. B. Sharpsteen were E. J. Home, George P. Tyler, Frederick Leach, 
D. C. Mallory, Washington Thurman, Edward Covell, William Halliday, 
James Matthews, Samuel S. Hamlin, W. Bullard, Baldwin Little, Edward 
Maxwell, Leonard Pierce, H. H. Matthews, Joseph H. Harris, W. D. 
Kelly, W. W. Bennett, S. H. Reynolds, W. S. Minier, Abraham Stryker, 



ODD FELLOWSHIP L\ ELM IRA. 175 

George W. Hoffman, J. L. Cool.n-, Richard Baker, Michael More, N. W. 
Gardiner, C. F. Gosper, D. B. V>x >wn, and M. H. Mapes. 

Two years after, on October 30, 1846, another lodge of the order, 
Newtown, No. 254, was organized. Its charter members were Edward 
Covell, VV. L. Gibson, William Woodward, James P. Taylor, Elias Col- 
burn, S. C. Gibson, Jacob Donnels, J. W. Chapman, George P. Brown, 
John J. Brees, Ricliard Thurber, Peter C. Beckwith, and Amos P"enton. 
The first N. G. was Edward Covell and the first V. G. was W. L. Gib- 
son, and the first persons initiated were A. F. Corey, Josiah Bartholo- 
mew, John R. Jones, Joseph Golden, and Charles G. Fairman. The 
lodge room was with Chemung Lodge on Lake street. 

The Fort Hill Encampment of the order. No. 18, was organized Feb- 
ruary 13, 1846, by Past Chief Patriarch H. Thompson of the Iroquois 
Encampment, No. 32, of Ithaca. The charter members present were 

D. C. Mallory, Philo E. Brown, Washington Thurman, Sylvester H. 
Reynolds, James P. Taylor, and James Matthews. The first officers of 
the encampment were D. C. Mallory, C. P.; Philo E. Brown, H. P.; 
Isaac H. Reynolds, S. W.; W. Thurman, scribe; James P. Taylor, 
treasurer ; S. H. Reynolds, J. W. 

Were the names called of those who were members of the order in 
these years it would make a roll of most of the conspicuous and active 
citizens and business men of the village. Besides those already set 
down there might be named Elias S. Huntley, William R. Judson, 
George W. French, Matthew McR. Sly, A. K. Gregg, Samuel Hall, 
William Dunn, Whitney Gates, R. K. Wallace, Daniel Stephens, Anson 
C. Ely, M. H. Foster, T. S. Pattinson, E. P. Hutchinson, A. Z. Sickles, 
Ransom Pratt, F. C. Steele, John Cass, H. S. Brooks, Thomas S. Spauld- 
ing, S. B. Hubbell, Richard Baker, Hector M. Seward, T. C. Cowen, 

E. R. Brainard, D. A. De Groff, B. F. Herrick, W. T. Reeder, F. H. At- 
kinson, John I. Nicks, G. W. Buck, B. P. Fenner, and George Congdon. 

About this same time, somewhat stimulated by the " Washingtonian " 
temperance movement, there was another secret organization formed 
called the "Sons of Temperance." It was an order somewhat general 
all over the country and it drew to itself in the village quite a number 
of men who had been touched by the excitement. Based on a sort of 
moral phrensy that soon expended itself it flourished for a few months 
and then died away, leaving hardly a memory. 



17(J OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

As has been intimated the other great secret order, that of Masonry, 
in 1828 was obscured by an excitement that swept over the country. 
Union Lodge suspended its operations in the year named. Up to that 
time from the beginning of the century tiie masters of the lodge were 
as follows: 1801, John Konkle ; 1802-06, John Miller; 1807, Amos 
Park; 1808-11, Caleb Baker; 1812, Samuel Hendy ; 1813, Samuel 
Tuthill ; 1814, Solomon L. Smith ; 1815, Dr. Elias Satterlee ; 1816, 
Samuel Tuthill; 1817, John Cherry; 1818-19, George Guest; 1820, 
John Fitzsimmons ; 1821, Orange Chapman; 1822, Samuel Tuthill; 
1823-24, Daniel E. Brown ; 1825, Isaac Roe ; 1826, Wyatt Carr ; 1827, 
Albert A. Beckwith. On October 9, 1843, the last named surrendered 
the warrant of the old lodge, which had been forfeited for the non-pay- 
ment of dues and because of the cessation of annual meetings, and ap- 
plied for a new warrant. A dispensation was issued for a new lodge to 
twenty-eight petitioners, and a new warrant was granted dated June 8, 
1844, to Union Lodge, No. go, the officers being Wor. Benajah B. 
Payne, master; Isaac Reynolds, senior warden; Elijah Jones, junior 
warden. The masters following were: 1845—46, Benajah B. Payne; 
1847-49, James S. French; 1850, William M. Gregg. 

The Elmira Royal Arch Chapter, No. 42, of the order was organized 
by dispensation issued April 4, 1815, to Elias Satterlee, John Cherry, 
Thomas Maxwell, Samuel Tuthill, John Hughes, Solomon L. Smith, 
Piatt Bennitt, Amos Park, and John Knox, and a warrant was granted 
by the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the State of New York on Febru- 
ary 8, 1816, to Caleb Baker, H. P.; Thomas Maxwell, king; and Grant 
B. Baldwin, scribe. This organization also took a recess from 1828 to 
1844, the following named being high priests to the latter named date: 
1815, Dr. Elias Satterlee ; 1816, Caleb Baker ; 1817-19, Thomas Max- 
well; 1820, John Fitzsimmons; 1821, Orange Chapman; 1822, Solo- 
mon L. Smith; 1823-27, Thomas Maxwell; 1828, H. \V. Atkins. In 
1844 at the conclusion of the recess the last named summoned the 
chapter and held an election, the high priests from that time being as 
follows: 1844, H. W. Atkins; 1845, Thomas Maxwell ; 1846-49, James 
S. French; 1850, Dr. Jotham Purdy. 

Most of the organizations that had their beginnings in these days 
were well and firmly founded, and promised to have long and useful lives. 




■Snf.''hf,F.i;J(,ryum!IY. 




. rPct/y-p^^'-t/ Q/rU'-ii^t't-i^ci^^ji^^ 



PRESIDENTS OF THE COUXTY MEDICAL SOCIETY. 177 

The Cliemung County Medical Society, organized May 3, 1836, was one 
of these. The preHminaiy meeting was held at the " Mansion House" 
of Elijah Jones, a constitution was presented and adopted, and officers 
were elected. The first president of the society was Dr. Lemuel Hud- 
son. He was succeeded the next year by Dr. Nathaniel Aspinwall, who 
had practiced long in Cayuga County before coming to Elmira. He 
had acquired a competence and lived at his ease here. A son of his was 
a teacher for many )-ears in the district school located in Wisner Park. 
Dr. Aspinwall died in Elmira on July 3, 1861, at the age of eighty-three 
years. Dr. Erastus L. Hart, of whom something has already been said, 
was president of the Medical Society after Dr. Aspinwall, serving at that 
time two years and afterward for five years. Dr. Theseus Brooks filled 
the office for two terms, 1840-41 and 1848-49. Dr. Brooks, one of the 
most successful and skillful of the earlier physicians of the village, came 
from Berkshire County, Mass , where he was born in 1778. About 
1800 he came with his father's family to Chenango County, where he 
studied medicine. In 1S21 he settled in Big Flats, remaining there un- 
til 1835, when he came to Elmira to reside permanently. He died in 
March, 1856, aged si.\ty-eight years. One of his sons, the Hon. Elijah 
P. Brooks, became one of the most prominent lawyers and public men 
of the county and State. He was district attorney of the county from 
1845 to 1847, was county judge from i860 to 1864, and was one of the 
canal appraisers in 1865. He died May 19, 1878. Another one of 
Dr. Brooks's sons was Henry C. Brooks, who with his brother-in-law, 
David H. Tuthill, under the firm name of Tutiiill & Brooks, was for 
many years one of the prominent merchants of Elmira. Another son 
was William A. Brooks, also a merchant, whose son, Henry S. Brooks, 
is the manager of the Elmira Telegram. Yir. John Payne was president 
of the County Medical Society in 1842 ; Dr. P. E. Concklin in 1843; 
Dr. Jotham Purdy in 1844; Dr. Hollis S. Chubbuck in 1845 ; Dr. Nel- 
son Winton in 1846-47; Dr. Erastus L. Hart in 1848-49; and Dr. 
William Woodward in 1850. 

The telegraph made its appearance in Elmira before the railroad. 
The citizens of the village could for a time communicate with the out- 
side world very readily and rapidly even if they were unable to get 
there at the same rate. A line was constructed from Ithaca in i S46 
■n 



178 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

through the instrumentahty of Ezra Cornell, who was interested in the 
business. It was not a paying investment and the wires worked only a 
few months. Whether the enterprise suggested the newspaper or the 
newspaper was the means of the line it would be difficult to tell, but 
the Daily Karlon was started then, so nearly contemporary the one with 
the other that they both seemed to come together all at once. A smile 
must come unconsciously to those who are able to arouse a recollection 
of this ambitious effort in the newspaper world. What the word meant 
no one ever found out, the nearest to it being the Greek word kalon, 
meaning "beautiful," the r being possibly inserted " for the sake of eu- 
phony," an epithet that could hardly be applied to the newspaper itself 
or any of its surroundings except, perhaps, to the wife of one of the 
editors. For it had two " responsible " editors, C. Chauncey Burr and 
his brother Henian. Both of these gentlemen afterward attained con- 
siderable prominence as writers. They were distinguished looking men, 
large and of fine manners, and no explanation was ever given of their 
brief stay in so small a village as Elmira was then, for their experiment 
must have been attended with considerable financial loss. The wife of 
Heman was named Celia Burr, and she wrote much for the little sheet, 
and wrote with vigor and fine expression. She, too, was of much more 
than ordinary personal attractiveness, a blonde with a head of profuse 
yellow hair. As the first attempt at establishing a daily newspaper in 
Elmira the Karlon deserves remembrance even if it was very short 
lived. 

There were three newspapers in Elmira at this time, the Elmira Ga- 
zette, the Republican, and the Chemung Democrat. The first named 
was the organ of the Barnburner faction of the Democratic party; the 
second named was the mouthpiece of the Whigs ; and the last named, 
which had but a brief existence, was the journal of the Hunkers, the 
other Democratic faction. The Gazette as we have seen was in the 
hands of Job A. Smith, and was published in a long, rather shabby, 
wooden building, on the north side of Water street midway between 
Lake and Baldwin streets, called " Viall's block." Underneath the Ga- 
zette office was the office of Dr. Uriah Smith, who had married a sister of 
Job Smith. She became insane from religious excitement, and appre- 
hensive of her fate her husband had promised her that he would never 



THE ELM IRA GAZETTE IN VILLAGE DAYS. W.) 

send her to an asylum, but would himself care for her. He kept his 
promise faithfully for more than thirty years. Another sister of Job 
Smith married Alonzo Harvey, a saddler in the village who moved into 
Illinois in- 1834. Job Smith took as a partner in the Gazette Brinton 
Paine, a son of one of the same name who was one the earliest settlers in 
the valley. He had taken as his wife a noted milliner of the village, 
" Polly" Minturn, who had by shrewdness and prudence aquired some 
property. When Brinton Paine left the Gazette he carried on the drug 
business for a number of years in the store on Water street that looks 
up Baldwin street. Job Smith in 1S34 went West, and Mr. Paine con- 
tinued for two years to publish the Gazette with Thomas Maxwell as 
the editor thereof At the expiration of the time named he sold the 
paper to Whittington Sayre, of Southport, who bought the property for 
his son-in-law, Cyrus Pratt. Pratt had, besides the paper, a bookstore 
conducted by a firm named Pratt & Underbill, of which he was the 
Pratt. The book business was not good in Elmira in those days. One 
night a fire was discovered in the store. The flames were extinguished' 
but not until after the stock had been pretty well roasted. The insurance 
was paid and Mr. Underhill removed to Bath, Steuben Count}'. Cyrus 
Pratt was neither much of an editor nor printer, and persuaded Irad L. 
Beardsley, who had just finished his apprenticeship with the paper, to 
put up his name with him as one of the publishers. Irad L. Beardsley, 
son of Amnion Beardsley, came to Elmira with his father in 1S30 and 
two years afterward entered the Gazette office to learn the trade of 
printer. Thomas Ma.xwell was then the editor of the paper and young 
Beardsley became an inmate of his family, forming intimacies that have 
continued pleasantly and profitably for more than si.xty years. Part of 
the youth's duties was to deliver the paper to village subscribers. He 
came by tiiis means to know every one in town, where they lived, what 
they did, and all about them. Elmira is indebted to Mr. Beardsley for 
reminiscences of those times that but for him would have been buried 
in oblivion forever. It was at a period in his life when impressions were 
made that were never obliterated. More than seventy years of age now 
Mr. Beardsley lives in New York city, a valued employee of the Stand- 
ard Oil Company. He deserves a remembrance that is as tenacious and 
imperishable as is his own memory. 



180 OUR COU.XTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Wliile Pratt & Beardsley were publishing the Ga::ette arrangements 
were made to sell it to Nathan Randall, a son- in law of Judge Monell, 
who had sold out the Ithaca Journal for the purpose. During the 
months of these negotiations Mr. Beardsley's name appeared alone as 
the publisher of the paper. But the matter fell through and Cyrus 
Pratt again resumed control. He failed in 1841 and the paper was 
taken by two young men, practical printers who came from Danville, 
Pa., to Elmira, George W. Mason and William C. Rhodes. William C. 
Rhodes married Frances, one of the daughters of Thomas Maxwell. 
He became well known in State politics, in 1857 filling the position of 
inspector of State prisons. George W. Mason was personally one of 
the most attractive men who were ever citizens of Elmira, and long 
after his death was spoken of in a manner more affectionate than usu- 
ally falls to the lot of man. His health failed him, and in 1855 he 
went West in an endeavor to recover it, but it was without avail. He 
died in the spring of 1856. He married for his second wife Elizabeth 
Collingwood, and their daughter became the wife of Roswell R. Moss 
of the prominent law firm of Youmans, Moss & Knipp, of Elmira. 

The Clicmuiig Deniociat spoken of was started in 1847 by L. J. 
Bush, and in 185 i he published a daily in connection with the weekly 
edition. Its tenure of life was neither strong nor long. 

The Elmira Republican, after the time of Polleys & Carter, passed 
into various hands. In November, 1845, it was purchased by S. B. & 
C. G. Fairman, who the next year, for two months, published a daily 
of the same name from the office In 1850 Lathrop Baldwin, jr., took 
S. B. Fairman's interest in the paper, and in 1853 R. R. R. Dumars 
bought out C. G. Fairman. In 1851 Baldwin & Fairman resumed the 
publication of the daily, which was continued until the paper ceased to 
exist. In 1855 the RepublicatihtcdLme a rampant Know-Nothing organ 
and Mr. Dumars retired from it, his place being taken by Hovey E. 
Lowman, a member of the Chemung Lowman family. Then Baldwin 
retired, leaving Mr. Lowman alone, who in 1856 sold out to Andrew 
H. Calhoun & Son. Under them, and in the full odor of Know-Noth- 
ingism, the poor sheet lived one year longer and then passed quietly 
out of existence. 

Charles G. Fairman came in 1845 to Elmira from Niagara County, 



JOURXALISTIC CAREER OF C. G. FAIRMAN. 181 

N. Y., where he had just finished learning tlie trade of printer. He 
came on tlie invitation of his brother, Seymour B. Fairman, who 
had preceded him to the place in 1842. Seymour B. Fairman was 
killed in the Carr's Rock disaster on the Erie road in 1868. Charles 
G. Fairman was an unusually clear and luminous writer, always making 
the newspaper with which he was connected readable, bright, and 
abreast of the times. He became, also, a power in the political history 
of the count}' and attained a reputation that made him known through- 
out the State. He repeatedly served as alderman from the First ward 
of the city; was postmaster of Elmira from 1869 to 1877 ; and was 
superintendent of the State Insurance Department from 1880 to 1883. 
In 187S he was the grand master of the Grand Lodge, I. O. O. F., of 
the State of New York. Returning to Elmira on Monday, July 16, 
1883, he started the Elmira Daily Herald, of which, however, there 
were but three numbers issued. It was an experiment in the way of 
daily newspapers in Elmira that not before or since has been exactly 
paralleled. He went to Batavia, Genesee County, afterward, and then 
to Wellsboro, Pa., in both places conducting a weekly newspaper. He 
died in the latter named place in 1884. 

In April, 1882, when Mr. Fairman gave up the control of the Adver- 
tiser, in making his final bow to readers who had been familiar with him 
for nearlj' thirty years, excepting for brief intervals, in an article for that 
newspaper, under the title of "The End," he took occasion to review 
matters between the time when he first came to Elmira and that date. 
There is a vein of sadness in the article, but one of humor also, and he 
was full of that when he chose to let it have its way that was peculiarly 
characteristic of him, and the whole is full of the facility and felicity of 
expression for which his writings were remarkable. I choose to take 
an extract from this article, rescuing it from forgetfulness and oblivion 
as a specimen of the work of which he was capable, and also because it 
covers the same period now under consideration and touches points 
concerning which no one could be better informed than Mr. Fairman 
himself: 

"Thirty-live years ago," he says, which at the date he wrote meant 1847. "the 
leading Democratic politicians here were John W.Wisner.WiUiam R. Judson, .Stephen 
McDonald, Ariel S. Thurston, William M. Gregg, Samuel G. Hathaway, Lyman 
Covell, Timothy S. Satlerlee, William Ma.vwell, Green M. Tuthill, Wilham C. Rhodes, 



182 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Samuel Partridge, Squire Newton, and George \V. Mason. Of course many others 
were more or less prominent, for Democracy was then undisturbed monarch in 
county, State, and nation. The woods were full of them. Majorities were then, in this 
locality at least, calculated just as well before election as after, the difference being 
that the calculation before election was by courtesy called an estimate and the one 
after election official. The figures never varied. Sometimes it was necessary to put 
them up a little, but the estimate always gave warning of the coming storm. The town 
meetings — Elmira then voted as a town and had a single supervisor — were curiosities 
in a political way. There were some few Whigs in the village, and sometimes on a 
local issue they would fancy that a new era was dawning. But on election day the 
Democratic roosters never failed to come down from off the hills, in countless myriads 
for a country apparently so thinly populated, and all such hopes were effectually blasted. 

" I believe it to be a solemn fact that the resources of the Democratic leaders for 
voters in the woods of this town at that time were absolutely inexhaustible. Take 
Colonel Judson for instance ; it were moderate indeed to say that one blast from his 
bugle-horn was worth a thousand men. He never blew the horn. He never made any 
noise. He always wore moccasins. But he always knew just how many were com- 
ing. It makes one tremble to consider what might have been the result if in place 
of his still hunt he had sounded his horn. It is manifestly certain that Gabriel — who- 
ever he may be— would have resigned at once. In due time, however, as always hap- 
pens to dominant political parties and to reigning political men, dissensions entered the 
Democratic camp. The Hunkers and the Barnburners rent that great organization in 
twain. But even then, with Democracy divided, the Whigs were too feeble to accom- 
plish results. They could do nothing for themselves, so they adopted the policy of 
helping the weaker Democratic faction, the Hunkers. In this way, if that can be called 
success, they succeeded once. They elected William Ma.\w-ell over Samuel Young as 
a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1846, and made Green M. Tuthill clerk 
and William Skellenger sheriff of the county. They did also in the next year elect 
George W. Buck, on their own account, as a Whig to the Assembly. The Whigs never 
accomplished any other local results worth mentioning. The Barnburners held the 
reins until beaten in a three-cornered contest by the Republicans under Fremont in 
1856. Republican ascendency continued for about ten years, when the county passed 
again under the Democratic yoke, and there are no present indications that it has tired 
of the arrangement. It is apparently joined to its idols, and it is best, well, say until 
next election, to let it alone. 

'• The Whig leaders of the day to which reference is here made were less in num- 
ber, but not inferior in force, to the Democratic. There were no spoils of office to 
attract them; those who bore the banner and the burden did it from motives w'hich can- 
not be doubted as patriotic. They believed in their principles, and for these were will- 
ing to encounter mountainous majorities and to accept whatever obloquy belonged to 
constant and overwhelming defeat. Among the men who thus bore the brunt of these 
hopeless battles may be mentioned James Dunn, Isaac Baldwin. Samuel B. Strang, 
Tracy Beadle, E. P. Brooks, William P. Konkle, Miles Covell. William Dunn, Abram 
Minier, John D. Williams, George W. Buck, Judson M. Park, William H. Phillips, 



BRIEF A'EIVSPAPER ENTERPRISES. 183 

John C. Clark, and Charles Cook. It is a list of patriotic and self-sacrificing citizens 
whose names it is a pleasure to recall, and whose great political service it is just thus 
to commemorate." 

There were ephemeral newspapers along about the period of which I 
write. One, the Young American, started by two lads, one of the first 
of juvenile productions of which there are so many examples these days, 
ran a successful career of a year or two. The " proprietors" were 
James H. Paine and William S. Heggie, the former a son of Brinton 
Paine of the old Elmira Gazette, now a prominent politician in the 
State of Florida; the other, a son of Archibald Heggie, afterward 
helped to found, and continued to be a part owner of for a number of 
years, the Chicago Tribune. 

Still a little further back, in 1831, there was a semi -occasional produc- 
tion called the Fort Henderson Meddlar, which stirred up the village 
community as no other newspaper has since been able to stir it up. 
The proprietors of this sheet were Alexander S. Diven and Benedict 
Satterlee. There has been mention made of both of these gentlemen 
heretofore. The first named supplied the editorial matter and the last 
named did the mechanical work. He had picked up sufficient knowl- 
edge of the business in the office of his uncle, Job Smith, who was pub- 
lishing the Gazette, to set up and work oft" quite a creditable looking 
sheet for those days. The type and the press used were some that had 
been brought on from Albany with which to start a Whig newspaper, 
but financial difficulties arose, the material was seized on a judgment, 
and was stored in the basement of Judge Gray's office wherein the edi- 
tor of the paper was studying law. The name came from that of the 
mountain already described, sometimes called Fort Hill as well, more 
usually known these days as Mt. Zoar. In this hill is a pretty glen, in 
later years called Rorick's Glen, and in the time of which I write a fav- 
orite place for picnics and excursions from the village. The spot was 
reached by means of a big flat scow that its owner, Brewster Tuthili, 
used in bringing stone from the quarry near by to the town. In low 
water it would be drawn up by horses, but " poled up " if the river was 
high. When loaded it floated down with the current. A picnic there 
one summer day is indelibly impressed on the minds of more than one 
now elderly person in the city. Just as the scow was ready to start an 
Italian with his hand-organ and monkey hove in sight, and was instantly 



184 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

engaged to furnish the music for the occasion. Many of those, both 
young ladies and gentlemen, belonging to the best families in the vil- 
lage were among the picnicers, and everything was conducted in the 
most decorous manner, but in some way the monkey was shot dead. 
The exhibition of grief displayed by the Italian was something very 
pitiable. He moaned and wept, and embraced the dying dumb crea- 
ture with a display of as much emotion as a mother would manifest 
over a wounded child. It ruined the picnic, cutting it siiort by many 
hours, and although a purse of nearly $50 was made up for the Italian 
it did n't soothe nor console him in the least, and he quitted the party 
with the little dead body in his arms. 

" Judge Bundy " was the news agent who sold and distributed the 
Fort Henderson Meddlar. Being a great wag himself he readily 
undertook the part allotted to him. The Meddlar ran successfully for 
more than a year, without profit, however, to its proprietors, and it was 
sometime afterward that it was discovered to whom the community 
were indebted for it. 

The Chemung Valley, as we have seen, was ages ago and alwa\-s the 
gateway of warriors passing from their headquarters at Niagara in the 
Genesee Valley and in the central lake portion of the State to the south 
and southeast; it was the gateway of the thoroughfare for commerce 
from the same regions to the seacoast and a market along the Chesa- 
peake and at Baltimore ; and it was to become a gateway through which 
poured large numbers of soldiers in the Civil war, but at this time of 
which I write it became and so continued for some years the " gateway 
to freedom." In the days of slavery the black man in search of liberty, 
with his eyes directed toward the north star, followed the river up from 
Baltimore and over across the Virginia line. From Williamsport he 
came over the low intervening hills and down South Creek into the 
valley. He always found friends and help there. Elmira was at times 
a busy station of the " underground railroad." It was n't much marked, 
and there was little known of it, for the passengers came in the night 
and went in the night, but there are barns standing which could tell 
tales of having harbored beneath their roofs many a trembling but hope- 
ful fugitive who was making the shortest cut toward Canada and free- 
dom. The part the valley played in such times is worthy of everlasting 



THE UXDERGROUND RAILROAD. 185 

remembrance for humanity's sake, although if what we know now 
had been generally known then the whole town would have been torn 
to pieces with indignation. We know nothing of the passionate ex- 
citement that was aroused then by the expression of any " abolition " 
sentiment or the enmity excited toward one who was known to be an 
" abolitionist." 

Many of the fugitives remained in the vallej' and became citizens 
who were worthy men without reproach. It was from this source that 
the large colored population which has since that time been accredited 
to Elmira had its beginning. It is no discredit to the city that in its 
record it should be able to name such men as Sandy Brant, Primus Cord, 
Anderson Murphy, John Washington, George Goings, Francis Jackson, 
the brothers John W. and George Jones, and Jefferson Brown. 

A number of the best citizens of the village then were connected 
with these times in a manner that did honor to their love for humanity 
and their great heartedness, although, as one has said, it was "a time 
when opposition to slavery was costly, when it ruled a man, not only 
out of his political party, but out of his church and out of good society, 
and caused his children to be pointed at with a sneer." Some of these 
brave men it would do well to name and remember: Jervis Langdon, 
John M. Robinson, John Selover, S. G. Andrus, Thomas Stanley Day, 
Francis Hall, Simeon Benjamin. 

John M. Robinson was a lineal descendant from the John Robinson 
one of the ^I/rtjyf^ifi'r emigrants of 1620. His father was Capt. Eli P. 
Robinson, who gained his title in the War of 1S12, and for many years 
was justice of the peace in the town where he lived, Windham, Greene 
County, N. Y. There John M. Robinson was born on February 23, 
1814. He learned the cabinetmaking business there, and in 1835 came 
to Horseheads to engage in that line of trade. The next year, how- 
ever, he came to Elmira and began the manufacture of chairs. For a 
time he was in business with S. B. Hubbell, another cabinetmaker still 
in the business, who came to Elmira about the same time. Mr. Robin- 
son watched the growth of his business until from that of a few hundred 
dollars a year it increased to thousands. He was a most estimable 
gentleman, seeking in the comforts of his home and in the assurances of 
his church and his religion those things that, in the estimation of many, 



186 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

make all there is of life worth living. His memory will be linked with 
Park Church as long as that church stands. He was one of the original 
organizers of the society and active above all others in building the 
church edifice. He died suddenly on Christmas eve, 1885. Oneofhis 
daughters, Julia, is the wife of E. P. Bement, one of the energetic busi- 
ness men of Elmira now. His son, George M. Robinson, is at the head 
of the large furniture establishment that is the direct outcome of the lit- 
tle chair manufactory of 1836, and has the management of the great 
enterprise, the Interstate Fair, that promises to be of much benefit to the 
city of Elmira. He has always been deeply interested in the fire depart- 
ment of the city, and under the old system earned his spurs as a fire- 
man with the favorite "Ours 4" company, of which he was repeatedly 
foreman, becoming afterward chief engineer of the department. 

Thomas Stanley Day was born in Conesville, Schoharie County, N. Y., 
September 26, 1805, coming to Elmira in April, 1834. He bought the 
property known at the time as the old Gen. Matthew Carpenter farm, 
the house standing near what is now Oak street and Washington ave- 
nue. Here with his family Deacon Day lived until 1856, when he re- 
moved to a farm in the township of Horseheads, where he died in 1883. 
He was always prominent in the Presbyterian Church in the valley. 
When the Park Church was formed he was one of the fourteen mem- 
bers that severed their connection with the old Presbyterian Church, 
and he with Jervis Langdon and John M. Robinson were the committee 
that invited T. K. Beecher to become their pastor. For twenty seven 
years he was an elder of the Horseheads Presbyterian Church. In 1837, 
wiien the Methodist Conference was held in Elmira, the anti -slavery por- 
tion of that body, which comprised pretty much the whole of it, wanted 
to hold a meeting to express their views. The church and the court- 
house were refused them for the purpose and they were driven from the 
island. Mr. Day heard of it and invited them to his farm. They went 
there and had a rousing time. They were not disturbed. It would have 
been unhappy for any one to have attempted any trouble where Dea- 
con Day was master. 

One less conspicuous in general affairs, but as earnest in his convic- 
tions, was John Turner, one of the early settlers of Veteran township 
He was born in Nassau, Rensselaer County, N. Y., May 23, 1800, and 



JOHN TURNER. 187 

came to Chemung County in 1826. Two farms, either one of which at 
that day could have been bought at the rate of $6 an acre, the one owned 
and conducted by William Hoffman and the other located in what makes 
up now the greater part of the Seventh ward of the city of Elmira, were 
looked at by Mr. Turner and his intention at first was to buy one of them, 
but he changed his mind and bought instead the farm about eleven miles 
from Elmira on what was known as the "ridge road." This road was the 
mail route between Elmira and W'atkins and Elmira and Ithaca. It is 
now a retired and out-of-the-way countrs' road. Mr. Turner built a log 
house on his farm and moved his family into it in February, 1827. New 
comers were pleasantly welcomed in those days, Mr. Turner finding on 
his arrival at his new home that the neighbors had prepared the big 
fireplace heaping up with wood ready to be lighted. Mr. Turner was a 
pronounced anti- slavery man, so strong that in the memorable canvass of 
1844 he was one of seven in the township who voted for James G. Bir- 
ney for President in opposition either to James K. Polk or Henry Clay. 
It was these votes for Birney in the State of New York that gave the 
election to Polk. Mr. Turner's wife was Ulissa Tifit, of Rensselaer 
County, N. Y. One of his sisters was Mrs. Catherine Vary and another 
Mrs. William Van Duzer, wives of well known Chemung County men. 
He died January 17, 1881, having lived more than half a century where 
he had settled. One of his sons is Robert T. Turner, a citizen of Pal- 
mira, who since his residence there has been one of its most active busi- 
ness men and prominent lawyers. He was mayor of the city in 1876, 
and was largely instrumental in organizing the Board of Trade of the 
city in 1879. He married a granddaughter of Gen. Samuel G. Hatha- 
way and niece of Gen. Samuel G. Hathaway, jr. 

The construction of the Chemung Canal and the Erie Railroad 
brought into the valley still other persons around whom had been pre- 
viously thrown religious influences that in their outward expression were 
entirely different from those that had obtained a strong footing in the 
valley and town. Many of these persons, attracted by the promises that 
the region held for those who were industrious and prudent, settled per- 
manently in the town. Among these were Owen McGreery and Mark 
Cummings. The former came with his teams and wagons in 1848, has 
been prospered, and now more than seventy years of age lives in com- 



188 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

fort, although from physical feebleness seldom leaving his pleasant 
home on Market street. The church to which these and others besides 
them were attaciied had no home in those days in the valley. There 
are recollections although no known records of the visits of the good 
Father Bradley, of Geneva, who said mass in 1842 in a building owned 
by Mark Laflin on the bank of the river where now stands the old gas- 
ometer of the Gas Company. Before that a year or two he was present 
at a funeral which was the first Catholic service ever said or sung in the 
town or valley. 

In 1848 work was begun on a little wooden church where now stands 
that of SS. Peter and Paul, at the corner of High and Market streets. 
The lot had been used before that as a burial ground. Mark Cum- 
mings was very active in finding the material for the building of the 
church, and the citizens of Elmira of other faiths were very liberal in 
contributing to the same end. The trustees at the time were Mark 
Cummings, John Kavanagh, Michael Conley, and Thomas Mahoney. 
Father Sheridan was the first resident priest. He is still living in the 
State of Wisconsin. After him came Father Smith, who had been his 
coadjutor for a time, and then followed Fathers Hopkins, Boyle, Cun- 
ningham, O'FIaherty, O'Connor, Kavanagh, Clark, Bede, and McDon- 
ald. Father Hopkins was returned to the parish and died during his 
incumbency of the position. Father Clark returning succeeded him as 
pastor of the church, and then Father Cunningham returned. He died 
in 1889 and was succeeded by Father Donahue. 

Closely allied to the work of this church is the Academy of Our Lad}- 
of the Angels, which was first opened as a school in the building on 
the corner opposite to the church of SS. Peter and Paul. In 1873 the 
school building was erected on the lot just west thereof, and is one of 
the most sightly and observable edifices in the city. It forms one of 
the most attractive features of the profuse school privileges possessed by 
Elmira. 

The selection of suitable spots for the burial of their dead was among 
the first duties that demanded the affectionate attention of the early 
settlers of the valley, in every portion thereof there being still remaining 
evidences that there were deaths in the various families almost contem- 
poraneous with their coming into the region. On more than one farm in 



STA TE SENA TORS AND ASSEMBL YMEN. 18'J 

the county by the roadside there will be found inclosed with well kept 
fences a space up from which rise tall trees, in whose shadows the white 
gravestones ghsten, bearing inscriptions dating almost a century back. 
But in the more settled regions more public places were needed. The 
first burial ground in Elmira was near the junction of Sullivan and Wa- 
ter streets on the northwest corner. Long since every vestige of the 
existence of such a spot there disappeared and it is said that the bodies 
were never removed therefrom. It was used as such until i8o2, when 
Jeffrey Wisner gave the plot of ground just west of the Baptist Churcli 
for such purposes. This was the only cemetery in Elmira until 1838, 
when the Second street one was opened, and that continued in general 
use until 1858, and occasionally now bodies are buried there. 

It remains in concluding this period to give the names of those who 
held public official positions during that time. It is a record to which 
the descendants of those named will always be able to turn with satis- 
faction and excusable pride. 

As to State senators the district to which what is now Chemung 
County was attached until the constitution of 1846 was adopted was a 
very large portion of the central, western, and southwestern parts of the 
State, and the senator representing it, except in one or two instances, 
did not belong to the immediate locality in which we are interested. 
By the constitution of 1846 Chemung and Steuben Counties were made 
a senatorial district, and by the census of 1855 Schuyler was added to 
them to form a similar portion of the State. This so remained until the 
census of 1875, when the district was made up of Chemung, Allegan)-, 
and Steuben Counties, and so it remains to this day. Among the sen- 
ators representing the district were the following named : Vincent Mat- 
thews, 1801-02 ; Caleb Myde, from 1804 to 1808 ; Samuel G. Hathaway, 
1823; John G. McDowell, 1832 to 1835 ; Eben Mack, 1836 to 1838 ; 
Daniel S. Dickinson, 183710 1840; A. B. Dickinson, 1840 to 1844; 
G. B. Guinnip, 1850. 

A somewhat similar remark may be made as to the members of As- 
sembly as has been made in regard to the State senators. Up to 1822 
Tioga County was entitled to one member of Assembly ; after that and 
up to the organization of Chemung County it was entitled to two. Since 
that time Chemung County has always had one member of Assembly. 



190 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

In iSoi Edward Edwards was such member; in 1802-03, Caleb Hyde; 
and they ran along in regular succession, as follows: 1804, Ashbel 
Welles; 1805-07, John Miller; 1808-10, Emanuel Coryell; 181 1, 
Thomas Floyd; 1812, Henry Wells; 1813, Jabez Beers; 1814-15, 
Caleb Baker; 1816-18, Gamaliel H. Barstow ; 1819, Henry Wells; 
1820, Hudson Jennings ; 1821, Samuel Lawrence ; 1822, Jared Patchen ; 
1823, Matthew Carpenter, Benjamin Jennings; 1824, Grant B. Baldwin, 
G. H. Barstow; 1825, Charles Pumpelly, Samuel Winton ; 1826, Isaac 
Baldwin, Anson Camp; 1827, David Williams, G. H. Barstow; 1828, 
William Maxwell, Jacob Swartwood ; 1S29, Caleb Baker, Samuel Bar- 
agar; 1830, J. G. McDowell, Wright Dunham ; 1831, J. G. McDowell, 
David Williams; 1832, Nathaniel Smith, Joel Tallmadge, jr.; 1833, 
Jacob Westlake, Thomas Farrington ; 1834, John R. Drake, George 
Gardner; 1835, George Fisher, Green Bennett; 1836, E. H. Goodwin, 
W. H. Sutton; 1837, Jacob Westlake ; 1838, Hiram White; 1839, J. P. 
Couch; 1840, Guy Hulett ; 1841, Jefferson B. Clark; 1842-43, S. G. 
Hathaway, jr.; 1844, S. Hazen ; 1845, Peter McKey ; 1846, Abraham 
Primmer; 1847, William Maxwell; 1848, G. W. Buck; 1849, Alva 
Nash; 1850, Philo Jones. 

Again a similar statement as to the congressional districts to which 
Chemung County has belonged may be made as has been made con- 
cerning the senatorial and assembly districts. In this instance it will 
be seen what curious alliances it has made. Up to 1822 the district was 
formed of counties whose boundaries are so different from what they are 
now that the naming of them would carry little of comprehension with 
it, but after that date it is clearer. From 1822 to 1832 this district was 
composed of Tioga and Tompkins Counties, in territory much as they 
are now. In the ten years following Cortland County was added to the 
two named to make up the district. From 1842 to 1852 the counties 
were Chemung, Tompkins, and Yates; from 1852 to 1862 Chemung, 
Schuyler, Tioga, and Tompkins; from 1862 to 1884 Chemung, Steu- 
ben, and Allegany. In 1884 it was changed to Chemung, Tompkins, 
Schuyler, and Seneca Counties, where it now remains. Few members 
appear as selected from the locality with which we are immediately con- 
cerned. Vincent Matthews served from 1809-11 ; Caleb Baker from 
1819-21 ; Samuel Lawrence from 1823-25 ; Thomas Maxwell, 1829-31; 



SUCCESSION OF COUXTV OFFICERS. 191 

S. G. Hathaway, 1833-35; Hiram Gray, 1837-39; Samuel Partridge, 
1841-43. 

Tlie county judges were as follows: Joliii Patterson's term began in 
1798 and continued until 1807. His successors were for Tioga County : 
John Miller, 1807-10 ; Emanuel Coryell, 18 10-18; G. H. Barstow, 181S- 
28; Grant B. Baldwin, 1828-33; John R. Drake, 1833-38; for Che- 
mung County: Joseph L. Darling, 1836-44; James Dunn, 1844-46; 
Joseph L. Darling, 1846-47; J. W. Wisner, 1847 to November, 1850; 
A. Konkle, November, 1850, to January, 1851. 

The office of surrogate also existed in the county prior to 1847. Those 
holding this position were for Tioga County : in 1802, William Wood- 
ruff; 1805, William Jenkins; 1806, Caleb Baker; 1808, Robert Law- 
rence ; 1820, Isaac S. Boardman ; 1821, Robert Lawrence ; 1825, Caleb 
Baker; 1829, William Maxwell; 1835, Thomas P'arrington ; for Che- 
mung County: in 1836, Lyman Covell ; 1840, James Dunn; 1844, 
Benajah B. Paine. 

The office of district attorney, so far as each county is concerned, was 
not created until 1818, and those holding it for Tioga and Chemung 
Counties were as follows: In 1818, John L. Tillinghast; 1822, William 
Maxwell; 1823, Eleazer Dana; 1826, Aaron Konkle; 1835, Andrew 
K. Gregg; 1836, Andrew K. Gregg; 1838, Andrew K. Gregg; 1841, 
Hiram Gray; 1841, Don Carlos Woodcock; 1844, William North; 
1845, Elijah P. Brooks; 1847, Erastus P. Hart; 1850, Edward Quinn. 

Previous to 1821 sheriffs were appointed ; after that date they were 
elected. Those of the county were as follows : In 1800, Guy Maxwell ; 
1804, John Cantine ; 1805, William Woodruff; 1806, William Jenkins; 
1 8 10, Jonathan Piatt ; 181 1, Miles Eorman ; 1813, Jonathan Piatt; 1815, 
Miles Forman ; 1819, Elijah S. Hinman; 1819, Henry Wells; 1821, 
Miles Forman; 1822, William Jenkins; 1825, E. Shoemaker; 1828, 
Henry McCormick ; 1831, Lyman Covell; 1834, John Jackson. P'or 
Chemung County : In 1837, Albert A. Beckwith ; 1840, Samuel Minier; 
1843, William R. Judson ; 1846, William Skellenger; 1849, VVilliam T. 
Reeder. 

County clerks were also appointed previous to 1821. and since that 
period have been elected, serving for three years. Those of the county 
were as follows: For Tioga County Matthew Carpenter served until 



192 OUR COU.\TY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

1 8 1 9 ; in i S 1 9. Thomas Maxwell ; 1822, Thomas Maxwell ; 1828, Green 
M. Tuthill ; 1834, David Wallis. For Chemung County in 1837, Isaac 
Baldwin; 1840, Simeon L. Rood; 1846, Green M. Tuthill; 1849, 
Albert F. Babcock. 

The Boards of Supervisors of the county have been composed as 
follows : 

1836. — Big Flats, Samuel Minier ; Catlin, Timothy Wheat ; Catherine, John G. Henry ; 
Cayuta, Jacob Swartwood ; Chemimg, Isaac Sheperd ; Dix, Green Bennett : Elmira, 
John W. Wisner, chairman ; Erin, Robert Stewart ; Southport. Albert A. Beckwith ; 
Veteran, Asahel Hulett. Clerk, Robert C. Hammill. 

1837. ^Big Flats, Samuel Minier; Catlin, Ira Cole; Catherine, Jolm G. Henry; 
Elmira, John W. Wisner, chairman; Southport, Albert A. Beckwith; Veteran, Henry 
Crandall ; Chemung, John G. McDowell; Erin, Joshua Backer. Clerk, Philander 
Norton. 

1838. — Big Flats, C. L. Gardner ; Catlin, Ira Cole ; Catherine, Phineas Catlin ; Che- 
mung, John G. McDowell, chairman ; Elmira, Thomas Burton ; Southport, Philo Jones ; 
Veteran, Solomon Bennett; Erin, Joshua Backer. Clerk, Philander Norton. 

1830.— Big Flats, C. L. Gardner; Catlin, Ira Cole; Catherine, Phineas Catlin; Che- 
mung, Harry N. Floyd; Elmira, Joel Heller; Southport, Philo Jones, chairman; Vet- 
eran, Jeremiah B. Moore ; Erin, Ardon Austin. Clerk, Philander Norton. 

1840.— Big Flats, C. L. Gardner; Catlin, Thomas S. Nichols; Catherine, Phineas 
Catlin; Chemung, John G. McDowell, chairman; Elmira, Joel Heller; Southport, David 
Howell; Veteran. Jeremiah B.Moore; Erin, Ardon Austin. Clerk, Philander Norton. 

1841,— Big Flats, W. A. Tuttle; Catlin, Thomas S. Nichols; Catherine, Eli C. Frost; 
Chemung, Alonzo I. Wynkoop, chairman ; Elmira, John S. Hoffman ; Southport, James 
Griswold ; Veteran, All)ert F. Babcock ; Erin, Thomas N. Andrus. Clerk, Philander 
Norton. 

1842.— Big Flats, W. A. Tuttle; Catlin, Thomas S. Nichols; Catherine, Eli C. Frost; 
Chemung, Alonzo I. Wynkoop, chairman ; Ehr.ira, John S. Hoffman ; Southport, Lewis 
Miller; S'eteran, Thomas F. Babcock; Erin, Thomas N. Andrus. Clerk, Philander 
Jones. 

1843.— Big Flats, Talman N.Bennett; Catlin, Abraham Priemer; Catherine, Eli C. 
Frost; Chemung, Daniel D. McDowell; Cayuta, Hiram White; Dix, Benoni Peck; 
Elmira, Henry M, Graves; Erin, Thomas N, Andrus, chairman; Southport, Solomon L. 
Smith; Veteran, Sylvester Sexton. Clerk, Albert F. Babcock. 

1844. — Big Flats, Talman N. Bennett; Catlin, Al>raham Priemer; Catherine, Eli C. 
Frost; Chemung, Daniel D. McDowell; Cayuta, James B. Van Etten; Dix, Samuel 
Agard ; Elmira, John W. Wisner, chairman ; Erin, John Hoag ; Southport, Solomon L. 
Smith ; Veteran, Charles Hulett. Clerk, A. F. Babcock. 

184.5.— Big Flats, W. A. Tuttle; Catlin, Abraham Priemer; Catherine, Eli C. Frost; 
Chemung, George W. Buck; Caj'uta, James B. Van Etten; Dix, Alva Na.sh ; Elmira, 
John W. Wisner, chairman ; Erin, John Hoag ; Southport, Solomon L. Smith ; Veteran, 
Solomon Bennett. Clerk, A. F. Babcock. 



SUPERVISORS AND POSTMASTERS. 193 

1846. — Big Flats, W. A. Tuttle; Catlin, Aliraham Prierner; Catherine, Eaton Agard ; 
Chemung, George W. Buck ; Cayuta, Samuel Ellis : Dix, Bela Sanford ; Elmira, Jolm 
W. Wisner, chairman; Erin, Daniel Lang; Soutliport, I. O. Scudder; Veteran. Solo- 
mon Bennett. Clerk, A. F. Balicock. 

1847. — Big Flats, Judson M. Park; Catlin. Henry Backer; Catherine, Eaton Agard ; 
Chemung, George W. Buck, chairman ; Cayuta. James B. Van Etten ; Dix, \V. E. 
Boothe; Elmira, Azariah Brees; Erin, Jason P. Woolever; Southport, Solomon L. 
Smith ; Veteran, Era Mallette. Clerk, Charles G. Fairman. 

1848. — Big Flats, S. Minier; Catlin, Henry Backer; Catherine, Marcus Crawford; 
Chemung, Daniel F. Pickering ; Cayuta, L. F. Chase ; Dix. W. E. Boothe ; Elmira, 
W. R. Judson, chairman; Erin, Jason P. Woolever; Southport, Lewis Miller; Veteran, 
W. H. Phillip.s. Clerk, Albert F. Babcock. 

1849. — Big Flats, J. M. Park; Catlin, John N. Beers; Chemung, George Lowman ; 
Catherine, Marcus Crawford; Cayuta, Z. F. Chase; Dix, L. T. McLuskey ; Elmira, 
W. R. Judson, chairman ; Erin, Jason P. Woolever ; Southport, Richard Baker ; Vet- 
eran, Bra Mallette. Clerk, A. F. Babcock. 

1850. — Big Flats, James Hughson ; Catlin, John Beers; Catherine, H. Van Vecten ; 
Cayuta, M. D. Hall ; Chemung, James M. Baldwin ; Dix, D. W. Frost ; Elmira, W. R. 
Judson, chairman; Elmira village, H. W. Atkins: Elmira village, G. W. Mason; Erin, 
Jason P. Woolever; Southport, John Baldwin, jr.; Veteran. Reuben TiU't. Clerk. J. B. 
Moore. 

The postmasters of the county during the period under considera- 
tion were as follows, the first date given being that of the establishment 
of the office : 

Big F/a<s.— Robert Miller. January 1, 1809; Caleb L. Gardner, January 3. 1833; 
Ebenezer S. Roberts. July 29, 1841 ; Lauren A. Tuttle. May 18. 1844. 

CAemunj.— Elijah Buck, April 1, 1801; John G. McDowell, February 11, 1823 
Jefferson B. Clark. October 17, 1837; George W. Buck, November 13, 1849. 

Elmira. — January 1, 1801, as Newtown. John Konkle; October 1, 1809, as Elmira. 
Aaron Konkle; Grant B. Baldwin, March 21. 1822; Thomas Maxwell, July 11, I83."v 
Ransom Birdsall, July 9, 1S41 ; Levi J. Cooley, May V-'i, 184.'.; Henry H. Matthews, 
May 5. 1849. 

Horseheads. — Jonas Sayre, April 19. 1820; James L. Matthews, September 28, 1829 
Hector L Maxwell, October 5, 1831 ; Stoddard Conkling, December 11, 1835; as Fair- 
port, Stoddard Conkling, January 28. 1837; Jacob Westlake, 2d. November 21. 1840 
William Reynolds. September 27. 1844 ; William T. Hastings, August 6, 1845; Homer 
Ryant. July 19, 1848; George W. Seeley. June 9, 1849; Joseph McConnell, Septem- 
ber 4. 1850. as Horseheads during his incumbency of the office. 

Lawman's. — As West Chemung, John G. McDowell, June 25, 1840; as Baldwin, John 
Goodwin, April 5, 1842; John G. Lowman, June 13. 1849. 

MiUport.— As Pine Valley, Elijah Sexton, February 9, 1828; as Millport, Erastus 
Crandall. March 12, 1832; Jeremiah Hackney, July 15, 1841; Benjamin Hackney, 
25 



194 OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

April 2, 1844; Albert F. Baheock, Jamiary 9, 1845; Gilbert Miles, October 27, 1846; 
Josepli C. Stott, May 9, 1849. 

Pine Valley. — Cornelius L. Ten Broeck, July 24, I85U. 

Post Creek. — Joseph C. Hulbert, May 25, 1843; Charles D. Defrance, November 16, 
1844; Jacob Bucher, January 20, 1846; Henry Stewart, September ?>, 1849. 

Seeley Creek. — John Brownell, July 11, 1832; William R. Sheppard, June 13, 1849. 

SoHthport. — As Seeley Creek, Seneca Baker, 1824; as Southport, John L.Smith, 
April 29, 1826; George Hyde, December 22. 18:U ; David Howell, July 11, 1832; 
Hervey Jones, July 9, 1838; William S. Johnson. April 27, 1840; William C. Waeir, 
April 16, 1841 ; Raymond T. Jones, May 16, 1843 ; Charles Evans, January 14, 1846 ; 
Raymond T. Jones, June 22, 1849. 

Welhhiirg.—Uorace Wells, December 29. 1824; Samuel D. Kress, April 6. 1830; as 
Post's Corners, Lasky S. Post, April 19, 1836; James T. Strong, January 27, 1841; as 
Wellsburg, Abner Wells, April 12, 1844; Richard C. Lockwood, September 5, 1849. 

Martin's Hill. — Jacob King, Januarys, 1828; Johnson Carter, January 23, 1835; 
John R. Brown, July 29, 1841; Abel Buckley, September 12, 1846. Discontinued. 

North Big Flat's.— S oha C. Scolield, March 29, 18:!9. Discontinued. 

South Chemnng.- -George W. Roberts, July 14. 1849. Discontinued. 

Veteran. — David Banks, November 29, 1824; William Van Duzer, June 1, 1826. He 
held the office for twenty-six years. 

As we have seen the name of the village of Newtown was changed to 
Elmira in 1828. The first officers of the village were: President of 
the Board of Trustees, Stephen Tuttle ; clerk, Hiram Gray ; trustees, 
Charles Orwan, Lyman Covell, Theodore North. These served two 
years. The record of the worthy men who followed these in the offices 
named are deserving of preservation for future generations: 

1830. — President of the board, Stephen Tuttle; clerk, Andrew K. Gregg; treasurer, 
William Dunn; trustees, William Maxwell, Lyman Covell, Wyatt Carr, Matthew Mc- 
Reynolds. 

1831. — President of the board. Stephen Tuttle; clerk, Andrew K. Gregg; treasurer, 
Aaron Konkle ; trustees, Isaac Baldwin, Lyman Covell, Wyatt Carr, Theodore North. 

1832. — Pre.sident of the board, Isaac Baldwin; clerk, Joshua B. Wheeler; treasurer, 
Thomas Maxwell; trustees, Theodore North, Levi J. Cooley, Jolham Purdy, Francis 
Collingwood. 

1833. — President of the board, Ste]ihen Tuttle; clerk, Solomon L. Gillett; treasurer, 
Thomas Ma.xwell ; trustees, William Maxwell, Theodore North, Jotham Punly, Archi- 
bald Smith. 

1834. — President of the board, Stephen Tuttle; clerk, S. L. Gillett; treasurer, Mat- 
thew McReynolds; trustees, Hervey Luce, Theodore North, Elijah Jones, Jotham 
Purdy. 

1835. — President of the board, Daniel Stephens ; clerk, S. L. Gillett ; trea,surer, Mat- 
thew McRej'nolds; trustees, Archibald Heggie, Green M. Tuthill, Hervey Luce, Theo- 
dore North. 



ELM IRA VILLAGE OFFICERS. 195 

lS3(i. — President ot the board, Simeon Benjamin; clerlf, S. L. Gillett; treasurer, 
Jonathan S. Lawrence: trustees, Isaac Baldwin, Cliarles Orwan, Green M. Tntliill, 
Tliomas Maxwell. 

IS37. — President of llie board, Isaac Baldwin; clerk, S. L. Gillett; treasurer, .Jona- 
than S. Lawrence; trustees, John Parraenter, Miles Covell, Damon Hatch, William 
Foster. 

1838. — President of the lioard, Isaac Baldwin; clerk, S. L. Gillett; treasurer, Jona- 
than S. Lawrence; trustees, William Foster, John Parmenter, Hervey Luce, Elijah 
Jones. 

Isijt). — President of the board, Stephen Tuttle; clerk, 9. L. Gillett ; treasurer, Hector 
I. Maxwell ; trustees, John Parmentei-, Hervey Luce, Samuel H. Maxwell. Samuel 
Partridge. 

1S40. — President of the board, John Parmenter; clerk, S. L. Gillett; treasurer, Da- 
vid H. Tuthill ; trustees, Stephen Lewis, William Foster, Samuel E. Sweetland, Archi- 
bald Reggie. 

1S41. — President of the board, Samuel H. Maxwell; clerk, Edward Suflern ; treas- 
urer. Hector I. Maxwell: trustees, Daniel Stephens, Jonathan S.Lawrence, William Mc- 
Chire, Samuel Kiker. 

1842. — President of the board, Samuel H.Maxwell; clerk, Tracy Beadle ; treasurer. 
Hector I. Maxwell ; trustees, Daniel Stephens, Jonathan S. Lawrence, William McClure, 
William Foster. 

1S43. — President of the lioard, Samuel II. Maxwell; clerk, Robert Covell, jr.; treas- 
urer, Tracy Beadle; trustees, William Foster, William McClure, Daniel Stephens, Samuel 
B. Strang. 

1.S44. — President ot the board, Levi J. Cooley ; clerk, Isa.ic B. Gregg; treasurer, 
Hector I. Maxwell ; trustees, Daniel Stephens, Ethan B. Carpenter. Austin E. Chub- 
buck, Levi J. Cooley, Benjamin Vail. 

184.5. — President of the board, Andrew K. Gregg; clerk, S.L. Gillett; treasurer, Hec- 
tor I. Maxwell; trustees, Steplien Tuttle, William Foster, Anilrew K. Gregg, Hollis S. 
Chubbuek, Nelson W. Gardiner. 

1846. — President of the board, Benajah B. Paine; clerk, James L. Woods; trea,surer, 
Edward Covell; trustees, Daniel Stephens. John Parmenter, William T. Post, William 
M. Hill. 

1847. — President of the board, William P. Yates ; clerk, Grandison A. Gridlcy ; treas- 
urer, William HolTman, jr.; trustees, Isaac Mead, Robert Stewart, James S. French, 
John Hill. 

1848. — President of the board, William P. Yates ; clerk, Grandison A. Gridley ; treas- 
urer, William HolVinan, jr.; trustees, John Hill, Elijah P. Brooks, James S.French, Na- 
than Baker. 

1"^49. — President of the board, Norman Smith; clerk, Brinton Paine; treasurer, 
Washington Thurman ; trustees, William P. Yates, W. R. Judson, Stephen McDonalil, 
G. B. Salmon. 

1850. — President of the board, Solomon L. Gillett; clerk, Henry W. Collins; treas- 
urer, Socrates Ay res; trustees, William R. Judson, Henry Voorhees, Henry M. Par- 
tridge, Jolm Selover. 



PART III. 

Military Affairs in the County. 



And there was mountinij in hot haste : the steed, 
The mustering squadron, and the clattering car 
Went pouring forward with impetuous speed, 
And swiftly forming in the ranks of war; 
And the deep thunder peal on peal afar; 
And near, the beat of the alarming drum 
Roused up the soldier. — Childi' Harold. 



Their armor rings on a fairer field 

Than Greek or Roman ever trod. 
For Freedom's sword is the bh-ide they wield. 

And the lisrht above them the smile of God ! — Proctor. 



PART HI. 

Military Affairs in the County. 



CHAPTKR I. 



Early Military Organizations — " General Training " — The old " Elmira Guards " — 
The " Southern Tier Rifles" — Breaking out of the War — Answering President 
Lincoln's call for Troops — Gen. W. W. Averell — IVIaj. Arthur T. Lee — Capt. J. 
Riley Rcid — Capt. Madison Earle — Mustering in Troops for the Service — Or- 
ganization of the Twenty-third Regiment, N. Y. V. — Its Muster Roll — Col. H. C. 
Hoffman — Other prominent .Members of the Regiment — Capt. Nat. B. Fow ler — 
Lieut. F'lorence Sullivan — Rodney W. Steele — Thaddeus C. Cowen — Record of 
the Regiment — Other Regiments mustered in at Elmira — A Horseheads Com- 
pany — Elmira made a Military Depot and Post — Pre|)aring to care for the .Soldiers. 

IT is only natural that Chemung County, beginning its history with a 
hotly contested if brief battle, should continue conspicuous in mili- 
tary afiairs. There may not have been immediately any regular organ- 
ization formed in the county, but the spirit was ready for one. The laws 
of the State only required at that time and for some time a meeting at 
intervals of the men capable of bearing arms and liable for military 
duty. This meeting was called " general training day." Even this 
could be "commuted for" by a fine. The men were mustered together 
ununiformed and bearing such arms as they themselves could furnish. 
They were put through a slight drill, marched a little, manceuvred with 
their pieces, and then at the conclusion it all ended with a great jollifi- 
cation. It was not until after the Chemung Canal was completed, and 
the increase of population suggested and permitted it, that any regular 
company organization was attempted. Gen. W. R. Judson was the cap- 



200 OUR COUMTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

tain of this company and mainly instrumental in organizing it. It pa- 
raded in public for the first time in March, 1840, at the funeral of Col. 
John Hendy. Among the members were N. W. Gardiner, Joseph Hoff- 
man, Henry Voorhees, Henry Hill, R. B. Sharpsteen, William Halli- 
day, Wakeman Merwin, and Charles Orvvan. Joseph Hoffman was at 
one time in command of this company. The dress uniform was some- 
what similar to that of the Seventh Regiment of New York city at this 
day: white trousers and light blue swallow-tailed coat, but the cap was 
a tall, straight, stift" one with a forepiece and strap under the chin. Not 
at first but eventually the company assumed the name of the " Elmira 
Guards." With more or less enthusiasm and under different command- 
ers the company continued in existence almost twenty years, disband- 
ing in 1854. It was succeeded by the "Southern Tier Rifles," which 
was at the height of its popularity and in the best of condition as to 
numbers and drill in 1858, when its commander was H. C. Hoffman 
and its first lieutenant Nat. B. Fowler. Unconsciously this company 
was preparing itself for the crisis that was approaching. It became the 
nucleus of a regiment, one of the very first in the State mustered into 
the service of the United States at the beginning of the Civil war, and 
served with much distinction, furnishing, besides soldiers in the ranks, a 
number of officers for other organizations. 

As elsewhere all over the North the firing upon Fort Sumter stirred up 
the county from its uttermost depths. Since the election of the preced- 
ing November the excitement usual in a political canvass had been more 
or less carried along through the winter, and the breaking out of the war 
roused the feeling up to a consequent intense pitch. President Lincoln's 
call for troops issued on April 15, 1861, reached Elmira on the afternoon 
of that day and a meeting was called at Concert Hall, then situated on 
the west side of Lake just above Water street. The call was made only a 
few hours before the meeting was to be held, but the hall was packed full 
and the blood of the people was up. The Hon. G. L. Smith was made 
chairman of the gathering. The vice-presidents were thirty or forty of 
the most conspicuous citizens of the village, and Nat. B. Fouler was 
made secretary. A number of speeches were made, among the orators 
being Judge James Dunn, Archibald Robertson, Daniel F. Pickering, and 
Gen. William M. Gregg. Volunteers were called for and William Halli- 



ELM IRA AS A MILITARY POST. 'HW 

day, R. R. R. Dumars, and S. B. Denton were made a committee to re- 
ceive their names. Most of the company known as the " Southern Tier 
Rifles" volunteered at that time and became Company K of the Twenty- 
third Regiment. l'"rom that evening for more than four years tiie atmos- 
phere and surroundings of Elmira were of a particularly military charac- 
ter. Uniforms of all kinds were constantly to be seen on the streets ; the 
sounds of drum and fife, a bugle in the distance, now and then the dis- 
charge of a gun, the rattle of artillery wagons, the clattering of a horse 
with the clink of saber and spur were as frequent almost as the minutes 
of the day. 

At first there were no provisions at all for housing or feeding the 
troops that were ordered to Elmira to be mustered in and sent forward. 
Churches, old storehouses, and public halls were impressed into service 
for the first purpose, and what had once been used as a manufactory for 
barrels, west of the Erie depot and convenient to incoming or outgoing 
trains, for the second purpose. 

The first United States officer sent to the town to muster troops into 
the service was the then Second Lieut. William W. Averell, who had 
graduated from West Point four \'ears previously. During the war he 
became a major-general and was one of the most distinguished cavalry 
officers the country ever produced. He belongs to the district in which 
Elmira is situated, having been a schoolboy in that village and edu- 
cated at the old Elmira Academy. He acquired a reputation there and 
then of being one of the best of speakers, his promise being then in the 
direction of oratory rather than generalship. The day before he left 
the academy he got a long ladder, and elevating it before the tall front 
window that reached almost to the ceiling in the main room in the sec- 
ond story he wrote his name on the wall just under the cornice. The 
clear sharp letters remained there undisturbed until the building was 
taken down. General Averell has written his name in the history of his 
country as high relatively as he wrote it on that bright June afternoon, 
and in less perishable characters. 

Capt. J. L. Tidball succeeded General Averell as the military officer 
of the post. After him came Major Arthur T. Lee of the Second In- 
fantry. He indeed merited the title of "officer and gentleman," He 
was a poet as well, and contributed some lyrics to the literature of the 

:26 



202 Oi'R COUXTV AXD /TS PEOPLE. 

country that at least in army circles are not forgotten. His brown liafr 
and white mustache made him always a noticeable figure in the streets 
of Elmira during the war. Capt. (now Col.) La Rhett L. Livingston 
came after Major Lee, and when he was transferred to some other post 
Major Lee returned for a time. There were a number of others until 
the close of the war, among whom was Capt. J. Riley Reid, who is now 
a citizen of Elmira and an active business man. A number of officers, 
as is usually the case in what might be called a "garrison town," coming 
to Elmira by the fortunes of war, found wives among the fair maidens 
of the city. Captain Reid was one of these. He was appointed to West 
Point from Schenectady, N. Y., and his graduation found the country 
prepared for his services. He had been stationed in Elmira before he 
came there as mustering and disbursing officer. He married the eldest 
daughter of David H. Tuthill, one of the foremost merchants and busi- 
ness men of Elmira. Captain Reid is engaged largely in the iron busi- 
ness with his brother-in-law, John N. Cooper. 

Capt. Madison Earle was another officer who came to Elmira to find 
his wife. He married Frederica Cass, a daughter of John Cass, a long 
time resident and business man of Elmira. After she became a widow 
in 1870 she entered the service of the government in the office of the 
collector of internal revenue at Elmira. She still remains in such serv- 
ice, her term of office in the one position having extended to more than 
twenty years, some of the time the office in Elmira being entirely in her 
charge, the headquarters of the district being elsewhere. 

Capt. David Scott, of a most distinguished and wealthy family of Pat- 
erson, N. J., an officer of the regular army some time stationed in Pal- 
mira, married Emma, daughter of Erastus P. Hart, esq. Captain Lips- 
comb, Captain Mills, and Capt. William Falck, all of the regular army, 
also all found wives in Elmira, the first named marrying May, the 
daughter of Gen. A. S. Diven, and the other two marrying respectively 
Jeannie and Mary McOuhae, descendants of General Carpenter. Cap- 
tain Falck is now interested in the La France Company. 

TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT, N. Y. V., AND OTHERS. 

The first regiment mustered into the service of the United States in 
Elmira was in less than one month after President Lincoln had issued 



THE TWKXTY-THIRn REGIMENT. L'OS 

his call for troops. It was the Twelfth N. Y. V., Col. Ezra L. Walrath, 
and it was organized in Syracuse the niontii before. It numbered 725 
officers and men, and it was mustered into the service on May 13, 1861. 
The second regiment was tiie Thirteenth, Col. I. F. Quimby, and with 
the exception of one comi)any, Company B, from Dansville, Livingston 
County, it was organized in Rochester, N.Y. The date of its muster into 
the service was May 14. 186 1. It numbered officers and men 781. The 
Twenty-third Regiment was the next one mustered into the service, the 
date of such muster having been May 16, 1861, for two years unless 
sooner dischargeii. It numbered 788 officers and men. It was partic- 
ularly a local organization, although only two of its companies were 
home companies, for most of its officers from the colonel down came 
from the old "Southern Tier Rifles" already spoken of The field and 
staff of this regiment were as follows : 

Ofticers. — Colonel, Henry C. Hoftnian ; lieutenant-colonel. Niroin M.Crane; niiijor, 
William M. Gregg; adjutant, William W. Hayt; quartermaster, Myron H. Mandeville; 
.surcreon, Seymour Churchill; assistant surgeon, William A. Madill ; sergeant-major, 
Archibald N. Devoe ; quartermaster-sergeant, Hiram T. Smith; chum-major, Miles Ter- 
ril ; fife-major, .Julius C. Smead. 

The two companies that as organizations were local to the county 
were F" and K Companies, but scattered through the whole regiment were 
men whose homes were in the county, and who should be credited to it. 
Lest some one might be omitted who properly so belongs the whole 
muster- in roll of the regiment is herewith given : 

Company A. — Theodore Schlick, captain ; Corneluis T. Mowers, lieutenant; Geoige 
E. Riles, ensign; Benjamin Bennett, first sergeant; Frederick Amo. sergeant; John 
S. Tunnaclill', sergeant; .Joseph Furtherer. sergeant; Charles C. Caiupbell. corporal; 
Luke N. Be.igle, corporal; Henry T. Crant.s, corporal : William B. Kinsey, corporal; 
Timothy Terril, drummer; Joseph S.White, fifer. Privates, Orrin Andrews, Samuel O. 
Allen. James IJ. Braden. Israel A. Beagle, William H. Brooks, Onatus D. Bump, John W. 
Baker, John W. Boileau. Daniel B. Boileau, William P.A.Brown, David D. Chapin, William 
Caslin, James L. Dalton. Eli Decker. Cohnnlms Dudley, David H. Dickenson, Francis A. 
Dickenson, David Farran. S.Augustus Fosliury, Henry F. Gustin, William Greek, William 
Hopkins, .\ugustus W. Hyer, Elisha P. Horr, Samuel B. Holchkins, Charles Hurch, James 
H. Hammond, Truman Hear), Albert H. Halsey, William Jump,.\ugustus Kellogg.William 
A. Lowell, Henry C. Lugh, Ebenezer E. Loghry, John March,William March, John Mc- 
Chesney, John M. Mowers, Gilbert H. May, William Martin, Henry Moara, Abram 1'. 
Masten, Helman Neafe, Albert W. Orser, Edward E. Ostrantier, William Pratt, John 
J. P. Potter, Mortimer W. Jieail, George B. Staniford, Charles W. Smith, Al|iha S. Stan- 



204 OUR COUNTY A.XD ITS PEOPLE. 

ton, Herkimei- Sliults, John R. Schlick, James P. Tapping, William M. Terril, Whitman 
Treet, Frank M. Van Wornier, Ira B. Van Gelilei', Enoch Woolora, George Winegariien, 
Martin L. White, William Wales, John Wilhelm, Seabnry Williams. 

Company B. — Marshal M. Loyiloii, captain ; Lemuel K. Bradley, lieutenant; William W. 
Cole, ensign ; Lucien B. Main, first .sergeant; Leroy D. Setchell, sergeant; Joseph T.Baiker. 
sergeant: Arthur A. Coon, sergeant; Ansel B. Roberts, corporal ; Erastus W.Willard, cor- 
poral ; Charles E. Coon, corporal ; James M. Lewfe, corporal ; John M. Ma.son, drummer ; 
William F. Mason, fifer. Privates, Leonard F. Aldrich, Charles R. Aldrieh, William C. 
Appleby, Charles J. Allen, Judson Blakely, Stephen T. Bartle, Alan.^on L. Beebe, Azel 
Buckley, Jerome B. Bigelow, Elias B. Coat.s, Charles Carr, Orlando T.Carmer, John Coats, 
Alson L. Durkee, Addison Evans, John H. Bldredge,Williara S. Ebner, Ambrose Foot, Cy- 
rus P. Fuller, Lyman P. Hotchkiss, Caleb A. Hotchkiss, Charles O. Halliday, William W. 
Halliday, Charles T. Hyde, William H. Hall, Orlo T. Kingsbury, Olis Kingsbury, Edson 
H. Keller, Edward Kelly, Lewis M. Lamb, Frank M. Lockwood, Randall Longcore, Sam- 
uel T. McGee, Edgar P. Main, Alfonso L. Makee, Harvey Makee, Martin W. Miner, 
Henry S. Merrel, Charles McCumber, William Nichols, Harvey Norton, Frederick Os- 
borne, William A. Odell, Jo.-;eph Otto, Joseph S. Otto, Stephen H. Peckham, Samuel T. 
Randolph, Eugene G. Snyder, Henry D. Sizer, Lewis Stickney, Byron Sturgess, Lucien 
B. Scott, Jefferson Scott, Rufus Scott, Daniel Streator, Josiah B. Swartwood, Merton 
Spencer, Robert H. Tucker, James W. Underbill, Harvey Vanhorn, Chauncey Wells, 
Addison C.Walker. Marion A. W^ison, Stephen Wait. 

Company C. — Sumner Barstow. captain ; Mose.s M. Van Benschoten, lieutenant ; 
Charles 0. Durland. ensign; William V. Bailey, first .sergeant; GeorgeWarwick, sergeant; 
David Bailey, sergeant ; Harrison Camp, sergeant ; Herbert M. Jones, corporal ; Will- 
iam H. Catlin, corporal ; Major M. Perry, corporal ; Nelson J. W^right, corporal ; Israel 
Ferris, drummer ; Andrew J. Turner, fifer. Privates, Cranston Bliven, Henry J. Bran- 
doe, Benjamin W. Brown, James Burke, Philander Burlingame, Lewis B. Clark, Joseph 
Cole, jr., Sylvester Cole, Charles Conklin, John W. Coons, James Cragg, Pliiletus L. 
Chrispell, Walter Curkendoll, Stephen Dean, Vincent De Groat, Lewis De Groat, Charles 
r. De Groat, James A. Dinehart, Robert Dinehart, Marvin J. Drake, John Ester, Ger- 
shom Fox, Ira A. Gould. Daniel Granger, Henry Hagadorn, William H. Harding, Hiram 
Hubbard, Robert Hunt, Uriah Hardiok, John M Hazen, Charles Lollis, Lewis Loveland, 
James J. Loveless, Fenvvick C. Lowe, William Lollis, Lewis Manning, Israel Marquart, 
John II. Merithew, George H. Moore, Charles E. Moian, Hugh Mosher, John Myne- 
han, Hiram Morse, George K. McNeih, Daniel Ogden, Horace Pease, James Pease, 
Gideon AV. Probasco, Dayton F. Reed, Marshall S. Rogers, Alfred Rhinevault, John 
W. Smith, Hiram R. Smith, George W. Truesdale, Fayette Truesdale, John S. Taylor, 
Harri.son Vangorder, Lucas Vandewark, Joseph L. West. Kelsey Wiltse, Albert G. 
Wright, Henry P. White, Charles H. Youngs, John Zehr. 

Company D. — Luzerne Todd, captain; Newton T. Colby, lieutenant; William H. 
Jones, ensign ; Delos C. Sherwood, first sergeant; Henry Witt, sergeant; W^illiam H. 
Messenger, sergeant; Robert J. Barnard, sergeant; Eben E. Crocker, corporal; Joseph 
A. Ball, corporal ; Lewis Crawford, corporal ; Herman C. Howell, corporal ; Nelson 
Jones, drummer ; Alfred Nash, fifer. Privates, Harlow Ames, Henry Brown, Jacob H. 



MUSTER RO/ J. OF THE TWEXTV-THIRD REGIME.XT. 'JOS 

Brown, William liyxbe, Heiirv Beilaid, Willinni E. Barrett, Steplieii Blain, Fretlerick 
Berlin^, Albert 1{. Crainlall. Charles H. Craiiciall, Asa A,(.'arner, Peter CaulUins, William 
II, Col)b, Thomas Cliambers, Charles J, Chatlielii, jr., Charles E. Chite, Timothy Dear, 
Francis C. Deere, John Dunlary, Abram Duvall, Albert B. Davenport, Thomas J. 
Decker, William H. Gitchell, Amal Hinkley, William I'. Hogartz, John M. Heath, John 
W. Hall. John Inseho, Alexander J. Jaynes. George Johnson, Thomas Jones. Andrew B. 
Kelley, Cyrus Kellogg, Henry C. Lacey, George E. Lacey, William N. Luce, William H. 
Molt. Edward H. Miles, Isaac Miles, CharlesX. Mance, Orazene May, Peter McNeil, Par- 
ker Mcintosh, Theodore Merithew, William H. Marcey, William H. Minwich. Henry 
McCenna, Ebenezer L. Martin, EliasW. Palmer, George Piatt, David J. Perrine, Ellis Ran- 
dall, Ezra M. Royce, David H. Russell, James K. Rathbone, George C. Seamans, David 
Salmon, Erastus F. Thrall. Oliver P. Thomas, Andrew J.Woodward, Jacob H. Wolcott, 
William Whitlord, lienr}' Van Campen, David Van Etten. 

Company E. — George H. Powers, captain; Jolni H. Pierce, lieutenant; Hugh J. 
Baldwin, ensign; Daniel H. Sharp, first sergeant; Samuel Kelly, sergeant ; Charles W. 
Brown, sergeant ; Forest II. Payne, sergeant; Miles Floyd, first corporal ; Alfred B. Hicks, 
corporal; Charles Monroe, corporal ; Henry C. Scott, corporal ; Josiah S.Wright, drum- 
mer; Joseph W. Knapp. fifer. Privates, Richard Andrew.s. William N. Bull. George A. 
Bosworth, Seeley Brink, Harrison C. Brown, George W, Brown, Joseph V. Byarl, 
James V, Bogart. Charles II. Barden, Edniond Beun, Benjamin F. Collins, George W. 
Collins, Charles H. Collins, Adelbert Corey, William D. Crans, James Curren, Thompson 
Delany, Benjamin Edwards, Horace Edwards, Orlando Elwell, Leroy Edgcomb, 
Chauncey Farley, George Foulke, William A. Galloway, James Green, Eugene Geot- 
ches, Philip Hedges, Charles G. Howitt, William Ilowitt, Samuel Hubble, Michael Har- 
rigan, Edward M. Jackson, Samuel C. Kno.K, I.saac H. Lathrop, Joseph Lyons, Henry 
Meade. William H. McCutcheon. David H. Mclntyre, Henry J. Miller, Andrew J. Mills. 
Robert N. ilanners, George B. Morgan, Daniel A. Mills, William W. Morgan, William 
H. Overton, Stephen Olmstead, George Parker, Hiram Payne, jr., Theron J. Rhinehart, 
Ansel P. Scott. George Straus, John Straus, Jonas Swain. William H. Sliter, Aaron 
Slade. Warren W. Tannery. Francis A. Tyler, Foster Whitaker, Orrin M. Wood, Henry 
K. Woodard, Thaddeus K. Woodard, George Weller, Alvah E. Wolcott, Charles Whit- 
tlesey. 

Company F. — William W. Dingeldey, captain ; Melville C. Wilkinson, lieutenant ; 
Samuel N. Benedict, ensign ; George V. R. Merrill, first sergeant ; Horace H. Peters, ser- 
geant ; James Bonker, sergeant : James H. Smith, sergeant : Lan C. Patrick, corporal ; 
Byron D. Fitch, corporal ; John P. Inmnan, corporal ; Marcus E. Moses, corporal ; 
David B. Howland, drummer; David Stedge, fifer. Privates, John S. Allen, Elias All- 
gaive, Henry Argetsinger, John W. Austin, William Beck, Henry N. Benton, Julius M. 
JBerry, Martin Bien, Christopher Bremen, Nelson Brown, Henry Brown, William H. 
Brown. John L. Campbell, Thomas Carroll, Daniel Cha.se, Alsop L. Corwin, James Chri.s- 
caden, William L. Chriscaden, William H. Decker, James Dildine, James Dunn, Will- 
iam H. Dunn. Albert Easton, Fernando C. Garr, Henry H. Garr, Timothy M. Gillan, 
Charles Hoyt, Norman F. Hoyt, Artemus D. Innman. Charles Lewis, Robert G. Lyon, 
Hiram A. McGraw, Saumel McMannis George F. Mitchell, Oscar Nelson, Edward 



.206 OUR cor.vrv and its people. 

O'Brien, \Villiam U. Parrifib, Charles A. Pitts, Thomas N. Pitts, William II. Pouml, Lewis 
Putnam, Clarkson H. Resser, William K. Roberts, .John H. Redfiekl, Eihvin I. Rogers, 
Antoine F. Sabowsin, Julius Scliall, .folni T. Schappee, Almon M. Slieardown. Georpe C. 
Smith, Alva Spencer, Ira M, Slawson, Rodney Stevens, Harris Taber, Charles Thomas, 
George Vangorder, Lawrence Van Vliet, Isaac B. Vanan, David Ward, Leroy Wiborn, 
William Woodhonse. Ely Wright, JamesWright, Jesse Zart. 

Company O. — Franklin B. Doty, captain; Ira Cone, lieutenant; John Prentiss, en- 
sign; Martin V. Doty, first sergeant; Lester D. Hawle}', sergeant; John T. Brigden, 
sergeant; Theodoric Hallett, sergeant; George W. Miller, second corporal; Martin V, 
Zimmerman, corporal; Chauncey Brown, corporal : Brewer Collier, corporal ; William 
H. Taylor, drummer; Wilson Jones, fifer. Privates, Stephen Arnold, James H. Bur- 
nett, George B. Babcock, Olin L. Bennett, Denis Brenien, Jesse G. Bowman, John 
H. Bellis, Edwin Colony, John Cnbbuck, William H. Clark, Beriah C. Clark. Stephen 
Chilson, Alonzo M. Grossman, Alfred S. Cranmer, James A. Derby, William H. Edmin- 
ster, George Elliot, Ethan A. Edwards, John F. French, Levi Force, David Fleet, Uriah 
F. Fauver. Samuel C. Fauver, William H. Foster, Parker Foster, John Gitchel, Marshall 
Hallett, Elijah Hallett. Charles Hathaway, Walter S. Higgins, Charles Harri.s, Henry 
Ives, Llewllyn Jersey, Cash W, Johnston, Beekman D. King, George H. Merwain, Will- 
iam T. Moon, Edward Morgan. Reuben C. Morgan. William H. Manhart, Luke G. 
ilaxon, Charles H. McOmber, Charles H. ilcKinney, Ami Osgood, Anson Pi-entiss, 
,Tohn Pliillips, Benjamin V. Price, John Paulding, Robert R. Robinson, Freeman Rens- 
low, Lorenzo D. Smith, Cornelius P. Smith, Joseph Q. Sentu, David Sprague, Alexander 
Stewart, John T. Sholze, David S. Taylor, Samuel C. Taylor, Nathan Thomas, William 
H. Van Scoter, Hudson Van Sater, William Wentworth, Orin P. Wakefield, Albert 
, Wheaton. 

Company H. — Martin C. Clark, captain; Alvan D, Waters, lieutenant; Benjamin B. 
Andrews, ensign; Stephen A'. Larabee, first sergeant; Cornelius Lansing, sergeant; 
Leonard F. Hathaway, sergeant ; Alvln F. Bailey, sergeant ; Samuel P. Stone, corporal ; 
Daniel 0. Clough, corporal ; Horace W. Ford, corporal ; Thomas P. Stanbro, corporal ; 
George W. Edgcomb, drummer; Samuel L. Palmer, fifer. Privates, Arwin W. Albro, 
Joseph P. Albro, Benjamin Austin, Henry D. Allen, L. Clmton Ball, Charles Barnes, 
Frederick Burritt, Stephen Clearwood, Edmund Campliell, Henry Couch, Ira Carpenter, 
Charles L. Close, Charles S. Cutting, Melvin W. Diver, Richard Donnell, Aaron W. 
Dunbar, Charles Dean, Dewitt D. Daniels, Carlos Elz, George Ellsworth, Thomas A. 
El well, Norman Francis, Albert G. Fry, Miner Grant, Silas L. Griswohi, Newell Hatch, 
George W. Haight, Thomas Ilines, James Harris, Chaunce}' L. Judd, Lucius A, Loomis, 
Lewis J. Lincoln, Loren W. Lincoln, Edgar A. Lincoln, Alvarado Lansing, James W. 
Manier, Albert McKeritt, William H. McKeritt, Michael P. Masten, Charles A. Mc- 
Coun, Fergus Moore, Dennis O'Donahue, Palmer OlmsteaJ, John O'Connor, John W, 
Patrick, Joseph Peak, Helmas Peak, William Phillips, Alvin N. Rounsevell, Lorenzo 
Sykes, John Stebbins, Charles F. Sturtevant, William H. Seamens, Richard L. Sim]ison. 
Andrew Sturtevant, Frederick P. Tifl'any, Adelbert M. Taylor. John Traver, John Van 
Zant. Nelson Van Hoesen, George Wliiston, Joseph Walton, Horace Williams, John E. 
Whitmarsh. 



Mi'STER ROLL OF THE TWEXTY-THIRD REG/.UEXT. JOT 

Compnny I. — James If. Chapman, captain : Albeit O. Durlaml, lieutenant; Samuel 
\V. Cass, ensign; Jacob S. Thompson, first sergeant; George E. Hiiid, seigeant ; Cal- 
vin W. Smith, sergeant; Cliarles M. Wooilwanl, sergeant: William L. Norton, corporal : 
Luther S. Tovvnsend, corporal ; Robert Kennedy, corporal ; Henjamin J. Bond, corporal; 
James W. Wrightman, drummer; Sidney A. Shewman, fifer. Privates, George C. 
Ames, Jacob J. Amidon, John Brown, Abram Becker, James Ball, Ira F. Cornell, An- 
drew J. Cure, Monroe Coliurn, George H. Carson, Jacob Coon, Daniel Colins, George 
H. Dickens, Addison B. Dart, Frank Diamond, Truman B. Dennis, William 0. Daniels, 
Charles J[. Everts, George Futy, Patrick Gillaspin, Edward D. Hall, James Hawley, 
David Hovencamp, Silas Hovencamp, William E. Howard, Richard B. Hurd, Thomas 
Head, Charles Hoyt, Orlando Kelly, Sylvanus Lang, George W. Landon, Frank i[ath- 
ews, Francis Magock, Hiram C. Miller, Oliver H. Pruden, Andrew J. Pound. Samuel 
G. Pruden, William H. Price, James R. Putnam, Edwin Perry, William R. Paulding, 
George A. Ringer, John T. Roloson, Charles Rinson, William G. Smith, Henry H. 
Sayles, John J. S.iyler, Samuel Seaman, Caleli W. Story, William Sreeves, Edgar L. 
Slaght, James P. Skinner, Samuel A. Smith, John T. Van Horn, C. Merydeth Wood- 
ward, John H. Woodward, Albert T. Wrightman, Francisco D. Webb, Charles A. Weld- 
ing, Thomas R. White, Thomas Wheeler, Albert Wescott, Austin Whitaker, Henry Wal- 
lenbeck, John Ward. 

Company K. — Nat. B. Fowler, captain ; Florence Sullivan, lieutenant ; Rodney W. 
Steele, ensign; Duane Thompson, first sergeant; Israel Reynolds, sergeant; Lucien 
W. Bingham, sergeant; Judd D. Burt, sergeant; Joseph Jl. Roe, corporal; George N. 
Clute, corporal ; Thaddeus A. Cowen, corporal ; Lorenzo Howes, corporal ; Frederick 
Hamilton, drummer ; S. Q. Howard, fifer. Privates, Christopher C. Atkins, Lucius L. 
Bacon, William H. Betson, Wallace W. Brown, David K. Bunnell, John M. Burke, 
Charles A. Cliapin, Henry C. Coleman, Stephen T. Cowell, Edmund Crocker, Simeon 
Coulp, Seymour Dexter, George T. Dudley, Henry T. Dunn, Levi W. Esselstine, Charles 

B. Estie, Charles Foster, Alonzo D. Grilfin, William E. Grilliths, Thomas M. Hender- 
son, Daniel B. Hurlburt, William S. Jessop, Millard G. Johnson, Lewis H. Kenyon, 
Michael Lemon, George E. Lewi.s, David Lyons, Richard Lyons, Richard Long, J.. Ed- 
mund B. Maxson, William E. Maxson, William P. Maxson, Frank H. Mandeville, Ira 
McKibben, Samuel T. H. Musgrave, Augustus Morse, George W. Myers, Edmund B. 
Pickering, James W. Pickering, John L. Poole, George W. Parker, Hosea H. Rockwell, 
James R. Rathbone, William H. Robinson, Mark Shephard. James W. Saunders, Thomas 

C. Saunders, George W. Straiten, James Simmons, Martin B. Spaftbrd, Thomas E. 
Stull, Lemuel B. Stowell, Charles W. Sweet, Charles Stephens. Lurin K. Thatcher. 
John C. Todd, William B. Torrence, Joseph M, LTpdegrafT, Robert B. Van Gorder. Will- 
iam y\. Walters. George A. Williams, William H. Wood, Henry P. Wormley, North- 
rop P. young. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the breaking out of the war seems so 
far away in the past many of the names in this regiment, especiallj' in 
F and K Companies, are yet very familiar in the county, belonging to 
men who are or recently have been prominent and active in the business 



208 OUR COU\TY A\D ITS PEOPLE. 

or professional life of the county. Of these, of K Company, is the Hon. 
II. II. Rockwell, whose name appears so frequently in public affairs of 
all nature in the county for the past thirty years. Member of Assem- 
bly in 1877, he was chosen member of Congress in 1890. He has 
from humble beginnings won his own way to the prominent position he 
enjoys ; he is a fine lawyer and a good citizen. 

Col. Henry C. Hoffman, the commander of the Twenty- third Regi- 
ment, was one of the many active, vigorous, and enterprising men of 
whose nativity within its borders Chemung County has reason to be 
proud. He was the youngest son and child of the William Hoffman so 
conspicuous in the early history of the valley, and was born January 
14, 1827. He possessed an adventurous spirit that always inclined him 
toward a military life, but he had abilities in other directions just as 
pronounced that, had he been situated in life other than he was, might 
have led him to distinction. Of a fine presence, and with a voice of 
much sweetness and power, he could have taken rank, had he so chosen, 
with men who have been ornaments of the stage. His services in the 
war were valuable and appreciated, and a portion of the time he was in 
command of the brigade to which his regiment was attached. After 
the war he was three times a member of the Board of Supervisors from 
the town of Horseheads, and was member of Assembly in 1866 and 
in 1880. His popularity all over the county may be guessed when it is 
remembered that from boyhood he was known as " Barney " rather than 
by either name bestowed on him by his family, or by the title he won 
so honorably. He died Sunday morning, August 26, 1883, and the 
manner of his death was surrounded with circumstances so sad and so 
inharmonious with his life that it will always possess a melancholy 
interest to those who knew and loved him. Colonel Hoftman was inter- 
ested in agricultural matters, taking great pride in his farm and home 
near Horseheads and in his famous herd of Holstein cattle that he 
was largely instrumental in introducing into the region. His wife was 
a member of the Holbert family of Chemung township. 

Lieut. -Col. Nirom M. Crane commanded the One Hundred and 
Seventh Regiment during the closing years of the war. He is now a 
citizen of Hornellsville. 

Corporal William B. Kinsey, of A Company, afterward commanded 



SKETCHES OF THE TWEXTV-THIRU S OFFICERS. 200 

the One Hundred and Sixty-first Regiment. Corporal Charles E. Coon, 
of B Company, after the regiment was mustered out of service was con- 
nected witli the office of the provost-marshal of the district in Ehiiira, 
went from tliere to the Treasury Department in Washington, and after 
long and distinguished service there became one of the assistant secre- 
taries of the Treasury during President Arthur's administration. Charles 
O. Durland, ensign or second lieutenant of C Company was for a long 
time in business in Elmira with R. W. Barton, the firm name being 
Durland & Barton. Corporal Herbert M. Jones of the same companj' 
is well known in Elmira. 

The captain of F Company, \V. W. Dingeldey, was a curious charac- 
ter in the social life of Elmira. He was an upholsterer working daily 
at his bench in the cabinet shop of S. B. Hubbell when the war broke 
out. His musical abilities, which were of more than ordinary character, 
made him welcome in the best circles of the city. He made a good 
officer. ' After the war he left Elmira, and going South died there. 
Lieut. ;\IelvilleC. Wilkinson, coming originally from the town of Big Flats, 
of the same company, was a clerk in a dry goods store in Elmira at the 
time of his enlistment. He subsequently secured an appointment in the 
regular armj-, and with the rank of captain, which he still holds, was on 
the staff of Gen. O. O. Howard, serving in Oregon and other portions 
of the West. His labors among the Indians in the way of education 
entitle him to remembrance and gratitude. Ensign Samuel N. Bene- 
dict became afterward the adjutant of the One Hundred and Seventh 
Regiment. First Sergeant George V. R. Merrill is one of Elmira's 
physicians and served with credit for several years as the secretary of 
the Board of Education. Horace H. Peters and John S. Allen, also of 
this company, are names that readily occur to the reader as citizens of 
Elmira. Capt. Franklin B. Doty, of G Company, became lieutenant- 
colonel of the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth and was killed before 
Petersburg. 

Capt. Nat. B. Fowler, of K Company, was a fine soldier, 'was thor- 
oughly conversant with the theoretical part of a soldier's life, and was en- 
titled to the rank and position accorded him. Pie was a merchant in 
Elmira, at the time of his enlistment engaged in the crockery business. 
After the war he went to Washington Territory, where soon after he 



210 OUR COU.XTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

was drowned. Tlie first lieutenant of the company, Florence Sulli\-aii, 
was a New York boy and in the early days of the Erie was one of Will- 
iam Skelly's brighest, quickest, and sharpest as well as handsomest news 
boys on the whole road. Mr. Skelly owned the road so far as the carry- 
ing of newspapers and periodicals along its line was concerned. It was 
profitable business and at one time Mr. Skelly was well-to-do in this 
world's goods. He owned news rooms at different points along the 
line, among them one at Elmira. Florence Sullivan, from his first com- 
ing to Elmira about 1854, alwaj's liked the town and the liking seems 
to have been returned. When he was discharged from the service he 
bought the Elmira news room of Mr. Skelly, and he has expanded it to 
proportions that now make it one of the largest stores of the kind in the 
region. He is a frank, outspoken, open hearted man, has been a mem- 
ber of the Board of Supervisors for his ward twice, and now represents 
it in the common council. 

Rodney VV. Steele, the ensign or second lieutenant of the company, 
was yet a youth when chosen to the position that he so creditably filled. 
He was a son of the George Steele who for many years was the ticket 
agent of the Erie Railroad in Elmira. He was of a particularly affec- 
tionate and lovable disposition, and being one of the first to succumb to 
the hardships of the field, and the first of the local soldiery to be buried 
in Elmira, his memory is very fondly cherished. He was stricken with 
the camp fever, came home, and died December 7, 1861. 

Corporal Thaddeus A. Cowen, of the company, was the son of T. C. 
Cowen, one whose voice was very well known in Elmira for many )'ears, 
and who was a character noticeable in very many respects. T. C. 
Cowen was of Scotch descent, the name being originally McCowen, his 
ancestors coming to this country before the Revolution. He was born 
in Schoharie County, N. Y., started out early in life for himself, and set- 
tled in Elmira in 1840 as a merchant. He engaged afterward in the 
auction business, and became one of the readiest and most fluent public 
speakers. He served as one of the Board of Trustees of the village of 
Elmira from the Fourth ward, and at the time of the organization of the 
city of Elmira was captain of the night watch and chief of police. He 
gave not only his son (named for him) Thaddeus to the war, but an- 
other, Newton, both of whom died from the hardships in the field or 
■diseases consequent thereon. 



VARIOUS REGIMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS. 211 

Tlie Twenty-third Regiment was engaged among others in the bat- 
tles of the second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, and Fred- 
ricksburg. It was mustered out May 23, 1863. A particularly unto- 
ward casualty occurred while the regiment was returning home to be 
mustered out. Capt. Martin C. Clark, of H Company, was killed on the 
I 3th of May, 1863, by an accident on the railroad. Many of the members 
re- enlisted in other regiments and continued in the service to the con- 
clusion of the war. Their attachments for these later organizations 
seem to have been stronger than to the Twenty-third, for in these fol- 
lowing days the credit and honor due to the older organization seem to 
be obscured if not entirely neglected. As being the first regiment or- 
ganized in the locality, and one of the very first ofTered and ready for 
service, it deserves a recollection and a remembrance first of all and a 
place on the long roll of honor leading all. 

VARIOUS REGIMENTS. 

The next regiment mustered in at Elmira was the Twenty fourth. 
Col. Timothy Sullivan, with 779 officers and men. It was organized in 
t'.ie northern part of the State and the date of its muster was May 17, 
1861. The Twenty-first Regiment followed next, Col. William F. Rog- 
ers, organized in Buffalo, N. Y., with 758 officers and men, the date of its 
muster being May 20, 1861. The Twenty-sixth Regiment, Col. William 
H. Christian, organized in Utica, was next, mustered May 21, 1861, 
with 678 officers and men. The Twenty- seventh Regiment was mustered 
in on the same day. This regiment was one always considered a favor- 
ite in Elmira next to the Twenty- third. It was organized in Binghainton 
and that neighborhood, and took 801 officers and men to the front. Its 
colonel was Henry W. Slocum, who afterward rose to such distinction 
in the war, and who now occupies so high a position in the country 
at large. The major of the regiment was Joseph J. Bartlett, a Bing- 
hamton man who also achieved great honor during the war. The 
assistant surgeon of the regiment was Barnett W. Morse, now a physi- 
cian in high standing in Elmira. The Nineteenth Regiment was mus- 
tered in on May 22, 1861. It was organized in Auburn and neighboring 
places, its colonel being Col. John S. Clark and its lieutenant-colonel 
Clarence A. Seward, a son of W illiam II. Seward. It took 705 men ta 
the front. 



212 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE^ 

Two other regiments, the Thirty-third, Col. Robert F. Taylor, and 
the Thirty- fifth. Col. William C. Browne, were mustered in on May 22, 
1861. In all these made seven regiments that within only two days 
more than five weeks after the President's call for troops were organ- 
ized, equipped, mustered, and sent forward from Elmira in answer to the 
call. It may readily be judged what a tumult, hurry, and turmoil there 
were in the streets of the little village for those five weeks in the taking 
care of and forwarding to the front of an army almost equal in num- 
bers to the whole population of the village itself 

COMPANY I, THIRTY- EIGHTH REGIMENT N. Y. V. 

Horseheads had been as much stirred up as Elmira by the call of 
President Lincoln, and at a public meeting of the citizens of the town 
it was resolved to enroll a company there. Calvin S. Dewitt, who had 
been a member of the " Southern Tier Rifles," was invited to organize 
and drill a company. He did so, the company formed being all en- 
rolled in Horseheads. They were mustered in at East New York on 
June 8, 1861, becoming I Company of the Thirty-eighth N. Y. V., Col. 
J. W. Hobart Ward. The muster-in roll of the company shows the 
following names : 

Company I, Thirty-eighth N. Y. V. — Calvin S. Dewitt, captain ; Charles E. Barber, 
first lieutenant; Albert E. Terrell, ensign; William E. Straight, first sergeant ; Arthur 
T. Pickett, sergeant ; Walter Scott, sergeant; G-eorge W. Malloy, sergeant ; Henry H. 
Worden, corporal; Charles H. Cooper, corporal; Henry Adams, corporal; George L. 
Van Dusen, musician ; Lewis Simons, musician ; privates, Henry Austen, William 
Biggs, George W. Briggs, James H. Brown, William Bebee, Martin G. Baxter, Charles 
Baker, James Broderiok, Patrick Carle, Edwin Close, Joseph Clark, Thomas Casserly. 
Patrick Coyle, Daniel Christian, Isaac Davis, Benjamin Decker, Hugh Donnelly, Pat- 
rick Druse, Santord Dater, Charles E. Eatien, Sylvanus F. Greer, Patrick Gallick, Henry 
Gibson, William Hannan, Theodore B. Hamilton, John Harding, Lewis Hyrum, Oliver 
B. Hirley, John Jackson, Abraham G. Kelly, Isaac Kinman, Patrick Kelly, Burton E. 
Miller, John McBride, Thomas Murphy, Terrence !McNally, Charles McDonald, James 
McMonagan, Hugh McGlauchlin, James Neary, James Nelson, Jerry O'Neal, Elea/.er 
Perry, John Pursall, George Purdy, John Quigly, John Rice, Dinas Robinson, Peter A. 
Rogan, Timothy Regin, John Rein, James Seymour, Charles Shear, James Slosan, Byron 
Suyzee, Noah Simons, James C. Smith, John A. Staples, Cornelius Sullivan, George Smith, 
John Smith, Samuel Van Dusen, Chas. W. Woodruff, Henry Williams, James Williamson. 

This company was in the first battle of Bull Run. A curious al- 
though perhaps not unusual circumstance is connected with the history 



ELMIRA MADE A MILITARY DEPOT. 213 

of this company. First Sergt. William V.. Straight was reported as 
killed and funeral services were observed in his memory in Elmira. 
After some time he returned liome, having been wounded and taken 
prisoner instead of being killed. 



On July 30, 1861, Elmira, by order of Governor Morgan, was made 
one of the three military depots of the State, New York city and Al- 
bany being the other two. Brig.-Gen. R. B. Van Valkenburg, of Bath, 
was appointed as its commanding officer. His quartermaster was the 
brilliant, active, and popular Col. Charles C. B. Walker, of Corning. 
Elmira was also made a depot by the general government, the post 
commander at first being Colonel Eastman of the regular army. The 
quartermaster of the post, Captain Suydam, and the commissary. Captain 
Sappington, both serving as such for nearly the whole period of the 
war after the post was established, formed an active and well remem- 
bered portion of the local annals of the times. Barracks rude but com- 
fortable were built in what is now the Seventh ward of the city, south 
of Washington avenue and east of Lake street, the fields being open then 
down to the creek. Others were put up in the Fifth ward near the 
present locality of the Northern Central shops, and still others on West 
Water street, between the road and the river, opposite the Foster resi- 
dence. The large building west of the Erie Railroad depot was also 
utilized temporarily for the same purpose. Recruiting languished some- 
what in the summer of 1861, but toward the latter part thereof began 
again briskly. 



2U OUR COLWrV AXD ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER II. 

Other Regiments organized and mustered in at Elmira — The Fiftieth Engineers — 
Officers and Men of the Regiment — Gen. E. O. Beers — Lieut. Delos L. Holden 
— The Si.xty-fcurth Regiment — The Eighty-fifth Regiment — Col. B. P. Bailey's 
"Steuben Rangers" — Capt. J. G. Copley — The Eighty-ninth Regiment — Its 
Surgeon, Dr. Truman H. Squire — Its Officers and Men — K Company, One Hun- 
dred and Third Regiment, "Seward Infantry" — The favorite and popular One 
Hundred and Seventh Regiment — Gen. R. B. Van Valkenburgh — Surgeon Pat- 
rick H. Flood — The Hon. Thomas S. Flood — Mayor Henry Flood — Officers and 
Men of the One Hundred and Seventh — Chaplain Ezra F. Crane — Lieut. -Col. 
Lathrop Baldwin, jr. — Lieut. Arthur S. Fitch — Other well known Names from 
the Muster Rolls of the Regiment. 

FIFTIETH ENGINEERS. 

"T^^HE Fiftieth Engineers, one of the most important organizations and 
I one that earned great distinction during the war by services of un- 
usual value, was recruited and organized in Elmira during the summerand 
fall of 1 86 1. The order for its organization came from the Secretary of 
War, and its duties were to be those of engineers, pontonniers, and sap- 
pers and miners. Its colonel was Gen. Charles B. Stuart, of Geneva, 
who had earned and enjoyed the reputation of being an efificient and 
capable engineer. The regiment was mustered into the service on Sep- 
tember 1 8, 1 86 1, as Stuart's Independent Volunteers, and was made up 
largely of men who themselves were competent to perform any kind of 
work in the line of engineering necessary for an army in the field. The 
personnel of the regiment and its esprit de corps were therefore very fine 
as to the first and very high as to the second. 

Capt. Edmund O. Beers of the H Company was very active in the 
organization of this regiment and one of its most conspicuous oflncers. 
He was always strongly inclined to military affairs. He enlisted in the 
old " Elmira Guards " about as soon as his age would permit, in 1S47, 
and was made a corporal of that organization, remaining with it until it 
disbanded in 1854. Three years after, in 1857, he enlisted with the 
" Southern Tier Rifles " and remained one of its members until it was 
disbanded in' 1861. He served as captain of H Company, Fiftieth En- 



THE FIFTIETH EXGIXEERS. 215 

gineers, until February 27, 1863, when lie was made major of the regi- 
ment. He was honorably discharged from the service October 26, 1864, 
with the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel of volunteers. When the 
One Hundred and Tenth Battalion of the National Guard was formed 
in Elniira, in 1874, Colonel Beers enlisted as a private therein on Octo- 
ber 1st, and on October 2d, the day following, he was elected captain of 
D Company. In 1878 this organization was made a separate company, 
Captain Beers continuing to command it, its military designation under 
the new State laws being the Thirtieth Separate Company, N. G. S. N. Y. 
In 1S84 Captain Beers was made the brigadier- general of the State 
forces located in tiiat portion of the State where Elmira is sit- 
uated. He continued in this command until the State laws were 
again changed in regard to military aftairs. General Beers's career 
in the civil affairs of the county has been no less marked than in 
those of a military nature. He has always been active as a politician, 
and a very popular and successful one too, besides several minor offices 
having held the office of sherift" the term from 1S76. He is a Mason of 
high degree, and when an officer of the Knights Templar of the city 
brought that body up to a high state of proficienc)' in drill. He is now 
the secretary of the Southern Tier Masonic Relief Association, succeed- 
mg Hiram B. Berry in that position. Few men in the country possess 
to such a great degree the confidence, respect, and even love of his fel- 
lowmen as does Gen. E. O. Beers, that he has won by a life of probit\-, 
kind heartedness, and perfect honesty. 

Nearly every company of the Fiftieth Engineers had among its mem- 
bers men from the city or county. The following were officers at the 
time of its muster-in : 

C);Scers.— Colonel, Charles B. Stuart; lieutenant-colonel, William II. Pettis; major, 
Fiederick E. Embrick ; adjutant. E. C. Jame.s ; quartermaster, Charles B. Norton ; sur- 
geon, Hazard A. Potter; assistant-surgeon, Charles N. Hewitt; chaplain, Edward C. 
Pritchett; quartermaster-sergeant, Clinton H. Graves ; commissary-sergeant, John W. 
Smalley ; and hospital steward, Edward Vivian Coulton. 

The last named of this list would hardly be recognized as the familiar 
E.V. Coulton who, for many years prior to the beginning of the war, was 
the schoolmaster of the district school then situated in the lot where the 
sheriff's residence now stands. He was a small man physically, but large 
in discipline that was enforced with all kinds of artillery, from a slender 



2ir; OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

switch to a thick strap. He was an Irishman also, and gave evidence often 
of having been very highly educated. Rumor had it, a rumor that was 
never either affirmed or denied, that his connections in the old country 
were much above the ordinary, and that he himself had been an officer in 
the service of her Majesty the Queen, holding an honorable position 
which he threw up in disgust at some particularly atrocious act of the 
government in his country. At all events he was an independent, 
thoughtful little man whose temper perhaps sometimes got the better of 
him, a fault more of his race than of him as an individual ; and there are 
those who, notwithstanding his terrorizing switch and strap, remember 
him with something of respect if not with affection. After his term of 
service in this regiment he became the first lieutenant in the Seventeenth 
New York Cavalry. 

Covipany A. — The officers of A Company of this regiment were : Captain, George W. 
Ford ; first lieutenant, Henry W. Perkins ; second lieutenant, James L. Roljbins. A few 
of the soldiers of this command were county men, being Andrew H. Hancock, Patrick 
P. Kelly, Jolin McCoy, Thomas Powers. 

Company B. — Capt. Wilham O. Smalley was in command of B Company, his first 
jieutenant being Daniel H. Andrews. Many city and count}- men were enrolled in this 
command, most of them by Capt. E. 0. Beers. They were Jonathan R, Allington, Sel- 
den M. Averill, John Barber, Samuel Becker, George W. Besley, Albert A. Curamings, 
James R. Decker, Henry I. Farrall, Thomas I. Finlan, John Gray, Charles B. Hazleton, 
Charles H. Hoyt, John H. Jackson, John C. Maxwell, Miles S. Nixon, John G. Stebbins, 
Wilham H. Thorp, Albert A. Wager, Arthur T. Williams. 

Company C. — Captain, Wesley Brainard ; first lieutenant, George N. Falley ; second 
lieutenant, Henry 0. Hoyt; was generally a Geneva organization, but also had a num- 
ber of men of the county in its ranks. They were : Sergeants, George W. Burt and 
James Griswold ; corporals, Warren Freeman and Reuben Gnswold ; musician, John 
B. Squires ; wasroner, Edward De L. Thornton ; privates, Bartholomew Burke, Charles 
Benedick, Ira J. Campbell, Freeman Ellis, Albert W. Ellis, David Fitzgerald, John 0. 
Golden, James Hillman, James Harris, Lloyd Marshall, James Odle, Judson Odle, Joseph 
H. Youngs. 

Company D. — Captain, B. W. O'Grady ; first lieutenant, George N. Nares ; second 
lieutenant, Asa C. Palmer. There were Martin Bacon, Lorenzo H. Davis, Charles Good- 
win. John Lamphere, William Stewart. Frederick Welsh, all of the city or county. 

Company E. — This was quite largely recruited in the county, many members coming 
from Millport. This company was ofiicered as follows; Captain, Ira L. Spaulding; first 
lieutenant, Orrin E. Howe; second lieutenant, Delos L. Holden ; first sergeant, Charles 
F. Suttle ; sergeants, John J. Wickser, Johnson Beers ; corporals, James Kennedy, John 
Adams. Men from the county : Abram J. Taylor, Edward Thomas, Abram H. Ben- 
nett. Chauncy B. Britton, William B. Campbell, George Coslon, Levi F. Dodge, James 
H. Kelly, William S. Owen, Barnard Riley, John S. Robinson, Cornelius Van Huysen. 



MUSTER ROLL OF THE FIFTIETH E.XGINEERS. 217 

Company F. — Captain, P. C. Gilbert; fust lieiitennnt, John A. Johnson; second lieu- 
tenant, Frank W. Watson. There was one county man. Ward W. More. 

Company G. — This company was almost entirely recruited in Millport. Its officers 
were: Captain, W, V. Per.^onius; first lieutenant, John F. M.illette ; second lieutenant, 
John L. Roosa; sergeant.s, Sylvester Mallette, Henry Mallette, David A. Edsall ; cor- 
porals, George A. Simmons, Daniel W. La Dew, Elmore Johnson, Otis J. Thayer, Elna- 
than Personnis. Theodore J. Tompkins was mustered as the musician, with the follow- 
ing named soldiers, all of Millport : Charles Abyear, John W. Adams, Horatio Bailey 
Lewis Campbell, Andrew Cady, John Campbell, Aferrill Deuson. William Farman, James 
Gregory, James Hedgelan, Jay P. Herrington, Nathan Hill, Isaac W. Janes, William 
Jones, Oliver C. Lawrence, Aaron McKinney, Cliarles Murray, David MoWhorter,Charles 
Potter, Jacob H. Perry, Alonzo Randall, James VV'. Riley, John W. Rowley, Jason H. 
Swart, Benjamin M. Squire, Buel Sterling, Henry G. Sherwood, Abdin 0. Slater, Daniel 
D. Tompkins, Jacob Vail. 

Company H. — This was under the command of Capt. Edmund O. Beers. His officers 
were: First lieutenant, Raslus S. Ransom; second lieutenant. William L. Morgan. 
Lieutenant Ransora at the time of the war and afterward was a lawyer m Elniira and a 
partner of Solomon B. Tomlinson at one time, went to New York city, and became en- 
gaged in business with Chester A. Arthur, subsequently President of the United States. 
Judge Ransom is novi' surrogate of the city and county of New York. The non-com- 
missioned officers and men of Captain Beers's company of the city and county were as 
follows: Enoch H. Whiltemore, corporal ; Daniel B. Lynch, musician ; George Smith, 
wagoner. Privates. Feidinand Beebe, William Courtney, Delancy F. Dubois, Abram 
Evans, John R. Hewitt, William J. Jordan, John A. Knoop, Joseph H. Mason, John 
O'Hara, Royal W. Pratt, James Patterson, James F. Purdy, Harrison Setley, Wilson 
Swayze, Thomas B. Sturdevant, Frederick Tackman. William Thompson, Edmund 
Woodhouse, Chauncey C. Yaple. 

Company I. — This company, John E. R. Patten, captain, was recruited in Owego and 
neighborhood. It, however, had a few members from Elmira and vicinity. Itsfirstlieu- 
tenant was Peter E. Reynolds and second lieutenant Tillman Wiles, the county men 
being as follows : George W. Armstrong, Stephen B. Besley, Christopher S. B.icon. John 
Conolly, William D. Cameron, Chester C. Cole. \ 

Company K. — Capt. John B. Murray's command, K Company, was mainly a Seneca 
Fails organization, the men from the county being Francis Belcher, Charles F. Cook, 
William A. Heath, James H. Pangborn, Samuel C. Smith, John Schwartz. 

Besides these tlie following named were mustered in on December 17, 
1861, and forwarded to the regiment: Trowbridge Allen, Isaac N. 
Brokaw, Romanzo B. Farran, Evert Green, Jerome Kendall, Jackson C. 
McConnell. 

The second lieutenant of E. Company, Deles L. Holden, was the 
youngest son of Fox Holden, an old-time citizen and merchant of !•"!- 
mira. Lieutenant Holden was engaged in business at the time of liis 
■J8 



•J 18 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

enlistment in the Fiftietli Regiment, and resumed it after the muster-out 
of the regiment. He has always been an enthusiastic member of the 
G. A. R. In 1880 he removed to the city of Pueblo, Col., where he is 
now engaged in the banking business. He was the commander of the 
G. A. R. of his State in 1890. His wife is a niece of Henry Ward 
Beecher. Mr. Holden is the possessor of qualities that commend him to 
the favor of all. He is a fine musician and speaker to whom it is always 
a pleasure and satisfaction to listen. In his brief residence in his new 
home he has become as loyal to the interests and future of Colorado as he 
was when a youth and young man to those of his native State, New York. 
As has been intimated the services of the Fiftieth Engineers were of 
great value to the Army of the Potomac, although when first going into 
the field, through some misunderstanding or neglect, the duties of the or- 
ganization were simply those of an ordinary regiment of infantry. Soon, 
however, provision was made for them to fulfill the line of duty for which 
the men had been enlisted, and their subsequent career in building pon- 
toon bridges, roads, and fortifications was thoroughly appreciated and 
duly rewarded. In the grand review in Washington at the close of the 
war it had the right of the line. It was mustered out June 13, 1865. 

SIXTY-FOURTH REGIMENT. 

The Sixty-fourth Regiment of Infantry was a Cattaraugus County 
organization, its colonel being Thomas J. Parker. It was mustered in 
on December 13, 1861. There were a few Chemung County men in its 
ranks. In C Company, Capt. Julius B. Maltbie, were Corporal Charles 
Kemler, Alonzo W. Haskins, and Joseph C. Riley ; in G Company, 
Capt. Joshua C. Pittinger and First Lieut. Lewis H. Fassett, most of the 
men being from Wellsville, Allegany Count)', there were from Elmira 
in its ranks James L. Powell, Jason Pierce, Charles J. Rorick, Amos H. 
Rorick ; in H Company, Capt. William Fancher, there were in the 
ranks Thomas Hurley, John Penner, George Watson, Charles M. Wil- 
son ; in I Company, Capt. Samuel Barstow, there was William Tyler, 
of Elmira. This regiment left Elmira with 773 oflficers and men. 

EIGHTY-FIFTH REGIMENT. 

The Eighty-fifth Regiment, Col. Uriah L. Davis, was an Allegany 
■County organization, was mustered in December 31, 1861, and left El- 



THE IIR.IVE sr/ii'BE.Y A'AXGE/^S. 21!) 

mira with 872 oflicers and men. In this coniniand from the county 
of Chemung were John C. Up dc Graff, Samuel V. U[) de Graff, and 
Peter Dates. 

EIGHTY-SIXTH REGIMENT, " STEUBEX RANGERS." 

The Eighty-si.vth Regiment was another organization of considerable 
local interest. It was called the "Steuben Rangers" for the county 
from which its commanding officer, Col. Benajah P. Bailey, and most of 
its members came. It was mustered in on November 23, i86i,and left 
Elmira for the front with 951 officers and men. Samuel Leavitt, on the 
staff as quartermaster-sergeant, was an Elmira lad, became major of the 
regiment, and is now adjutant of the Soldiers Home in Bath. 

In A Company, Capt. Benjamin L. Higgins, the men of Chemung 
were as follows : Mark Noble, wagoner ; privates, Stephen W. Cochran, 
William M. Manning, Jabez Mason, Samuel H. Marshall, Casper Stepp, 
Horace S. Sawyer, Joseph W. Whiting, Israel J. Washburn, Charles C. 
Rowley. John Hilland, of Breesport, was in B Company, Capt. William 
W. Angle. 

Company C was in command of Capt. Jacob H. Lansing, of Corning, 
who from his many attractive qualities, and because afterward he was in 
command of the brigade of the National Guard to which the militia of 
Chemung County was attaclieil, it is eas)- to claim as a local character, 
and one quite as well known and admiretl in Elmira as he was in his own 
home. In his company were Norman P. Heath and Newman A. Sy- 
monds, of Big Flats, and George M. Lockwood, of Elmira. Company 
D of the Eighty-sixth was an exclusively Hornellsville organization, its 
commanding officer being Capt. Daniel S. Ellsworth. 

Company E, commanded by Capt. Thomas F. Shoemaker, was so 
largely recruited in Chemung County as to be entitled to the name of a 
" home company." Its first lieutenant, who afterward became the cap- 
tain of the organization, was John Gilbert Copley, whose father for many 
years was a farmer, his land being just beyond the State line on the plank 
road. Captain Copley lost an arm in the service. He was county clerk 
for the term beginning January i, 1871. Afterward he engaged in real 
estate operations and is now a landowner in Nebraska. His wife was 
the daughter of Dr. Hovey Everitt.one of the early settlers in Chemung 



220 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

township. An elder brother of Captain Copley, Enoch, has long been a 
citizen of the State of Tennessee, where he owns one of the quarries 
that furnishes much of the marble peculiar to that region and favorably 
looked upon by the trade. A younger brother of Captain Copley is a 
prominent and prosperous Chemung County farmer. Captain Copley's 
sister Mary was the wife of Martin S. Palmer, one of the first telegraph 
operators and for many years the manager of the Western Union office 
in Elmira. 

Second Lieut. George A. Packer, of E Company, is now a resident of 
Troy, N. Y. James Lyon was the first sergeant. Of the men of the 
company the following were from the places in the county as desig- 
nated : 

Company E — Sergts. Alvin G. Barnhart, George Dunham, Jr., Corporal James B. 
Smith, privates B. B. Chase, Wm. B. Andrus, and James Love wereo£ Southport; Sergt. 
Charles K. Hetfield, of Horseheads ; Sergt. John Dickenson and privates David S. 
Blauvelt, Bphraira W. Baldwin, Oscar Carv, and Isaac Elston. of Erin ; Corporal An- 
drew J. Fitch, of Big Flats; Corporal Theron T. Van Allen and privates Benjamin 
Baldwin, George C. Baldwin, Zeno A. Carter. John H. Randall. Henry Weaver, and 
Thomas Weaver, of Elmira ; musician Brigham D. Hall, wagoner James G. Beckhorn, 
privates Miles Moffet and E. H. Cooper, of Baldwin; privates Ira Blanchard and Will- 
iam E. Cilley, of Veteran. 

Company F. — In F Company, Capt. Henry G. Harrower, there were Michael B. Staf- 
ford, second lieutenant, and privates John Allinglon, Benjamin F. Alexander, Joseph 
Darling, and Daniel W. Dains. 

Company O. — In G Company, Capt. James Bennett ; corporal, William Voorhies : 
musicians, William G. Brady, Charles T. Davis; wagoner, James York ; privates, Nathaniel 
Adams, xibram Allen, Jas. A. Allen, Hiram C. Allen, Van Rensselaer Allison, Wm. Allison, 
John S. Broughton, Reaves Bovier, Adelbert Buck, Willi.im S. Butler, Asrael A. But- 
ler, Asa Borden. Owen W. Cook, John Campbell, Horace Chandler, John Childs, David 
Carter, George R. Delap, Cyrus N. Delap, Joseph Erskin, Daniel Florence, James Fos- 
ter, Abram Grace, David Guinnip, James M. Gould, John Hadley, jr., Solomon Ham- 
mer, George W. Hodge, Newman Hardin, Carrey Jones, Allen E. Kinner, Luther Mat- 
tison, Hugh Norton, Robert Roach, Henry W. Stephens, George W. Saxton, George B. 
Thompson, Leander Thurber, Reuben W. Van Pelt, David N. Welch, Charles White, 
Elias Wright, John L. Wallace, James M. Wright, Asil T. Willson. 

In H Company, Capt. William Ten Broeck; first lieutenant, William G. Raymond; 
second lieutenant, James Carpenter, jr.; there were from the county privates John N. 
Lavv-reace and Levi Lindsey. In I Company, Capt. Amos W. Sherwood, there were 
Corporal Thomas Stoddard and privates Tliomas BruQy and James Smith. In K Com- 
pany, Capt. Seymour B. Rhinevault, tliere were privates Isaac Burrell, Warren A. 
Davis, and James D. Smith. 



THE EIGHTY-NINTH REGIMENT. ■J21 

The Eighty-sixth suffered se\'eiely during its term of service, more 
severely than any other of the " home " regiments, its losses aggregat- 
ing 17 officers and 159 enlisted men. It was in the battles of the sec- 
ond Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chanceilorsville, Gettysburg, and Mine 
Run, and in those of the Wilderness to the end, being in Hancock's 
corps from the Rappahannock to Appomattox. It was mustered out 
of service on June 27, 1865. 

EIGHTY-NINTH REGIMENT. 

The Eighty-ninth Regiment, Col. Harrison S. Fairchild, was mus- 
tered in at Elmira on December 7, 1861, with 870 officers and men. It 
contained a number of men from the county. Its surgeon was Dr. 
Truman Hoffman Squire, a physician of Elmira of very high standing in 
his profession. He was of a particularly patient, forbearing, and retir- 
ing disposition, extremely averse to any public attention or notice, back 
of it all being abilities naturally great which had been developed by con- 
tinual stud)', observation, and experience, until at the time of his death 
it is safe to say he had no superior and very few equals in his profession 
in the region for miles about Elmira. He was born March 31, 1823, in 
Russia, Herkimer County, N. Y., and in 1S48 was graduated from the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York city. The year fol- 
lowing he settled in Elmira, and the year following that married Grace 
Smith, the daughter of Dr. Nathan Smith, of Columbia Cross Roads, 
Pa., and sister of the Hon. H. Boardman Smith. I'or more than forty 
years his home and office remained in one place in the city of Elmira, 
and was as well known as the steeple of one of the churches. From 
regimental surgeon of the Eighty- ninth Dr. Squire was promoted to 
division field-surgeon under General Burnside. The surgeon-general 
of the army in speaking of him in his report says he was " considered 
one of the most efficient surgeons of the Army of the Potomac." Dr. 
Squire was a member of the I'-lmira Academy of Medicine, the County 
Medical Society, the New York State Medical Society, New York State 
Medical Association, and American Surgical Association, a national 
organization of the most celebrated surgeons in the country meeting 
annually in Washington. He was the inventor of a useful surgical 
instrument for which a prize was given him b\' the French Imi)crial 



222 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Acadeni)' of Medicine. In this instrument there was a fortune for the 
inventor, but Dr. Squire refused to patent it, saying it was for the good 
of the world, and belonged to the world, so he gave it to the world. In 
1 8/6 the British Journal pronounced Dr. Squire to be one of the fore- 
most medical writers of the world. He died November 27, 1889. His 
son. Dr. Charles Squire, under the training of a father to whom to know 
well was almost equal to a liberal education, promises in many respects 
to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious ancestor. The eldest daugh- 
ter, Carrie, is the wife of Hamilton Brown, a banker in Minneapolis, 
Minn., and the youngest daughter, Frances Boardman Squire, has al- 
ready, although very young, demonstrated in the magazines of the day 
that she has inherited some of the literary abilities of her father. 

In the Eighty-ninth Regiment there were a number of Elmira men. 
In A Company, Capt. Nathan Coryell, Patrick Sullivan. In C Company, 
Capt. Charles W. Burt, there were First Sergt. John L. Hathorn ; Cor- 
poral John J. Davenport; musicians Homer M. Townsend and George 
H. Humphreys; wagoner Dean Van Buren ; and privates Elisha B. 
Andrus, Andrew J. Campbell, Andrew J. Collson, Willis B. Humph- 
reys, John B. Kettle, Chillion Peck, George E. Tyrrell, Lucius Traver, 
and John P. Williams. In D Company, Capt. Joseph Morrison, Ed- 
mund Ledwith. In H Company, Capt. John B. Van Name, First Lieut. 
Almon Morris, and privates Lorenzo Hunt, Peter Livingston, Augus- 
tus W. Peryce, Samuel Rider, and John W. Savine. In I Companj', 
Capt. Theophilus L. England, Julius S. Ronk. 

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRD REGIMENT, " SEWARD INFANTRY." 

At the time of the breaking out of the war there was a "commercial 
college " in the third story of the building on Water street opposite the 
Rathbun House, one of the teachers being William M. Crosby. During 
the latter part of the year 1861 this gentleman began to raise a com- 
pany of young men, some of whom were connected with the school. 
George T. Dudley, who had gone out with K Company of the Twenty- 
third Regiment, being home on leave, assisted in the organization of the 
company and was made its first lieutenant. His brother, William L., 
was made second lieutenant. The company was mustered in as K Com- 
pany, One Hundred and Third Regiment, " Seward Infantry," Col. the 
Baron Frederick W. V. Egloffstein. It was all recruited in Elmira : 



THE SE WARD IXFAX TR I '. 223 

Companij K. — Capt:iin. William M. Crosby; first lieutenant. Georj;e T. Diidle}- ; sec- 
ond lieutenant William L. Diidle}'; first sergeant, Simeon K. L. Wilbur; sergeants, 
De Witt C. Wilbur, Henry XIagee, Ho ner S. Case, John A. Carey; corporals, Orville S. 
Kimball, Horace H. Bolt, Henry 0. Wilbur. William Kress, James H. Stonghton. 
Moses L. Dean, Isaac T. German, Daniel La Due : musicians, Milton T. Tyrell, Daniel H. 
Carey; wagoner, John P. Johnson ; privates, John E. Ames, Oliver H. P. Baboock, George 
W. Bennett, Aaron C. Bryant, .Jesse S. Buolianan, William W. Bullard, James W. 
Burnham, John Chase, Richard W. Christler. Charles Conklin, Thomas Cuddeback, Al- 
fred H. Cummins, John Wilson Curtis, Elijah B. Cooper, Daniel C. Dean, Benjamin 
Denison, Edward A. Denison, Dan Milon Dickenson, Henry C. Dunham, Wheeler 
M. Eddy, John Ellis, Jonathan N. Fletcher, Lucius L. Flower, Deland Hull, Emanuel 
Harpending. Gardiner C. Hibbard, Richard Hill, Albert S. Hovey, George W. Jackson, 
Harlan P. Kimball, Henry Lanioreaux, Andrew J. Leonard, Timothy W. Leonard. 
Gardner A. Longwell, James C. Lorraer, James L. Millard, Thadeus C. Miller, Herman 
E. Alilleman, James Milleraan, Joshua F. Norris. Emerson F. Orvis, Charles T. Ostrander, 
Samuel A. Paine, David N. Paddock, Charles L. Perry, Lorenzo T. Perry, James Post, 
John Reed, Isaac V. Seeley, Stephen Sherman. George J. Sirason, Frank Smith, Reu- 
ben D. W. Smith, Thomas S. Smith, Clark H. Stage, Jacob Stage, Isaac N. Storm. 
^arry L. Stillwill, William S. Snick, William J. Sutherland, Edgar F. Tyrrell, Henry 
D. Vangorder, James S. Yallentine, William Van Houten, Joseph Wade, Herman H. 
Wager, James Ward, Fernando Wescott, George L. Wheeler, Orin B. Whitney, Nathan 
Wood, Nathan W. Voder. 

Capt. William M. Crosby is now living in Binghamton at an advanced 
age. First Lieut. George T. Dudley was a brother of James T. Dudley, 
who was the junior member of the old book.selling firm of Preswick & 
Dudley, the successors of the older firm of Sickles & Preswick, and the 
predecessors of the later firms of Preswick, Morse & Co., Morse, Baker 
& Hall, and the present Morse, Hall & Loring. Lieutenant Dudley at 
the time of the breaking out of the war was in his brother's book store. 
He is now and has been for years in the Postoffice Department at 
Washington. Second Lieut. William L. Dudley died in the service at 
Hatteras, N. C. The family is a Chemung County family, the father, 
Ward Dudley, having been for years a resident of Horseheads. Other 
names of members of this company will be readily recognized as belong- 
ing to citizens of the county now in good repute and standing, among 
them ex-Alderman Hibbard and Emerson Orvis, of the Fifth ward, and 
Judge John A. Carey, of Chemung. 

ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH REGIMENT. 

The One Hundred and Seventh Regiment for very many reasons : 
for the need that was felt for more soldiers at the time it was organized ; 



224 OUR COUXTV AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

for the rapidity with which it was recruited, equipped, and sent to the 
front; for the spirit exhibited by every member of it from the time he 
signed his enlistment paper to the moment his discharge was given him ; 
for the brilliant record it made during its term of service ; and for the 
regimental feeling that for nearly thirty years now has remained and 
still remains as strong as on the day when the organization was mus- 
tered into the service; — is perhaps entitled as an organization to the 
position as the favorite and most popular local regiment of the war. 
The strong regimental feeling existing is still manifested by the annual 
reunion of the veterans of the organization on every 17th of Septem- 
ber, the anniversary of the battle of Antietam. The enthusiasm and 
feeling shown at these gatherings is as hearty and fresh as though the 
men had just returned from a hard-fought field. To this association of 
veterans the county owes the only public monumental remembrance of 
the war. This is the soldier statue in the court-house park on Lake street 
It was erected in 1882 and unveiled on September 17th of that year, 
that being the date of the sixteenth annual reunion of the regimental 
organization. At the unveiling exercises Gen. A. S. Diven presided 
and the address was delivered by Gen. Stewart L. Woodford. 

The One Hundred and Seventh Regiment was raised in response to 
President Lincoln's call for 300,000 men issued on July i, 1862, and 
through a personal appeal by Secretary of State Seward to members of 
Congress to go home and raise regiments by districts. Gen. A. S. 
Diven was at the time member of Congress from the Elmira district and 
Gen. R. B. Van Valkenburgh, of Bath, of the Corning district. That 
same year the "make up" of the congressional districts of the State 
was changed. General Diven was the member of the district composed 
of the counties of Chemung, Schuyler, Tioga, and Tompkins. His suc- 
cessor represented the district composed of the counties of Chemung, 
Steuben, and Allegany. General Van Valkenburgh represented Steu- 
ben and Livingston Counties. The men of the regiment were mostly 
recruited from the district as it was to be, which it will seen had within 
its limits two members of Congress. 

There was not very much encouragement at first, but enthusiastic and 
popular men took hold of the work and pushed it ahead until recruiting 
became very rapid. General Diven, the Rev. Thomas K. Beecher, Col. 




yf^.Bl 



■ THE OXH: HVNn/a^D AND SE\-E.\TH'S OFFICERS. 225 

G. L. Smith, and others traversed the district, holding sometimes two 
and three meetings a day and visiting every corner. Their work 
showed itself in the fact that in less than a month after the first efforts 
were begun the regiment was ready for service, and with more men in it 
than any other regiment had that before or after that time was sent 
from Elmira. It was mustered in on August 13, 1862, with 1,016 offi- 
cers and men, and with the following field and staff: 

Officers. — Colonel, Robert B. Van Valkenbiirgh ; lieutenant colonel, Alexandei- S. 
Diven ; major, Gabriel L. Smith; adjutant, Hull Fanton; quartermaster, Edward P. 
Graves; surgeon, Patrick H. Flood ; assistant-surgeon, JatnesD. Hewitt; cliaplain, Ezra 
F. Crane; sergeant-major, John R. Lindsay ; quartermaster-sergeant, Lucian B. Chidsey ; 
commissary-sergeant, Henry Inscho ; hospital steward, John M. Thro. 

Colonel Van Valkenburgli remained at the head of the regiment only 
a short time, retiring October 9, 1S62. After the war he went to live 
in F"lorida. where he was made a judge of the United States Court, and 
where he died in the latter part of 1890. Gen. A. S. Diven commanded 
the regiment until May, 1863, when he was appointed acting assistant 
provost- marshal- general of the Western Division of New York with 
headquarters at Elmira. Adjutant Hull Fanton, of Havana, now a 
practicing lawyer in New York city, resigned and left the command 
at the same time that General Diven did. Maj. G. L. Smith became 
lieutenant-colonel when' Colonel Van Valkenburgh resigned, but on 
account of ill health also resigned. During the interim before Col. Nirom 
M. Crane joined the regiment as its commanding officer it was under 
the command of Lieut.- Col. Newton T. Colby, promoted fiom the cap- 
taincy of I Company. 

Dr. Patrick H. Flood was the surgeon of the regiment. He was one 
of the most prominent physicians of Elmira, enjoying a large practice, 
which he gave up to enter the service of his country. He was of Irish 
descent, his father, John Flood, having come from Ireland when a young 
man and settled in Northampton County, Pa. There Dr. P. H. Flood 
was born March 14. 1S14. He was educated in Bloomsburg and Dan- 
ville (Pa.) Academy, and spent four years as a clerk in the latter named 
village. He began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Bonham 
Gearhart in Washingtonville, Pa., in 1830, and was graduated from the 
Geneva (N. Y.) Medical College in 1835. For some time he practiced 
his profession in Milton, Pa., and in 1838 decided to settle in Geneva, 

29 



22G OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

N. Y., which village in those early days was a thriving and prominent 
point in Western New York. A curious incident sliowing Dr. Flood's 
prevailing characteristic, an ability to adapt himself to whatever circum- 
stances might be thrown around him, caused a change in his determina- 
tion. He was journeying, as much of the journeying was done in those 
days, with his own horse and wagon toward his destination. Arrived 
at Lodi, Seneca County, his horse fell sick and he was obliged to stop. 
It was a delay that he could not well afford, and he instantly announced 
himself as a physician. One or two successful cases speedily established 
his reputation and made him such satisfactory returns that in the place 
where he had been compelled to stop because his horse had given out 
lie remained fourteen years. His wife, whom he married the year be- 
fore in Paradise, Northumberland County, Pa., was Rachel Schmeck. 
She was of German descent, one of her sisters during a long life never 
having been able to acquire the English language. She was bred a 
Presbyterian of the strictest form, but shortly before or at the time of 
her marriage joined the church of her husband and became and still is 
an ardent Roman Catholic. Dr. Flood's children were all born in 
Lodi. In 1852 he came to Elmira and at once took high rank among 
the medical men of that region. He was also an active politician, and 
was elected one of the coroners of the county soon after his coming 
to Elmira. He was made a brigade surgeon soon after going to the 
front with the One Hundred and Seventh, and at the close of the war 
he was surgeon of the First Division, Twentieth Army Corps. Return- 
ing home he resumed the practice of his profession and his interest in 
the public affairs of his city and county. He served two terms as mayor 
of Elmira, in 1871-72, has been a member of the Boards of Education 
and Health, was a member of the County Medical Society and the El- 
mira Academy of Medicine, and was one of the curators of the Univer- 
sity of Buffalo. He was a frank, outspoken, kind hearted man whose 
memory will long be fresh in the annals of Elmira. He died March 3, 
1 88 1. All of Dr. Flood's four sons under his tuition studied medicine, 
and all with the exception of the Hon. Thomas S. Flood practiced the 
profession. Two of them, John M. and Albert H., the former the hos- 
pital steward of the One Hundred and Seventh, are dead. Dr. Henry 
Flood, the youngest son, graduated in the Bellevue College in New 



MUSTER ROLL OF THE O.VE HUXDRED AXD SEVENTH. 227 

York and spent a year in Vienna, Austria, completing his studies. He 
has built up a large and profitable practice in Elmira. He is also an 
active politician, was mayor of Elmira in 1884, '"'d in 1889 was ap- 
pointed by President Harrison postmaster of that city. 

The One Hundred and Seventh Regiment contained four Elmira 
companies properly so called, but scattered through the other compa- 
nies, either as officers or men, were those of the county. The companies 
are as follows : 

Company .4. —Captain, Ezra F. Crane; first lieutenant, Melville C. Wilkinson , seconil 
lieutenant, .John M. Losie ; tirst sergeant, Thomas K. Middleton ; sergeants, Paul Coil- 
son, Cornelius Hammond, William A. B.'igley, .Jefi'iey Wisner; corporals, William Ci. 
Tenbroeck, Charles O. Bnndy, Charles Bolton, Rufus S. Haraden, William J. Schuszler, 
Bray D. Hall, Dennis T. Stanley, Theodore M. Drake ; musicians, Frank Bates, Zena 
Compton ; wagoner, William H. Roberts. Privates, George W. Allen, William Arnot, 
John B. Arnot, Silas H. Betson, Wilson U. Babcock, Layman W. Babcock, Amary R. 
Bishop, Joseph Brickvvidde, Francis M. Brown, William H. Broas, Ale.xander D. Beck- 
with, George W. Caiii|)bell, William \l. Chaplain, William Camfield, Philander Collson, 
Theodore Campbell, Marcus Cortwright, Jonathan Collson, John D. Cooper, Augustus 
Daniels, William H. Dixon, John O. Dannell, Richard Depew, Nelson Downing, Abram 
Deentun, William B. Donnell, William W. Edgerton, John D. Egbert, William Fell, 
Jerome Flynn, George W. Fuller, James S. Fanseey, John H. French, Philip French. jr., 
John W. Graves, Jacob Garritt, Thomas Griffin, George H. Goldsmith, Robert Gold- 
smith, William M. Gorslet, Edwin M. Garlock, William J. Graves, Charles D. Green, 
John Hall, Russell J. Hutchinson. George L. Haviland, William R. Hammond, Rodney 
E. Harris, Jeremiah H. Hackley, Robert C. Havens, John Hathorn. jr., Charles R. Hem- 
minway, Uriah S. Hammond, William H, Johnson, John M. Knapp, John B. Loop, 
Charles H. Luce, William H. Langcoy, William \l. Moore, John Mead, Abraham Miller, 
Michael Malian, James D. McGovern, Joseph E. McWilliams. Charles Niver, Michael 
Ohern, James Odell, Tliomas R. Ostun, Ephraim Quimby, Edward H. Riggs, George 
Rumsey, Welcome E. Richardson, Edward Searles, Henry P. Smith, Jacob D. Sweet, 
Edwin P. Sherman, Bartholomew Sullivan, John Traver, Henry F.White, Peter Weed, 
John B. Wiggins, William Wheeler. 

Company A— Captain, Lathrop Baldwin, jr.; first lieutenant. Martin V. B. Bachman ; 
.second lieutenant, George Swain; first sergeant, James A. Creed; sergeants, Walter 
Wood, Charles Solatskie, William R. Davi.s, Edward Morse; corporals, James Herring- 
ton, John H. Saterly, John Morgan, Arthur S. Fitch, Franklin J. Abbott, Byron Gage, 
William M. Hnrd, William H. Davis; musicians. Van Buren Stage, Albert R. Berry ; wag- 
oner, Frederick Beckhorn. Privates, Selden >r. Averill, Charles W. Al)li0tt, John S. Allen, 
George A. Beers, Victor L. Beach, Stephen A. Beard. Henry Briggs, jr., Jonathan H. Bar- 
low, Martin Bren, Andrew J. Brown, Joseph Benson, John Besley, John Bright, Edward 
A. Carl, Elijah Cole, Garry Clearwater, Jacoli Corner, George Corner, ]5eiijamin Carey, 
John H, Dubois. Franklin G. Davis, John DcGraw, George W. Drake, John O. Daniel, 



'_>2S OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

George W. Davis, Amos Decker, Ephraim Delap, James Devore, .Tolin H. Ellsworth, 
Frederick Fostenson, Josepli French, Patrick Flanagan, William Graham, Orlando 
Green, Samuel Green, Sevilian Harrington, John Herrington, Harvey Harrmgton. 
Henry C. Howland, Allen Johnson. Jacob W. Jackson, Benjamin P. Johnson. Leroy M. 
Jone.s, Daniel Keener. Charles S. Keener. George Kilmer, Morris Kane, Lyman Leon- 
ard, George Leonard, George Leach. Mathew Linsed, Dunning Lockwood. Chester Morey. 
Marcus M. Munson, Cornelius Murray, James P. Mitchel, Thomas Maher, Charles McCoy, 
Henry R. Oest, Eleazer 0. Peters, Stephen Rickey, Lauren T. Reeder, Guy Ralhbone, 
Ephraim Robbins. John Smith, Jacob Shauger, Jacob Simmer, Charles M. Sherman, Daniel 
Shears. John Tenbroeck, Jacob Teal, Charles G. Terwilliger, Emory O. Tyler, Patrick 
Traynor. Foster Van Ness, Robert J. Van Guilder, Wdliam Van Gorder, Eli B. Van 
Gelder, Levi B. Van Gelder, Peter Wagner, George W. Wheat, James W. Williams. 

Company C. — Captain, William F. Fox ; second lieutenant, Irving Bronson ; first 
sergeant, Seth D. Cook ; sergeants, John M. Calkins, Edwin G. Fay, Jesse B. Lewis. 
Michael Cowley; corporals, Thomas Homer, Philo Borst, Albert Ward, Alonzo D. 
Lewis, Lawrence W. Osborn, Jeremiah V. Wood, D. D. Leavenworth, Enoch Mack ; 
musicians, John McCarrick, James Sullivan ; wagoner, Nathaniel Haight. Privates, 
Charles F, Abbe}', William H. Abbey, David Abel. William Adams, Peter Austin, Syl- 
vester C. Bailey, Abel D. Bagley, John Bell, Ira A. Borst. Abram Brazee, Elijah B. 
Bradley. Jonathan Briggs, Theodore S. Brown, Samuel W. Brown, Andrew Brockway, 
William Burke, Archelist Campbell, Nathaniel W. Campbell. John Carton, Cassius Car- 
penter, William Christler, Helmes Christler, William R. Christler, William Clark, Rus- 
sell G. Clo.se, George Conipton, Theodore W. Conner. Henry Cooper, David Crowley, 
Henry C. Dew, Nathaniel Eaton, Mark Emer, Francis C. Fay, Charles Golden, Harmon 
Goodell, James Guernsey, Joseph Herrick, Frank Hull, Lyman Kies, James S. Kimble, 
John R. Kennedy, Eugene Leach, Samuel Lewis. Bryan Mara, Francis Mathias, Giles 
McMillen, James F. Osterhout, William H. Ostrander, John Paine, William Parks, Henry 
Palmer. David Piatt, John AV. Powell, Porter Randall. Edward Rece, Clark Richardson, 
Thomas Riordan, John Rhymels, John Rorick, Sylvaniis Rorick, Cicero Rowley, Syl- 
vester Sawyer. Levi H. Sa.xton, William D. .Sands. Harry Sherwood. Frans T. Sten- 
beck, Axal F. Stenbeck, George Stepenfield, John Stepenfield, William Stepenliekl 
Charles Stepenfield, Stephen A. Taft, George R. Titus, Charles Thorp, Franklin Velie, 
William Velie. William Weltz. George Wilkinson, William Williams, Wilson Woodruffe 
Frederick A. Wright, Oliver Youmans. 

Company D. — Captain, Hector M. Stocum; first lieutenant, Samuel A. Benedict 
-second lieutenant, Odell D. Reynolds; first sergeant, Frank Frost; sergeants. Henry D 
Bolt, George W. Humphrey, Emery C. Johnson, Francis M. Walker ; corporals, Francis 
M. Morehouse, Nelson B. Rogers, Ephraim N. Malbtt, A. Henry Wells, Beach Beardsley 
Jackson V. Churchill, Joseph P. Faulkner, Jacob G. Buckout, jr.; musicians, Russell R 
Devoe, Jason B. Blossom ; wagoner. Joseph C. Rhoades. Privates, Henry Armstrong. 
Samuel Ackley, John Beesley. Michael Birmingham. John Burnett, Eugene F. Blossom 
William H. Barto. Jacob Bardon. Benjamin F. Burgess, George Burris, Charles W 
Cogan. William F. Cox, George Colwell, Samuel CoHains. Henry Carpenter, Patrick 
Callighan, Burr Crook, John Cummings, Rufus Calkins. William Coulter, Peter Decker. 



MUSTER ROLL OF THE ONE HCXDRED A.VD SEVENTH. -SJ.'.) 

Marcus Dayton. Guy Elli8, John M. Flood, Charles B. K. Kox, John M. Francis, Na- 
thaniel Finch, Marshall S. Gre<;(>ry. Aiidius Harrinjcton. Smith Hart, Avery P. Harring- 
ton. Schuyler Hall, George W. Iluinnier, Stuart Hamilton, John Hallowick, Miles S. 
Harrington, Oscar F. James, Chauncey Johnson. Myron F. Lovell, George W. Lindslay. 
Philip F. Lohdell, William B. Lovell, Elijah G. Lovell, Hiram L. Locke, William L. Ak- 
Guckin. George Xniler, Charles Mitchell, Morgan B. Mathew.s, Aaron K. Miles, James 
Maxwell, Ezra Pratt, George W. Patterson, William J. Personius. Joseph J. Phelps. 
Benjamin F. Rogers, Jackson B. F. Reeder. Patrick Ragan, jr.. Solomon R. ReiiitV. 
Moses Slawson. David Smith, Isaac Slauson, James B. Smeed. David D. Sanford. John 
Sutherland, Simon Stanton. Daniel D. Sickles. Samuel L. Sherman, Isaiah Swartwood, 
Lewis Sherwood, Robert Smith, John Stobo, John Trumbell, George W. Thornton. 
James Toles. William E. Vanauker, David D. Vosburgh, Richard Vincent, Francis D. 
Vredenburgh. Dean West, John P. Williams, Abraham E. Wauser. John H. Wonser. 

Company E. — Captain, Willi.im L. Morgan ; first lieutenant. William L. Morgan, ji.: 
second lieutenant. Harlow Ahvood ; first sergeant, Samuel B. Taylor; sergeants. Charles 
M. Backman, Charles A, Hall, Francis Hendal. William S. Sweitzer; corporals, Lcinder 
Scot, Henry Trobridge, Everet P. Northrup, Willi«ra H. Wallace, George W. Bennett, 
Peter C. Compton, Charles F. Everets, John J. Steiler ; musicians. Chancy Yaple. 
John G. Lowe; wagoner, William L. Cooper. Privates. Joseph Aman, Guy C. Adams. 
Uriah E. Atwater, Daniel Brown, Bartlet Bennett, Edward P, Brown, Sylvester Ben- 
nett, James Burns, Martin Bios, Erastus M. Baskins, Alva Clark, Stephen Corwin. 
David Crow, David Church, Clark Cnim, Elijah Collins, Daniel C. Clark. William Church. 
Charles D. Cole, George Cogswell, George F. Delano, Lewis H, Delap, Richard Foot. 
Robert S. Ganny, Augustus Gillett, Samuel Hullet, Harland E. Havdand, John H. Hib- 
ler. Henry T. Haskel. Judson A. Hadley, Thomas Hopkins. Miles Hammond, Josiah 
Hand. Joseph V. Hoyt. Thomas L. Hogg, Peter Hagcr, George Hughes. Michael Lor- 
den, John Lalor, Leonard Lander, James Libolt. Dominique Michaly, William N. Mc- 
Kee, James McChntek. John P. Martin, James Xichols, Gottfried Oelschlasger, Reuben R. 
Pen, David Potter, Thomas Perry, David Russell, Samuel F. Randolph, Almon G. Rhodes, 
Elias Rinker, Ezekiel Smith, Gumming Spencer, Solomon Samuel, Andrew J. Spencer. 
Eli Tongue. Benjamin J. Tracy, James M. Tracy, Ira JI. Tyrrell, William Tongue. 
Lewis C. Tilford, Andrew J. Vaiicamp. James White. William H. Wait. Charles P. 
Willover, Llewellyn Woodruff, Millankton White, Harlow Atwood, Gilbert Howard. 
Abrara Arnold, Daniel B. Scott. James II. Smith, Joseph Metzer, Edward Sherman, 
Archibald Spencer, Frederick Bauer, Gottfried Bachman, Thomas Perry. 

Company F. — Captain, James H. Miles; first lieutenant, J, Milton Roe; second lieu- 
tenant, John F. Knox ; was all recruited in Steuben County from Addi.son, WoodhuU, 
and Campbell. 

Company O. — Captain, John J. Lanion ; first lieutenant, Gustavus II. Brigham ; sec- 
ond lieutenant, Ezra Gleason, had the following named county men: sergeants, George 
Brownrig, Horace Hotchkiss ; corporals, David Bird, Harvey G. Denniston, Thomas J. 
Beaver, Field Oppley; musician.«, John lluber, Ambrose Masier ; wagoner. Aaron 
Whitehead. Privates, Warum Borden, James X. Brewer, John W. Brown, William 
M. J. Burget, Elisha M. Booth, Hugh Brennen, Volkert Benedict, Moses M. Crantz 



230 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Alonzo Chapman. William H. Carr, Abraham Denniston, Hiram L. Dickinson, William 
L. Everett, Amos Fisk, PhineasFisk, By ran Guiarts, John Green. David Gleason, James 
Herrington, Edwin P. Harris, Jeremiah Hall, Rufus J. Henderson, Charles Huber, 
Aloiizo Johnson, Edwin Kelly, John Kallahan, Samuel D. Le Gro, Philip Layton. James 
FiOvell, Fayette McCarty, Frazier McCarty, George McCaslin, John McCaslin, Amiirose 
Morgan, Andrew Noles, Harrison Niles, Jeremiah Rumsey, Frank Stryker. Henry Stock- 
ing, John E. Stratton, Allen C. Knspp, John A. Stamp, Jesse E. Stevens, Emanuel 
Taylor, James R. Voorhees, James Vrooman, Sylvanus Wallace, William Y. Warnen 
John H. Wimple, Augustus L. Whitford, James Wilfcox. 

Company H. — Captain, Erastus C. Clark; first lieutenant, Henry D. Donnelly; sec- 
ond lieutenant, Lewis 0. Sayles ; was from Schuyler County, mostly from Havana. 
The Chemung men were as follows: Sergeant, George M. Jackson: corporals, Harmon 
O. Mitchel, Charles H. Duryea, George M. Putnam, Edward Kendall ; musician, James 
H. Arnold; private.', Hiram R. Ballard, Charles Coykendall, George Carpenter, Cyrus J. 
Covin, William H. Covill, Sylvester Dunham, Benjamin Force, George J. Fenno, John J, 
GrilFeth, Washington Graves, Josiah S. Gregory, William H. Hall, Edgar Hedge. Al- 
bert Ham, George Kniflen, Ira C. Knapp, Henry Mapes, William L. Mathews, Freeman 
Miller, Thomas E. Morse, Henry Owen, Ebenezer Putnam, Thomas Putnam, Hiram 
Paddock, Ellas Putnam, John Rickey, Thomas D. Reese, Albert Swallow, Daniel A, 
Stewart, Leroy Swartwood, James F. Van Vleet, Frederick Vanloon, Christopher Van- 
loon, John Vanloon, Andrew H, Wager, James C. Wood, Leonard White, Ethan 
Worden. 

Company I. — Captain, Newton T, CoUiy; first lieutenant, Benjamin C, Wilson; sec- 
ond lieutenant, Nathaniel E. Rutter ; was a Steuben County company, mostly from Corn- 
ing and Wayland. The Chemung men were: Privates. Howard Castor, Robert Gans- 
voort, George H. Havencamp. Henry Inscho. 

Company K. — Captain, Allen N. Sill; first lieutenant, John M. Goodrich: .second 
lieutenant, Alonzo B, Howard; was a Steuben County company, mostly from Hornells- 
ville and Canisteo The Chemung men were ; Corporals, O.scar W, Marcy, John B, 
Knapp; privates, Albert Carter, Charles Carter, Lucien B. Chidsey, Edward J. Cole- 
man, Lewis T. Compton, Simeon M. GofF, William H. Hammond. William M. N. Hor- 
ton, George N. Kelly, Lewis Knickerbocker, Martin Knickerbocker, Oscar H, Knight, 
John R. Leavenworth, John R, Lindsay, John A, Nicholson, John Slaven, Thomas J, 
Stokes, Charles PL Stormes, Lewis Wood, 

Company A of this regiment was raised by the Rev, Ezra F, Crane, 
who had been the chaplain of the Twenty-third Regiment. He was a 
Baptist clergyman who came originally from Otsego County, N. Y , 
and had been in charge of the Central Baptist Church of Elmira, His 
patriotism was intense, his pulpit being draped with the American flag 
on the outbreak of tiie war. He was chaplain of the One Hundred and 
Seventh, and he was vigorous in his prayers, his religion, and his fight- 
ing qualities — a great favorite of the regiment to this day, meeting 



THE Oi\E HUNDRED AXD SEVEXTHS OFFICERS. 231 

with tbem almost every time they gather together at tlicir annual le- 
iinions. He lives in Franklin, Pa., hearty and as happy as ever, although 
at an advanced age. His daughter is the wife of Judson H. Clark, one 
of the capitalists of the city of Elmira. When the company returned 
from the seat of war it was in command of John M. Losie, who had 
gone out with it as its second lieutenant who deserved some honor, as 
he lost a leg in the service. In this A Company as in all the others of 
the regiment there are names of those very familiar now in the county 
as those who are active in all the walks of life. As they made some of 
the best of soldiers so are they among the best of citizens. 

The captain of B Company was Lathrop Baldwin, jr. He was a mem- 
ber of that same Baldwin family of which so much needs to be said in 
the history of the count)', and he came naturally by his soldierly quali- 
ties. His father, also Lathrop Baldwin, was a soldier in the War of 
i8l2 and was deputy sheriff under William Jenkins from 1822 to 1825. 
He was the first occupant of the old court-house in Elmira on Lake 
street. His wife was Sally Griswoid, a daughter of Capt. Elisha Gris- 
wold, of Southport, another soldier, so that the fighting blood came to 
Lathrop Baldwin, jr., from both sides of his house. Lathrop Baldwin, 
sr., died in 1861. His father was Isaac Baldwin, jr., who came into the 
valley with Sullivan and was the colonel of a regiment during the Rev- 
olutionary war. His father, Isaac Baldwin, sr., was also a soldier in the 
Revolutionary war. Both of these last named are buried near the Sul- 
livan battlefield and well preserved gravestones mark their resting- 
places, although that of the elder Isaac marks his death as of June 9, 
1 79 1, and of the younger November 21, 181 5. 

Maj. Lathrop Baldwin, jr., was born in Elmira on May i, 1829. He 
received his education in the public schools of the village and learned 
the printer's trade. From 1850 until that paper was discontinued, with 
several gentlemen at different times connected with him, he conducted 
the old Elmira Republican. At the time of the breaking out of the war, 
and when he enlisted in the One Hundred and Seventh, he was the city 
editor of the Elmira Daily Advertiser, a genial, warm hearted, bright 
witted, promising j'oung man. His wife was Helen Tillotson, a young 
woman worthy in all respects of the gallant soldier and estimable gen- 
tleman. Captain Baldwin went out with the regiment as captain of B 



232 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Company, but was promoted to be major on the resignation of Maj. 
G. L. Smith. He was afterward promoted to the h'eutenant- colonelcy 
of the regiment. He was mortally wounded at the battle of Peach 
Tree Creek, Ga., on June 22, 1864, and died in Chattanooga on July 
29th following. His body was brought home to Elmira to be buried, 
and the funeral services in his honor formed the greatest military pageant 
ever seen in the city. His commission as lieutenant-colonel of the regi- 
ment was issued by Governor Seymour on the very day that he was 
wounded at Peach Tree Creek. 

When the post of the G. A. R. was organized in Elmira no more fit- 
ting or deserving name could have been suggested than that of Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Baldwin, and it was so called in his memory. He wore 
the name as nobly as any of his race who had preceded him, and he 
handed it down to posterity with fresh and most imperishable laurels. 

The first lieutenant of B Company, Martin V. B. Bachman, was a 
Horseheads man. He became captain of E Company, and after the 
war practiced the profession of law. He is now holding a responsible 
position in the Pension Department in Washington. The second lieu- 
tenant of the company, George Swain, became its captain. In this com- 
pany also was Arthur S. Fitch, one of its corporals. He was promoted 
to be first lieutenant of the company. He was a mere youth at the time 
of his enlistment and was always a great favorite in the regiment, a feel- 
ing that has not abated at all to this day. His loyalty to his comrades 
and the organization is as strong now as when he was in the field. He 
has the history of the regiment and of its members from the date of the 
muster-in to the day of its muster-out as clear and compact as though 
printed in a book, and any disputed point as to their position or what 
they were doing almost on a certain hour in a certain day can be de- 
cided by him with readiness and accurac)'. Yox some years he was en- 
gaged in the book and stationery business, but in 1890 he ventured into 
the field of politics, and with success, for he was chosen county clerk by 
a very flattering expression of public opinion. First Sergt. James A. 
Creed of this company became a captain in the One Hundred and Forty- 
first Regiment, soon after organized in the district. 

Company C vvas almost entirely recruited in Painted Post, its captain 
being William F. Fox, who attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel be- 



THE ONE HUXDRED AND SEVENTH'S OFFICERS. 233 

fore the war closed. His brother, Charles J. Fox, also became a major. 
Colonel Fox was for some time after the war a resident of Elmira. He 
is the author of a valuable and much quoted book, full of statistics and 
information concerning the war, having special reference to the losses 
sustained with comparisons with other wars in other countries. It is 
entitled to the position in literature to which it has attained as a stand- 
ard work and book of reference. 

Capt. Hector M. Stocum, of D Company, was an enthusiastic fireman 
in the volunteer ranks of Klmira before he became a soldier. He is now 
a business man in Tonawanda, N. Y. His first sergeant was Frank Frost, 
who before the war ended was in command of the company. For a 
number of years he was the station agent of the Erie at Chemung and 
is now the quartermaster of the Soldiers Home in Bath. 

In F Company, Capt. James H. Miles, First Lieut- J. Milton Roe, 
an Addison organization mostly, was Theodore G. Smith, who has at- 
tained much local and political prominence. He was county clerk for 
the term beginning in 1878. 

The history of the regiment in the field is a very brilliant one. It was 
in some of the bloodiest and most decisive engagements in the war, not- 
ably at Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. It participated in 
the famous march to the sea and was hel9 in the highest esteem by 
General Sherman. It served nearly three years, being mustered out of 
service at Elmira on June 5, 1865. 



234 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER III. 

Further account of Infantry organizations Mustered into the service at Elniira — The 
One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment — Col. S. G. Hathaway, jr. — Maj. L. A. 
Hazard — Maj. Robert M. McDowell — Changes in the Field and Staff — Maj. 
Elisha G. Baldwin — Lieut.-Col. Edward L. Patrick — Col. Archie Baxter — Other 
well known Names in the Regiment — The One Hundred and Si.xty-first — Capt. 
Robert R. R. Dumars — Capt. Orlando N. Smith — Capt. Royal R. Soper — Others 
in the Regiment Well Known — The One Hundred and Seventy-ninth — Gen. 
William M. Gregg — Capt. Robert F. Stewart — The One Hundred and Eighty- 
ninth — Col. William W. Hayt — The last Infantry Regimental organization in the 
State, the uncompleted One Hundred and Ninety-fourth — Infantry forwarded 
from Elmira to the Seat of War. , 

"^"T^HE One Hundred and Eighth Regiment, a Rochester organization, 
I Col. O. H. Pahner, in K Company, Capt. Joseph Deverell, were 
Martin Richards andjohn Burns, of ChemungCounty. TheOne Hundred 
and Ninth Regiment, an Ovvego organization, possesses some interest 
to Ehnira for several reasons. Its colonel, Benjamin F. Tracy, became 
afterward the commanding officer of the One Hundred and Twenty- 
seventh U. S. Colored Troops, and after that the commandant of the post 
at Elmira. He removed to Brooklyn, N. Y., and achieved much distinc- 
tion in the legal and political world. He is the Secretary of the Navy 
of the present administration. The quartermaster of this One Hundred 
and Ninth Regiment was James S. Thurston, who afterward became 
very conspicuous in Elmira. He quitted the One Hundred and Ninth 
Regiment to become a paymaster in the army, and for a time was sta- 
tioned in Chicago and afterward in Elmira. In 1868 he became con- 
nected with C. G. Fairman and Luther Caldwell in publishing the Elmira 
Advertiser, and managed the Southern Tier Savings Bank also. When 
he left the Advertiser he joined with Horace A. Brooks in publishing 
the Southern Tier Leader, a weekly newspaper of short life, and organ- 
ized also the Nobles Manufacturing Company. He was a leading Meth- 
odist, and represented the Third ward in the cominon council several 
terms. He was appointed bank exaininer of the State after leaving 
Elmira, and in 1887 organized the American Loan and Trust Compan\' 
in New York city. 



( ) THER INFA.X TR V ORGAN fZA TJOA'S. 235 

The field and staff of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Regiment, a 
Clienango County organization, Col. Klisha B. Smith, were mustered 
into tlie service in Elmira, September 8, 1 862, the remainder of the com- 
mand being mustered elsewhere. In the One Hundred and Thirtieth 
Regiment from Livingston County was Capt. Howard M. Smith, who 
was mayor of Elmira in 1875. He was largely engaged in the coal 
business there, subsequently removing to Buffalo, where he died in 1890. 
In the One Hundred and Thirty- second Regiment was James McLaugh- 
lin, of Elmira, having been transferred there from the Fifty-third Regi- 
ment. 

ONE HUNDRED AND FORTV-FIRST REGIMENT, N. V. V. 

The One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment, equally with the 
Twenty-third ami One Hundred and Seventh, deserves the designation 
of a " home regiment," as it had three full companies raised in the 
county, its commanding officer being the distinguished lawyer and pol- 
itician. Col. Samuel G. Hathaway, jr. It was raised in response to Presi- 
dent Lincoln's call for 300,000 men, and followed close on the heels of 
the One Hundred and Seventh, rivaling it in local popularity and fav- 
orable feeling with the people. It was mustered into service in Sep- 
tember, 1862, with 956 officers and men. 

0//(cer.?. — Colonel, ^Saimiei G. Hathaway, jr.; lieutenant-cnlonel, James C. Beecliei- ; 
major, John W. Diniiiny ; adjutant, Henry L I'ier.son ; iiuartermaster, Silas Haight ; 
surgeon, John W. Robinson ; assistant-surgeon, Orlando S. Greenman ; chaplain. Thotnas 
K. Beecher; .sergeant-major, Louis A. Hazard; r(iiartennaster-sergeant, Miles \X. Han- 
ley ; hospital Stewart, Harris Sawyer ; prmuipal musician. George Gray. 

Most of these names are well known now and have been so known 
for many years in the county, and some have heretofore been referred 
to in this record. Louis A. Hazard was promoted from K Company to 
be sergeant-major of the regiment on September 10, 1862. He was 
made adjutant on December 12, 1864, and subsequently was promoted 
to a captaincy. He was severely wounded at the battle of Peach 
Tree Creek in July, 1864, and was a patient sufferer therefrom for the 
remainder of his brief life. He was the elder brother of Charles Hazard, 
the editor of the Elmira Telegram, and like him a newspaper man thor- 
oughly and fully equipped for the business, whether in the composing 
room, the editorial room, or the business office. By his estimable per- 



230 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

sonal qualities and the record for bravery that he made during the war 
he well won and his memory enjoys the distinction of having had named 
for him a post of the G. A. R. in Klmira. It was organized on Wed- 
nesday evening, August 26, 1891, with a charter membership of forty- 
six, being the " L. A. Hazard Post, No. 650." Its chief officers were : 
Commander, C. C. Spaulding ; senior vice-commander, J. T. Burrows ; 
junior vice-commander, J. Liven ; adjutant, R. Shay. 

Maj. Robert M. McDowell became adjutant of the One Hundred 
and Forty-first soon after it went to the field, and made a military rec- 
ord for himself quite in keeping with the family name, which is such a 
distinguished one in the history of the county. He is a son of the Hon. 
John G. McDowell and a grandson of Capt. Daniel McDowell, one of 
the earliest settlers in the valley. He was educated as a civil engineer 
and is one of the most competent in the country. A piece of local 
work of tiis deserves remembrance, as it received at the time much 
commendation. A member of one of the oldest families in the count}' 
he was, as might have been expected, deeply interested in the centen- 
nial celebration of the battle of Newtown in 1879. In preparation for 
the event he was appointed one of a committee, the other two being 
Gen. William M. Gregg and Gen. William R. Judson, to make a survey 
and map of the scene of the engagement. The work was done by 
Major McDowell and completed in March of the year of the celebra- 
tion. Subsequently the whole committee located on the map the form- 
ation of the troops of both the American and British armies engaged, 
the latter composed largely of Indians. The accuracy of this was 
made possible by the official reports of the battle by General Sullivan 
and the several officers under him. The work was remarkable for its 
carefulness and accuracy, and from the further fact that it was the first 
complete map of the scene and event ever made. It is also the only 
one in existence. The fact deserves other and especial attention and 
reference because the work, published in a compilation by the State, is 
attributed to if not claimed by another person who had no hand what- 
ever in its execution. During Major McDowell's service in the war 
he held the appointment as chief topographical engineer on the staff 
of General Hooker. He subsequently became captain of I Company 
of the One Hundred and Forty-first, and was brevetted a major. 






/^-^^^/^?^>^, 




THE OXE HUNDRED ASD FORTY-EIRST R EG I M EXT. 2:57 

He is now connected as mining engineer with the system of railroads 
controlled by Jay Gould, with his headquarters at St. Louis, his po- 
sition being one of great responsibility and care. Colonel Hathaway 
resigned on February ii, 1863, and came home to die. Lieutenant- 
Colonel Beecher also resigned at the same time. Major Dinniny, who had 
been promoted to the colonelcy, followed with his resignation on June 
I, 1863. As with the other " home regiments" so with this : there were 
Chemung County men scattered all through its ranks and not alone in 
the companies that were almost exclusively home organizations. 

Company A. — Captain, Charle.s W. Clauliarty ; first lieutenant, William P.Ross; sec- 
ond lieutenant. .John Strowbridge ; was largely recruited in Schuyler County. In it, how- 
ever, were two Chemung men. Lewi.s Bailey and Benjamin Smalley. 

Company B. — Captain, Andrew J. Compton, was also mostly from Schuyler County. 
Musician Alon/.o Iloftell was a Baldwin man ; and privates Gould S. Bailey, William 
0. Thayer, and Manly Van Gclder were respectively from Cathn, Veteran, and Elmira. 

Company C. — Thi.s company was one of the home organizations, its muster-in roll 
showing the following, mostly from Elmira, some from Chemung, and some from Van 
Etten: .Captain, Elisha G. Bald win;, first lieutenant, James McMellan ; second lieuten- 
ant, Robert F. Stewart ; first sergeant. William II. Van Etten ; sergeants, Theodore M. 
Warren, Wesly Bree.se, Joseph Jfilliken. Maxwell G. Shappee; corporahs, Charles F. 
Orwan, James C. McElroy. William E. Giles, William H. Brown, Schuyler Smith. Will- 
iam II. Everett, Benjamin G. Thompson, Elliott M. Noyes ; musician, Joel M. Janson ; 
wagoner. Franklin Shad^ ; privates, William H. Allington, William C. Ames, Jud Al- 
bertson, Floyd H. Brown, James F. Benjamin, Arthur D. Banficld, Nathan L. Bonham. 
Isaac B. Bailey, Hiram A. Beckwith, John W. Caywood, William C. Carnrike, Lafay- 
ette C. Chase, Hiram G. Colson, Ziilmon Campbell, George H. Carnrike. John H. Craw- 
ford, George Comfort. John Y. Carpenter, Edward D. Carpenter. Henry Clark, Gabriel 
N. Cooley, Ervine C. Chase, Erastus Doane, Martin Dean. Charles De Lavergne. Frank 
H. Darby, William H. Decker, Charles R. Drake. William Edwards, Horace G. Ed- 
wards, James Elma, Edward M. Flynn, James Fivie, George Fish, Jared H. Gibbon.<, 
William H. Gornee, Shoemaker Hill, Thomas Hill, Robert N. Hill, Harry Hugg, Francis 
Hanraer, James M. Hapeman, George Ilediger, George Ilapoman, John Hapeman, 
John C. Hanmer. Peter W. Hanmer, William N. Joslin, Eli Kenedy, Andrew Landon. 
James McKinney, James H. Monroe, Dwight Murphy, William McWhorter, Edwin 
Pierce, John K. Riker. Aurelius O. Revenaugh, George F. Soule, Frank Sayre, William 
Stevens, Benjamin T. Struble, Charles A. Svvarthout. David Swarthout. Samuel I, 
Tracy, Henry B. Van Gorder, John Van Gorder, James E. Van Keuren, Charles Van 
Wagoner, Francis Van Wormer. Josiah Weeks. Oliver P. Wood, Albert J. Whitley, 
John M. Wood, Elisha Wright. Richard Weaver, John P. Walker, Edward Weed, 
Luther Wright. William Gardiner. Corydon M. Gillelt. 

Compang C— Captain, Charles R. Fuller, was from Steuben County, there being in il, 
liowever, privates Morris Pritchard and George IT. Rozell, of Elmira. 



238 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Companies E, F, and H. — Capt. William K. Logie, Capt, Andrew J. Russell, anil 
Capt. William A. Branson, Steuben County organizations. 

Compriny G — Captain, Daniel N. Aldricli. also from Steuben County ; privates Henry 
A. Smith, Charles Smith, and Joseph T. Smitli, of Elmira. 

Company I. — This was another home organization, its muster-in roll being as follows ; 
Captain, Edward L. Patrick; first lieutenant, Robert A. Hall; second lieutenant, George 
Tubbs; first sergeant, William C. Campbell; sergeants, Isaac Garrabrant. Alexander 
Shearer, Charles Ware, William Ware ; corporals, John A. Carey, John P. Wood, Will- 
iam Gunderraan, John Harley, Dennis, Daley, jr, George W. Myers, Frank Jenkins, 
William C. Carey : musicians. Orris Seymour, Jesse B, Shappee ; wagoner. Boget 
Lowry ; privates, George Brees, Henry Briggs, Samuel Blampied, Walter Chardavoque, 
Quartus E, Cleveland, Allen Cooper, William Culp, David E, Champion, James Clark, 
Jacob H. Cole, Cornelius Cain, John Curley, Edwin D. Corey, Cornelius Doolittle. Sam - 
uel Dean, Jeflferson Decker, Jeremiah Decker, Asa L, Edwards, Charles Foster, Richard 
Garrabrant, Morris Gregory, Norton Gregory, John H, Houston. George Harris. Bird- 
sey Hutcliins, James Hulbert, John Herrington. Gi^orge Haxton. John J. Jenkins. James 
Kelly, William C. Kingsbury. Oliver A. S. Lewis, Harvey Lee, Norman Loomis, David 
McCann, James Mahar, Ezra J. Mallory, Christopher Martin, Jonathan D. Miller, Edwin 
K. Nolton, Abram Odell. George Owens, Dwight M. Palmer, Nathaniel Peppard. Gil- 
bert Parker, James E. Proctor, Morris Potter. F, E. Rumsey, Joel H. Roblyer, Samuel 
Riiggles, Robert Ray, James Reeve.s, Henry A. Soper, William Seymour, Jacob Scntt, 
jr,, Samuel H. Smith, Eli W, Smith, William Sly, John Titsworth, Reuben Thurston, 
Benjamm Trumble, Theodore Vance, Joseph W. Wheat, Alouzo White, James Wheeler, 
Ray Warren, Leroy Watson, James Woodbouse, Charles Wood, Xeno Whitcomb, Elisha 
Wright, 

Company K. — This organization, also a home company, was as follows : Captain, 
Wilbur F, Tattle; first lieutenant, George L, Whiton ; second lieutenant, Joseph A, 
Frisbie ; first sergeant, George W. Rogers; sergeants, Eugene Egbert. Edwin A. Branch. 
Dwight Morley, James F. Carroll; corporals, Ezra C. Crane. Jabez B, Throop, Judd 
Griswold, Alonzo McFarland, Henry H. Bishop, Michael H. Thurston, William Wood- 
house, William Watts ; musician.';, John H. Waters, Frank Bloss ; wagoner, William 
Tyler; privates, Josiah Allen, Moses C. Armstrong, Dennis Ambrose, Patrick Boland. 
Alfred E. Barber, Kinney Barnliam, Horace S. Bovier. John L. Burt. John Curran, Ed- 
ward E. Chamberlain, Hirani Cummings, John Cidp, LenmelO. Chamberlain, Cornelius 
C, Daggell, Alfred C. Deals, Robert Decker, Samuel Elson, Charles Elson, Henry L. 
Baton, John Evans, Jolm J. Foot, John Ficher, Richard Gray, James Green, Henri 
Goboze, Matthew Hogencamp, Asa Hogencamp, Daniel Hogencamp, Edward Haynes, 
Lyman E, Harris, Louis A, Hazard, John W, Hapeman, Erastus E, Haskell, Charles B, 
Jolmston, Jolm Killmore, Edmond S, Kline, George W. Kimball, James Kelly, Henry 
Kennedy, Godfrey Leuhart, Ephraim Miller, Albert Marsh, John W, Marsh, James 
Mitchell, Jolin Morley, Thomas McCaffree, Andrew J. McCann, John Mandeville, Will- 
iam Macksey, Andrew J, Magraw, Michael McCann, Patrick Malone, Daniel Ottz, Ter- 
lullus B, O'Brian, Robert P. Owens, Joseph Potter, Andrew Preston, Waterman D. 
Rathbun, Simeon B. Rumsey, Henry S. Rice, Edward Stevens, Thomas Sinnott, Will- 



THE OXE HUXDRED AND FORTV-F/RST'S CAP TA I. VS. 239 

iain Steinlein, Chauncey Stevens. Hugh Slavin, Alvin I!. Slurilevaiit, Alvsi Treat, John 
I'. Wolcott. 

Capt. Elisha G. Baldwin, of C Company, was also of tlie Baldwin faniiK- 
of whom tiie count}' knows so mucli. He was a brother of Lieut.- Col. 
Lathrop Baldwin, jr., and also by trade a printer. The blood of the 
Baldwins from long time ago is of fighting quality, and Capt. Elisha 
Baldwin sliowed that it had not run out in his generation. His record 
in the war would reflect credit on any man. At the bloody battle of 
Peach Tree Creek, Ga , which seems to have been especially fatal both 
to the One Hundred and Seventh and One Hundred and Forty-first, 
Captain Baldwin was in command of the regiment, and under him the or- 
ganization held its ground nobly. He was promoted to be major after 
this battle for gallant services therein. He is now a resident of Oakes, 
N. D., where he is in business. Second Lieut. Robert F. Stewart, of C 
Company, became a captain of the One Hundred and Seventy- ninth 
and lost a leg in the service. Two years after the return home of his 
regiment, in 1867, lie was elected county clerk and died while holding 
that office. 

Capt. Edward L. Patrick, of I Company, had a most curious career, 
one fitted " to adorn a tale" whether or not it might " point a moral." 
He came from Athens, Pa., with abilities in some directions more than 
fair, of pleasant personal appearance, easily making himself popular and 
a favorite. When Major Dinniny was promoted to be colonel of the 
One Hundred and Forty- first and Capt. William K. Logic, of E Com- 
pany, was made lieutenant- colonel Captain Patrick was promoted to be 
major. Afterward when Colonel Dinniny resigned, and when Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Logic was made colonel and Captain Charles A. Clauhartj', 
of A Company, was made major. Captain Patrick was made lieutenant- 
colonel. He was dismissed the service while holding this rank on Oc- 
tober 19, 1863. Returning to Elmira he entered into politics and was 
in the Board of Supervisors in 1867, '68, '69, and '70. He also served 
as member of Assembly from the comity in 1869 and in 1870. These 
years were in those times known as the "Tweed days." Colonel Pat- 
rick's course in the Assembly was above reproach, clean and honorable, 
forming a record of which any representative might be proud. But he 
fell into trouble in some matters not disconnected with pension claims, 



240 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

where comparatively very insignificant sums were involved. When he 
had expiated his offence he went to Europe, and engaging in the Span- 
ish rebellion, under the standard of Don Carlos, arose to great distinc- 
tion, holding relations of a very confidential nature with the aspirant to 
the Spanish throne. Don Carlos did not succeed and Colonel Patrick- 
returned to this country, his latest business being that of a lawyer in 
San Francisco, Cal. 

First Lieut. Robert A. Hall was discharged from the service January 
lO, 1863, on account of disabilities. He is a younger brother of Francis 
and Frederic Hall, and in the firm of Morse, Hall & Loring, booksell- 
ers and stationers, carries on a business with which his family name has 
been for so many years connected in Elmira. Allen Cooper, who was 
elected sheriff of the county in 1873 and 1885, was a member of this 
company. Capt. Wilbur F. Tuttle, of K Company, a young lawyer of 
Elmira at the time of his enlistment, was discharged from the service 
July 29, 1863, on account of disabilities, and his first lieutenant, George 
L. Whiton, became the captain of the company. Captain Whiton at 
the breaking out of the war was in the clothing business, the junior 
member of the firm of Randall & Whiton. His wife was the youngest 
daughter of John Parmenter, one of the early merchants of Palmira. After 
the war Captain Whiton became an active and successful politician. 

Sergt. Eugene Egbert of this company was an exceedingly bright 
and attractive youth, a nephew of P"ox Holden. He became first lieu- 
tenant of his company, but died December 18, 1864. His memory af- 
ter nearly thirty years have passed is yet cherished by numbers outside 
of his immediate family. Archie Baxter, of E Company, Capt. William 
K. Logie, was from Steuben County. He was promoted to the cap- 
taincy of his company April 8, 1865. He has arisen to a commanding 
position in politics since the war, one of his many attractive qualities be- 
ing his unusual abilities as a speaker. He is always heard with satisfac- 
tion and pleasure. He is forcible, persuasive, earnest, and entertaining, 
and before a jury especially powerful. He served as county clerk of 
Steuben County for one term, and removing to Elmira was county 
clerk of Chemung County for the term beginning 1884. He is now the 
United States marshal for the Northern District of New York, and in 
the prime of his manhood has many years of usefulness and prominence 
before him. 



THE OiXE H VXD RED AXD SIX TY-EIRST REG/MEXT. -HI 

The One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment stands among tlie very 
best organizations that were engaged in the war from anywhere. One 
who can say he was connected with it has a recommendation to the 
good graces of his countrymen that never fails of adequate and proper 
response. It was in a number of hard- fought and desperate engage- 
ments and went across Georgia with Sherman. Froni its original 
muster-in to its discharge its rolls contained the names of nearly 1,200 
men. It brought back from the field 380, On its return it was com- 
manded by Col. Andrew J. McNett, now of Belmont, whose gallantry is 
daily witnessed by the absence of an arm which he lost while in an en- 
gagement at the head of his command. The regiment was mustered 
out on June 8, 1865, and its return to Elmira was signalized by a wel- 
come that was as sincere as it was hearty. 

In the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment there was one Che- 
mung County man, John Fitzmorris. 

ONE HUNDRED .\ND SI.XTV-FIRST REGIMENT, N. Y. V. 

The One Hundred and Sixty-first Regiment deserves also the name 
of a "home organization," having many men in it from the county, one 
company that was almost exclusively and another largely com[)osed 
thereof It was mustered into the service on October 27, 1862, with 
883 officers and men. The following is the roll at the time: 

0/?icer».— Colonel. Gabriel T. Harrowor; lieutenaiU-colonel. Maivin D. Silwill ; ma- 
jor, Charle.s Straus; adjutant, William B. Kinsey ; qiiajU-rmaslei-, Marcu.s E. Brown; 
surgeon, Lewis Darling; assistant-surgeon, Joseph S. Dolson ; second assi.>itant-surgcon, 
Charles M. Pierce; cliaplain, Thomas I. O. Worden ; sergeant-major, Philip L. Bead; 
quartermaster-sergeant, Judson C. Beeman ; commissary-sergeant, Rufus T. Alderman , 
hospital steward, George M. Beard. 

Colonel narrower was a Steuben County man who in 1872-73 rep- 
resented the district in the Senate of the State. Company A, Capt. 
B. F. Van Tuyl, was a Steuben County organization. Company B was 
mostly raised in Schuyler County, but had a number of men in its ranks 
from Chemung County. Its muster roll shows these : 

Company B. — Captain, Horace B. Brown ; first lieutenant, George R. White ; second 

lieutenant, William H. Clark ; (irat sergeant, David Ellison ; sergeant, Cliarles W. Pope ; 

corporals, David E. Turner, John Crandall, William A. Sproul; privates, Edson Bo.«- 

sard. Ebenezer Boyntoii, William Beck with, Edward Brinks, Benjamin W. Brewer, 

:il 



242 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Tiniolliy E. Barbour, John L. Carr, David W. Chapman, Asa Foster, Frank Gardiner^ 
Chinnicey W. Hicks, William J. Hiiey, Charles Kress, George F. Losey. Charles Lattiii, 
Edwin McClintic, Edward \[atson, James Orr, John A. Peacock, Juseph F. Philp, Will- 
iam Perry, James F. Stevens, John Sherman, Lewis H. Wilson, Freeman Whitehead, 
George A, Whiteney, George X, Wright, Chester Welch, 

Company C was raised by Capt. Robert R. R. Dumars. It was almost 
entirely a Chemung County organization. Captain Dumars had been 
in Elmira only eight years before the war broke out, but he was one 
that readily and quickly won his way to the hearts and confidence of 
his fellow citizens. He was a newspaper man acquainted with the bus- 
iness from the press room to the editorial chair, and good in all places. 
He was faithful and accurate always. He came to Elmira in 1852. 
In company with James H. Paine and P. C. Van Gelder Mr. Dumars 
in 1859 established the Elmira Daily Press, a newspaper that in 1864 
was swallowed up by the Gazette. Mr. Dumars was conducting the 
Press wlien the war broke out and left the paper to become a member 
of the One Hundred and Sixty-first Regiment, After the war he be- 
came connected with the Elmira Advertiser, and continued so in various 
capacities until a short time before his death. He served a number of 
terms in the common council of the city as alderman from the First 
ward and was supervisor for three terms from the same locality. He 
was also clerk of the Board of Supervisors for one term. He died 
in 1888. 

The first lieutenant of Captain Dumars's company of the One Hun- 
dred and Sixty-first was Orlando N. Smith. Lieutenant Smith was a 
son of Dr. Norman Smith, one of the earlier physicians of Elmira and 
its first dentist. Dr. Smith came from Olean in 1830 and lived on the 
lot where the old Kline Tavern used to stand. Besides being a skillful 
physician he was a noted fisherman. With a pole cut in the pine woods 
up near where is. now the Erie freight depot, and hook baited with pork 
rind, he would troll and catch pickerel from the river with marvelous 
dexterity. He was no modern Isaak Walton to fashionably kill his fish 
nor play him after being hooked, but would lay down his pole and run 
him in hand over hand. He was probably the most skillful troUer that 
the county ever knew, and he was one of the best of men. When the 
present Park Church was formed he was one of the foremost in its organ- 
ization. He had a son older than Orlando N. who learned the printers' 



OFFICERS OF THE OXE HiXDRED AXD S/XTV-F/RSr. 243 

trade in the old Gazette office. His name was Mortimer J. Smith. Fie 
was very bright, but somewhat wayward. He married a dauglitor of 
Mordecai Ogden, and drifted to New \'ori< and Albany and finalK' to 
San Francisco, Cal, where he died. Dr. Smith lived to a very ad- 
vanced age. Lieut. Orlando N. Smith has always been one of the most 
public spirited of citizens and took a great interest in the old volunteer 
fire department, of which he was a conspicuous member and officer. 
He is now deputy county clerk under Arthur S. Fitch. 

First Sergt. John Laidlaw after the war continued his interest in mil- 
itary matters and became a captain in the National Guard. Sergt. 
George G. Bingham of this company was a brave and dashing soldier. 
He was instantly killed at the capture of Port Hudson on the Missis- 
sippi on May 27, 1S63. Bingham Post, G. A. R., VVellsburg, is named 
in his honor. Sergt. Lewis Edgar Fitch, who had become a lieutenant 
of the company, was the brother of Arthur S. Fitch of the One Hun- 
dred and Seventh. He was killed at Sabine Cross Roads. Fitch Post, 
G. A. R., of Elmira, was named in his honor and memory. 

Corporal Richard L. Guion of this company was made sergeant-major 
of the regiment. He was grievously wounded at Sabine Cross Roads, 
and was promoted to be first lieutenant. After the war he became an 
expert and competent electrician, having more or less to do with the 
successful introduction of the telephone into the count)' and neighbor- 
hood. 

The muster-in roll of C Comi^any of the One Hundred and Si.xty- 
first shows the following named : 

Company C. — Captain, Robert R. R. Diimars; fir.-ct lieiiti-nant, Orlamlo X.Smith; 
second lieutenant, Dennis D. KnifTen ; first sergeant, John Laidlaw; sergeants, George 
G. Bingham, Wyatt Terwilliger, John Keygan, Lewis Edgar Fitch ; corporals, Lyman 
^^er^vin, Stephen T. Roberts, Charles Colton, James Maher, Richard L. Guion, George 
B. Casaday, Joim Davis, sr., Samuel A. Johnson; musicians, George Roberts, James D. 
Minzy ; wagoner, Sylvester Westbrook. Privates, William H. Allen, William B. Berry, 
Dewitl Brown, Hiram Clark, Silas Clark, Horace S. Clark, Augustus Cox, Robert M. 
Donald, William T. Doremus, Edgar L. Dewitt, John Davis, jr., Ephraim K. Decker, 
Joseph B. Davidson, David Fuller, Iliram Franci.sco, Edgar O. Godfrey, John W. God- 
dard. Hiram Gusler, Chester Herrington, Nelson L. Ireland, George W. Johnson, Will- 
iam Johnson, Daniel Judson. Michael Kane, Joshua Kyok, G'lstavus A. Kinilile, Sam- 
uel M. Ledbeter, William Letterman, Orson R. Lailnew, Frank Letterman, William 
Lunner, Frederick C. Mosher. Robert H. Murray. John W. Merwin, Charles Y. Mcln- 
tyre, Henry W. ilead, William Magee, ^^1hlon M. Mercer, Albert Mulford. Ezra Mc- 



244 OUJi! COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Clain, Amasa Nolton, George Oliver, Richard P()|i|)iiio, Alplieus Palmer, Jclin TerrigO' 
Ezra M. Peters, William H. Rees, William Rciriok, Alonzo Symomls, diaries Spauldiiii;, 
Peter Storms, Glen Sweazye, Wilson Swea/.ye, George W. Scardifield, William Sherman, 
Amsy Squires, William B. Weed, Phineas Weed. Otis Walker, William Woodbouse, Silas 
H. Whitaker, Leroy Whitney, Richard K. Wallace, Willard W. Wiswell, John Andrews, 
Edmond T. Ames, William Maxwell, Joseph Seymore, James Wilson, Henry Miller. 

Company D, Capt. George E. Biles, were all from Bath. In E Com- 
pany, Capt. Peter H. Durland, mostly from Schuyler County, was priv- 
ate Henry Fowler, of Elmira. In Company F, Capt. John Stocum, 
mostly from Bath and Howard, was private John T. Bates, of Elmira. 
Companj' G, Capt. Edward Fitzpatrick, came from Binghamton and 
Corning. The first lieutenant of this company was John P. Worthing 
and the second lieutenant John Jay. Companies H and I, respectively 
Capt. Willis E. Craig and Capt. Samuel A. Walling, were from Steu- 
ben County, Avoca and Cohocton, in the latter named, however, being 
George M. Beard, of Horseheads. In Company K, Capt. George M. 
Tillson, a Chenango County organization, was Corporal Silas E. War- 
ren, of Elmira. 

Capt. Royal R. Soper enlisted a number of men for this regiment 
who were generall}' assigned therein, and he was made first lieutenant 
of Company I, of which he subsequently became captain. Captain So- 
per after the war became active in political matters of the county and 
served for six terms as clerk of the Board of Supervisors. He took 
charge of the business affairs of the Elmira Daily Gazette, in which vo- 
cation he is now engaged with profit to the concern and satisfaction to 
its numerous readers. He has been for a number of years the secre- 
tary and treasurer of the New York State Associated Press, and has 
manifested an aptitude for newspaper affairs that puts him among the 
first of publishers in the State. 

The One Hundred and Sixty-first Regiment saw most of its service, 
and it was terrible in its nature, in the campaigns around New Orleans 
with the expedition under General Banks. It participated in the capt- 
ure of Port Hudson and was the first regiment to enter Mobile after 
its surrender. It was mustered out of service on September 20, 1865, 
having been received in Elmira on its return with a welcome and 
speeches that quite amounted to an ovation. 

On October 8, 1864, Company E of the One Hundred and Seventy- 



THE OXE HUXDRED AXD SEVEXTY-XIXTH. X. Y. V. 245 

fifth Rctjinient, Capt. \\. \\ . Rogers, was mustered in at Klmira with 
eighty-four officers and men. There were no county men in its ranks. 

ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-NINTH REGIMENT, N. Y. V. 

In February, 1864, the Secretary of War authorized Maj. William M. 
Gregg, of Elmira, to raise a regiment in the western part of the State. 
Major Gregg thereupon began efiorts in that direction and recruited 
what became the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Regiment. On 
May lOth four companies were sent forward under command of Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Uoty. Two more were sent a week afterward under 
command of Maj. J. Barnett Sloan, and it was not until September 5th 
that Colonel Gregg went forward with the remaining four companies, 
completing the regiment with S46 officers and men. Col. William M. 
Gregg was a member of the Gregg family descended from John Gregg, 
who came early into the valley. He was bound to the trade of saddler 
and harnessmaker, and in the early part of his manhood was engaged 
in that business. Interested in politics he with William D. Covell, a 
son of Lyman Covell, were the first mail agents appointed in 1849 o" 
the Erie Railroad, running between Elmira and Binghamton. General 
Gregg was always interested in the military and political affairs of the 
county and among its most prominent citizens, having been sherift'from 
1858 to 1861. He went out as major of the Twenty-third Regiment at 
the beginning of the war. After the assault upon Petersburg on April 
2, 1865, he was brevetted brigadier-general for gallant conduct. His 
wife was a daughter of Judge John W. Wisner, one of the county's his- 
torical characters. General Gregg died in 1880, sixty years of age. 

Not only the colonel of the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth, but 
many of the officers and men of the command, had had experience with 
the Twenty-third Regiment and deserved to be called veterans. 

Officers. — Colonel, William M. Gregg; lieutenant-coloiiol, KranUlin B. Doty; mnjor. 
Albert A. Terrill; adjutant, George Cook; quarterraasler, Nathaniel P. T. Finch; sur- 
geon, Joseph W. Robinson; as.sistant-surgeon, William C. Bailey; chaplain, Edwin A. 
Taft. 

Company A of the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth was largely a Chemung County 
organization, its muster-in roll which follows showing many names that are familiar to 
this locality: Captain, Albert A. Terrill; second lieutenant, James E. Farr; private.*, 
Jacob Brown, Arthur Beebe, William Beebe, Dwight Brown, Henry A. Carter, Jesse 



240 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Cornell, John Croteor, George Cross, Lucius S. Carpenter, Zavin JJ. Gary, Stephen 
Compton, Adani T. Cortwright, Daniel E. Complon, William P. Chamberlain, Jonathan 
8. Chapel, Stephen S. De Kay. Edwin Fowler, John Ford, Hosea Fish, Egbert Groom, 
Charles A. Gallup, Jacob Graves, John Hall, William T. Harri.s. George Jackson, Levi 
J. Jones, William Jackson, Levi Kellogg, Henry Kmgsley, Lewis Kellogg, Daniel D. 
Lowell, Jacob Leonard, Charles K. Lawrence, George W. Looiiiis. David Leonard, Ed- 
win Lamberson, Elihu Linklatter, Daniel B. Lee, James H, Moulton, Emery J. Millard, 
George W. Mills, Asa C. Otterson, John Olively, William Olively, Newton Phillipps, 
Marshall N. Phillipps. Frederick Readington. James C. Rutan, Derius Robinson, David H. 
Shepard, John Slocum, Thomas C. Smith, William H. Shipman, Ephraini Sherwood, 
Russle Sisson, Hiram H. Sturdifant, Ransford Toby, James Vananker, James C. Watle- 
worth, William L. Walker, George Winton. Henry Williams, Harrison Westbrook, Rob- 
ert Wilkin, William Wines, William Zimmer. 

Company B was also composed of county men : Captain, Robert F. Stewart ; first 
lieutenant, George W. Cook ; privates, William W. Arnold, William Barbour, Francis 
M. Beyen, James H. Brown, Miles Button, James Boguire, John H. Brooks, Henry F. 
Bebee, William F. Clark. Lyman Chamberlain, Henry L. Carpenter, James Cain. Frank- 
lin CGrnell, Thomas C. Chapman, Alexander P. Campbell, Alonzo Chapman, Daniel 
Compton. Samuel A. Champlain, Ellery B. Cornelius, Henry Chublj. John M. Davi.s. 
Theodore Dewitt, Jerome Dickinson. Eugene Dunton. John F. Fox, James R. Fluent. 
Israel R. Graves, Charles L. Gardiner. Alexander Gardiner. Nathan Greek, jr.. Alfred 
Hill, Austin Hill, Chester Hill, John Harman, Cyrus Huftaling, Isaac Hildreth. Samuel 
Hemingway, George D. Henderson, Albert M. Hall, James A. Harris, Byron Hodge, 
George W. Joiner, David H. June. John H. Kerrick, Jarvis S. Kenyon, Reuben Lewis, 
Samuel Laine, Charles H. Lynch, Henry F. Lindsley, Timothy Mahone}', Augustus Mc- 
Fail, Marcus Moon. Samuel G. H. Musgrave, William Minier. Leonard Morris. William 
Mitchell, James McGuire. Obed D. Nye, George No3'es, Harris M. Nolton, Robert L. 
• Orinsby, Daniel 0. Ormsby. Nathan Osborn, Homer D. Ocolt, Chester D. Peckham, 
John B. Rowley, Levi Rowley, Nathaniel Reed. Edwin S. Rarrick. William Robinson, 
Charles Seckler, Henry Soles, Clark Starks, John Thompson, Edward M. White, 
George Warner, William T. White, George L. Woolsey, John H. Wilkins, Charles W. 
Wheeler, Paulding Vincent. 

Companies C, D, and E, respectively Capt. John Burton. Capt. William Bird, jr.. and 
Capt. Daniel Blachford, were from Steuben and Schuyler Counties and contained a 
number of drafted men. 

Company F. — In F Company, Capt. Allen T. Farwell, were Orlando V. Crane, of 
Big Flats ; Richard Fitzgerald, of Elmira ; David Kennedy and James B. Luce, of South- 
port ; and Patrick Stapletou. of Chemung. 

Company 0. — Company G's muster-in roll showed the following: Captain, James H. 
Day; first lieutenant, William J. Hernstreet; second lieutenant, Henry J. Messing; 
privates, Charles Ashton, Palmer R. Avery, Rupert A. Budworth, Dennis Dempsey, Silas 
Harrington, Solomon Leonard, jr., Noah Leath, John Smith, Lyman A. Slight, James 
Wilson. 

Company H. — Captain, G. H. Holden ; first lieutenant, Fitz E. Calver; second lieu- 



Af/SCELLA.XEOrS ORGANI/.ATIOSS. 247 

tenant, Samuel G. II. Musgrave ; pnyates, James Applegate, Andrew Brown, Josiali Bel- 
knap. George W. Bierlew. Joel Bostwick. Michael Biinies. Cliarle.* Boj'er. James S. Cole, 
Seba Darriiie, John Dolton. Frank Davis. William Dei-ker. John De Molt, Denni.s Dwyer, 
John Gill. Wilmot Grillin. Edward Ilowiird, Roliert Hunt, John Hues, Daniel Howard, 
Peter Kelly, Edward .Murphy, Charles Ostrander. George Proper, Jacob Perry, Peter 
Sullivan, Isaac Smith, William Shackelton, Valentine Smith, James A. Smith, George 
Townsend, David A. Van Gerder, John White, Jesse Warner. John Develin, John 
White. 

Companies land A". — In I and K Companies, respectively Capt. Kdwin C. Bowen 
and Capt. Moses M. Van Benschoten, there were no men from the county. 

The One Hundred and Seventy- ninth Regiment retained the reputa- 
tion for bravery and daring that had been fairly earned by the earlier 
local organizations, and it.s history is one that will be recited hereafter 
with pride by the descendants of those who were in its rank.s. Its par- 
ticipation in the assault on the enemy's lines at Petersburg on April 2, 
1865, is an action that will compare favorably in attack and outcome 
with some of the most celebrated engagements in history. Colonel 
Gregg led his men and fell grievotisly wounded, being reported as dead ; 
and Lieutenant- Colonel Doty, taking his superior officer's place, was also 
wounded, from the effects of which he died within a few days after- 
ward. For the brief period that the regiment was in the field there 
was crowded into the time a service of hardship and danger that some 
organizations did not experience during the whole war. It was mus- 
tered out of service on June 8, 1865. 

OTHER REGIMENTS. 

Company A of the One Hundred and Eighty- third Regiment, Capt. 
James L. Curtis, was mustered into the service at Klmira on September 
26, 1864, with eighty-eight officers and men. Among the men was 
James P. Houden, of Elmira. 

The One Hundred and Eighty-fourth Regiment, Col. Wardwell G. 
Robinson, organized in the northern part of the State, was mustered into 
the service at Elmira on September 12, 1864, with 948 officers and men. 
They came almost entirely from Oswego County. 

The One Hundred and Eighty- ninth Regiment was mustered into 
service at Elmira in September and October, 1864, with 958 officers and 
men. The colonel of this regiment was William W. Ilayt, a brother 
of the Hon. Steplien T. Hayt, of Corning, N. Y. He had been an offi- 



248 OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

cer of tlie old " Twenty-third." He died at City Point, Va., on Novem- 
ber 8, 1864. 

In March and April, 1865, the last regimental organization of the 
State, the One Hundred and Ninety-fourth, was begun. Seven com- 
panies were mustered in at Elmira with 584 officers and men. Its serv- 
ices were not required in the field and its organization was never 
completed. Company A, Capt. Nelson P. Wildrick, was almost exclu- 
sively a county organization, while B, C, and E Companies had many men 
from the locality in their ranks. The field and stafT officers, so far as they 
had been mustered, were : Lieutenant-colonel, Lorenzo J. Jones; major, 
Lafayette Mumford; adjutant, James N. McLean; quartermaster, Aaron 
Seeley. Company A had the following enlisted men accredited to 
the towns as set forth : 

Company A. — Charles B.arljour, John J. Jordan, AViUiam Moore, Rinaldo J. Rams- 
diUe, Frederick Shoak, George B. Tobey, Abram Vanoster, Big Flats ; George W. 
Breese, James H. Roberts, Jesse Roberts, George W. Simooe, Joseph IT. Youngs, 
Charles Armstrong, Baldwin ; William Anderson, Edward A. Baohman, Henry Baum- 
ler, Joseph Filer, John Ingraham, James Muller, George B. McVannan, Ingalls Manley, 
Pliilem T. Moon, Ezra Svvope. David Sherman, Samuel T. Wood, Charles II. Be-k, El- 
mira; Benjamin F. Baboook. Willis Brewer, Charles Crandall, Abijah Hathaway, Fred 
ITolden, Royal R. Phelps. Lyman Strait, Alvin 0. Strickland, Albert Whitford, A'et- 
eran ; William Biftin, William R. Carey, George II. Daggett, Isaac Garabrant, Richard W. 
Halm, William M. Laurince, Ira A. Pease, George D. Perry, Horseheads ; Grin Cline, 
James Pierce, Catlin ; John P. Cleveland, Asa Pialt, Wilmer Peck, Alanson Peck, Jolin 
H. Smith, Smith Warren, Ezra C. Wetmore, Southport; Squire Clark, Andrew J. Cole- 
grove, Robert F. Crandall, AVilliam H. Simpson, Chemung ; James M. Swartwood, Van 
Etten. 

Company B. — In B Company, Capt. Charles W. Rhodes, there were similarly set forth 
Russell Burt, Charles Cristmore, James Clark, Thomas O'Connor, Stephen L. Tobey, El- 
mira; Oliver Adams, Uriah Adams, George B. Comfort, John Hunt, Hiram R. Seeley, 
Southport; Charles Darling, David Lattin, Horace MandeviUe, James L. Robb, James 
Griffin, Chemung ; Frederick 0. Owens, James D. Gates, Lewis H. Knapp, James Hig- 
gins, Horseheads; Ernest L. Greene, Veteran. 

Company C. — In C Company William Builder, Joseph Builder, Enoch M. Little, John 
Roberts, Sayer M. Utter, Baldwin ; Sylvanus Balcom, Ira Hrownell. Jeremy Burnham, 
James S. Burns, Harrison Crane, Isaac Catlin, Frederick Force, Sylvester M. Gibbs, 
Charles H. Hodge, Stephen Jordan, George H. Lannan, Henry Mor.se, John Smith, 
John Thomas, John Thorp, Justin 0. Taber, John Thompson, Elmira; William O. Cady, 
Frank B. Mack, Stephen V, Ward, Catlin ; John W. Fulford, Thomas C. Dilmore, 
Charles C. Mosher, Eber F. Morgan, John B. TilTt, Orcii C. Vale, Veteran ; Joseph A. 
Green, Homer I. Mosher, Andrus Harrington, Southport. 



VARfOi'S MI I.I TAR Y ORGAXI/.A TIOXS. 249 

Company E. — In K Company, Capt. Charles E. Robinson, there were : Kdwin K. Auf- 
tin, Frank E. Brown, James Rrainarti, Silas Clark, Henry Graham, fieorge Kellow, 
James M. Lambarii, Joseph Langer, James Lewis, William Milspaugh, Wellington Nick- 
erson, Isaac L, Pierce, EilwarJ F. Peck, Milton Reeder, James K. Sheldon, Maiciis 
Trim, Richard Twist, William Wood, Elmira ; Caleb Fulkerson, George Heriiiigion, 
John Patterson, Henry Sudhim, Stephen C. Weaver, Southport ; Peter J. C. Getnian, 
Seneca Weeks, Van Etten ; John C. McICinney, Catlin. 

From tlie opening to the closing of the war there were mustered in 
at Ehnira twenty-four organizations belonging to the infantrj' arm of 
the service, all of them numbering 18,171 officers and men. Most of 
these organizations in the field were constantly receiving recruits from 
one source or another, and doubtless during the time there were single 
enlistments and musters and musters of squads in Ellmira that would in- 
crease the total of infantry organizations forwarded from that city close 
to 20,000 men. 



"CHAPTER IV. 

Organizations of other .Arms ol' the Service mustered in at Elmira — The First Regi- 
ment New York Light Artillery — The Fifth Artillery — The Foutteenlh and 
Sixteenth New York Heavy Artillery — Independent Batteries-- Cavalry Regi- 
ments — The Tenth Regiment Mounted Volunteers — Col. William Irvine — Maj. 
Luther L. Barney — The Fifteenth New York Cavalry — Capt. William L.Mor- 
gan — The First Veteran Cavalry — Other Cavalry Regiments — (Jramel R. Bur- 
dick — Total number of Organizations and Men mustered in at Klmira — Individual 
Instances of others Serving in the War — Col. Daniel \V. Gillett — Capt. Uriah S. 
Lowe, Gov. Buren R. Sherman, and Others — The Draft — Officers having it in 
Charge — The manner oli Drafting — Maj. John A. Haddock — Col. Samuel B. 
Hayman — The Disturbance made by a returning Regiment of Michigan Cavalry 
— The small change of the War. 

FIRST REGIMENT NEW YORK LIGHT ARTILLERY. 

ORGANIZATIONS for other arms of the service than the infantry 
were formed and mustered in at f<-lmira, but of course not to so 
large numbers and without attracting so much attention. The First 
Regiment New York Light Artillery was so organized and seven of its 
:i2 



250 ' OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

companies were mustered in at Elmira on October 27, 1S61, vvitli 6S7 
officers and men. 

Officers. — Colonel, Guilford D. Bailey; lieulenaDt-colonel, Henry E. Turner; major, 
Charles S. Wainwright; major, Luther Kieffer ; major. David Van Valkenburgh ; ad- 
jutant, William Rumsey ; quartermaster, Edward Bailey ; surgeon, Franklin Everts ; 
assistant surgeon, Alfred A. C. Williams; sergeant-major, Albert N. Ames; quarter- 
master-sergeant, Isaac B. Hall; commissary-sergeant, Edward H. Underbill; hospital 
steward, William E. Roche. 

In A Company, Capt. Thomas H. Bates, was private Gilbert D. Owen, 
of Veteran. In B Company, Capt. Rufus D. Pettit, were artificer Hen- 
drick S. Wheeler ; wagoner Henry King ; and privates Uriah P. Blair 
and William F. Gillan, of the count)'. In Capt. Thomas W. Osborn's 
company was Andrew J. Lauthers. 

Capt. William R. Wilson's company contained a number of men from 
the county, mostly from Southport. He was from Bradford County, 
Pa., and most of his men were from that locality. Those from Chemung 
County can be readily recognized even now. The muster-in roll is as 
follows: 

Quartermaster-sergeant, Newell Leonard; sergeants»Daniel Pierce, James K. Weeks; 
corporals, William B. Gifford, George W. Young, Samuel Kacklyeft, William G. Mason; 
bugler, Robert A. Stewart ; wagoner, George W. Brooks ; privates, Oscar B. Adams, 
Henry Bartholomevr, Gilbert T. Bishop, Charles Bly, John F. Bolster, James Brasted, 
William Brooks, John L. Case, William H. Cook, Justus L. Crandall, Augustus E, Case, 
]iradford F. Edsall, Newton Fuller, Stephen D. Giflbrd, Benjamin S. Gift'ord, Austin S, 
Hatch, Michael Howard. George W. Kimball, Charles F. Miller, Gilbert Miller, Gabriel 
L. Mullock, Ferdinand Newell, John T. Newman, Roderick J. Nichols, William Pfeifl'er, 
Varnum Patterson, Chauncey Pierce. Charles Pierce. Hiram Pedrick, George Piper, 
James Piper, Simeon Piper, John F. Potts, John Racklyeft, Stephen D, Roblyer, John 
Schofield, John N. Sherman. James Spencer, Simeon H. Starhard. George Steinberger, 
Horace D. Taylor, John Vannatter, David Ward, William Wilson, Noble C. Wilcox, 
Ormand Young. 

In G Company, Capt. John D. Frank, was Albert D. Green. In H 
Company, Capt, Joseph Spratt, was bugler William Peterson. In 
Capt, Lorenzo Crounse's company were Sergt. Andrew P. Young, bugler 
Horace Pier, and privates Frederick H, Brier, Merton L. Edgerton, 
Clark Fairbanks, Menzo Miller, William E. Monroe, Edward Mclntee, 
James Reel, Henry Shaver, Joseph Weltert. Captain Wilson's com- 
pany was attached to the Twenty-second Army Corps, which had 
charge of the military defences of the city of Washington and served 



ARTILLERY REGIMEXTS. 251 

faithful!)' on this duty throughout the war of the Rebelhon. Its losses 
amounted to fourteen men by disease and accident. 

AKTlI.I.EkY AND CAVALRY ORtiANIZATIONS. 

In the battery commanded by Capt. John A. Reynolds, vvliich was 
mustered at Albany, was Henry Rogert, of Chemung County. A com- 
pany of light artillery in the regiment commanded by Col. James H. 
Ledlie, of which James V. W'hite was captain, contained a few men 
from the town of Van Etten, these being Denizen Armstrong, Lorenzo 
Cornish, Abner English, Charles Head, Edward Maxwell, Asahel 
Patcher, King B. Swarthout, and Jacob VVestbrook. 

The Fifth Artillery, Col. Samuel Graham, was organized at Fort 
Richmond, Staten Island, and mustered April ii, 1862. Companj- C 
of this organization, Capt. Hermon L. Emmons, jr., contained a number 
of men from Morseheads. They were First Corporal John A. Westlake 
and privates Joseph H. Price, James B. Kimball, Charles Read, Jonas S. 
Seely, Abner Crawford, Frederick K. Hewitt, Alvin G. Mosher, John 
D. King, Seymore D. Seelj', Egbert F. Shappee, Elijah T. Sexton, 
Henry \V. GooJrich, Jonathan Bush, A. J. Ostrander, James Whitney, 
Charles M. Bentley, Gordon B. Breer, Neil M. Uougall. 

The Thirteenth Artillery was a Cattaraugus County organization 
largely, and was mustered in on August 4, 1863. It numbered some 
drafted men in its ranks, its formation following soon after the first draft 
in July of that year. Among tlie officers of this regiment were G. Fred 
Potter and Lieut. Ebenezer Jones, and there were scattered through its 
various companies the following named : Sergt. Robert G. Hermance 
and privates Marshall N. Halleck and Robert McKinstry. 

The Fourteenth New York Heavy Artillery, Col. Elisha G. Marshall, 
was raised in the latter part of 1863 in the western part of the State. 
Capt. Lorenzo J. Jones's company, mustered in at Rochester on Sep- 
tember 12, 1863, contained a number of men accredited to the northern 
part of the county, the towns of Erin, Horseheads, and Veteran: 

From Horseheads. Sergt. Henry Williams, privates Lyman C. Bentley, Horatio- 
Bailey, Jacob S. Babcock. Lewis Button, Nathaniel Barbar, Homer N. Barlow. Charles 
D. Carpenter, Goodman Campbell, William Crandall, George Chapman, Elijah Conn- 
right. Abner Crawford, Jeremiah Decker, Lyman M. Dykins, R. D. Goldsmith. Samuel 
ililles, Charles Metier, Miles C. Rockwell, Willard Robin.son, Henry Sheppie, Kittle 



252 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Simpson, Martin Waile, Henry Whitney, .lolm Willianis ; fiom Vetoiiin, Daniel S. 
Butts, Martin Bacon, George II. Butters. Cliarle.s C. Sljerwood. Tlieoilore Sliultes; from 
Erin. Abrara Boyer. 

Capt. Luther Kieffers's company of this regiment was mustered in at 
Eimira on January 17, 1864, with 144 officers and men. Those of the 
county in its ranks were privates Charles Couch, John Loomis, Edward 
Larcock, Samuel McCutcheon, Horace J. Parker, Delos J. Tillman, 
Perry Tanner, John D. Seaman. Four companies of the Sixteenth New 
York Heavy Artillery, Col. J. J. Morrison, were mustered in at Eimira 
in January and February, 1864. One company, that of Capt. Charles 
Pearce, mustered at Albany, had within its ranks the following named 
men from the county: Gardiner Austin, Daniel D. Dewitt, Aimer How- 
ard, William Johnson, William Purday, Jonas D. Swain, Thomas P. 
Smith, Nathan Searles. 

Two independent batteries, the Nineteenth and Thirty-third, were 
mustered in at Eimira respectively on the 27th of October, 1862, and 
on September 4, 1863, the first named, Capt. William H. Stahl, being 
from Lockport and numbering 144 officers and men, and the second 
named, Capt. Algar M. Wheeler, numbering 152 officers and men. In 
the second named were a number of soldiers from the county, as follows: 
Edward Clark, George Drain, Coleman Hulien, John Holmes, Lester B. 
Lane, Charles J. Lewis, Emanuel Marshall, John Miller, 2d, William 
Newkirk, Silas W. Robinson, George Stocum, James Taylor, Clarence 
Thorp, Leander Voorhees, Alphonse Winter, Mark Wilson, and Charles 
Whipple. 

The Twentieth New York Battery, Capt. A. F. Ryder, from the 
northern part of the State, also contained a number of men within its 
ranks from the county, these being W. Balmer, Timothy Gustin, Jack- 
son Seely, Mahlon Kerrick, Lyman Boughton, Nery Shuart. 

The cavalry arm of the service had a number of representatives from 
the county and city, although relatively very small compared with the 
infantry. Among the earlier organizations of this nature the Second 
New York Cavalry was mustered in at Troy, N. Y., on November 4, 
1 86 1. In E Company there were John Wesley Horr, Edward Green, 
and Harvey Thayer, of the county. Company G of this regiment, Capt. 
Timothy E. Ellsworth, was mustered in at Eimira on October 8, 1861, 
with 100 officers and men. They all came from the central part of the 



CATALRV ORGANIZAT/0\S /X THE REBELLION. 253 

State. One company of what was known as the Van Allen Regiment 
of IMoiinted Vohinteers, Capt. P'erris Jacobs, from Delaware Count)', 
Deposit and Delhi, were mustered in at Elmira on August 22, 1861, with 
ninety- five officers and men. ^ 

The Ira Harris Cavalry, or the Ira Harris Guards, Col. O. De Forest, 
an organization of some note in the service, had in Capt. Abram H. 
Krom's company Rodney Bovee and Augustus Forsyth, of Elmira. 
They were mustered in on October 9, 1861. 

Tlie Tenth Regiment of Mounted Volunteers was organized in Elmira 
and enlisted man)- men from the county, being one of the most popular 
organizations raised in the locality. It had 990 officers and men in all 
mustered in at Elmira, the most of them so mustered in December, 1861 ; 
a number, however, were not organized and mustered until October, 1 862, 
nearly a year afterward. The colonel of this regiment was John C. 
Lemon, of Buffalo, and the lieutenant-colonel William Irvine, who sub- 
sequently became its commanding officer. Colonel Irvine was a Corn- 
ing man at the time of the breaking out of the war, somewhat conspic- 
uous as a politician. He became the adjutant-general of the State, 
serving under Governor Fenton in 1865-66. He subsequently, in 1871, 
went to San Francisco, Cal., where he practiced his profession of law, 
being in partnership with W. H. Patterson, a lawyer who also had re- 
moved from Elmira to the Pacific Coast. It is not given to every man 
to have his history continued after his death, but this unusual lot fell to 
Colonel Irvine. When he died, in 1882, his body was brought to El- 
mira, where his family continued to reside, and buried at Woodlawn. 
A woman calling herself Mrs. Fitzgerald, who put forward some claim 
'to the property of the dead man in 1885, followed his remains from 
California. Without much shadow of authority or law, and with the 
alleged intention either of establishing the fact that the death of the 
colonel was occasioned by foul play or, more curious still, to find a will 
that she claimed established her rights, which will, she further asserted, 
had been hidden in the coffin, the woman named caused the body to be 
taken from the grave and its receptacle examined. The liigh standing 
of the family concerned excited an interest and an indignation such as 
has hardly ever been paralleled in the annals of the city, and as an out- 
rage without warrant or like marks a memorable incident in the history 



254 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

of t!ie valley. The woman was punished for her temerity by being 
sent to the Monroe County penitentiary. 

In this Tenth Regiment of New York Mounted Volunteers, the earli- 
est mustered organization, commanded by Capt. Henry T. Pratt, First 
Lieut. William C. Potter, there were of the county the following named : 

William A. Baker, Reuben Ford, Thompson B. Beckhorn, Alonzo Hall, Fiedeiick 
Kriegeo, George Marlin, Joseph Moffitt, William H. Roberts, Robert H. Sanders, John 
Schenck, Halan P. Thomp.son, William Wilbur. 

Capt. Albert H. Jarvis'.s company numbered the following : First lieutenant, Henry 
Field; second lieutenant, John C. Hart; sergeant, Frank Place; corporal, Joseph 
Cross; saddler, Thomas Barr_v ; privates, Arville D. Ayres, Theodore Bull, Alphens H. 
Coffeen, Thomas Cozen, Orlando Dyer, George W. Goodell. Theodore Hitchcock, Abel 
T. Hoffteling, Warren Irish, Perry M. Morse, Newton B. Nelson, Truman W. Payne, 
Delevan H. Roe, John W. Storms, Philip Sloo.um, Charles Strong, William Smalling, 
John Underhill, Allen Woodward, Franklin M. Wilson, Marshall R. Woodruff, Mile 
Winstead, George Walker, Simeon Wade, Eli Wal.sor. 

In Capt. John Ordner's company were : First lieutenant, Luther L. Barney ; corpo- 
rals, Joshua Lautenshlager, Jacob Browner; saddlei-, Anlhony Margie; privates, John 
Acreck, Christopher C. Arnold, Laurence Aniun, William Browner, Sebastian Biahr, 
Andrew Borst, Henry Breakman, Henry Crager, Henry Corden, George Dickerson, 
Henry Ehrman, Alvin B. Everett, Magnus Fracher, Frederic Fagel, Rudolph Geison, 
Christian Gardner, Jacob Golah, John G. Hartslieb, Frederic Hartman. Christian 
Kratz, Henry Kansack. Sanford Klock, Monroe Klock, Peter Klock, Gaylord F. Kenney, 
John Meyer, Nicholas Meyer. James Morris, Abraham Mape.s, John B. Miller, Wadlin 
Mager, Charles Menkel. Bmile Portongsein, Joseph Rider, WiUiam Roasler, Ferdinand 
Richer, Henry Sipple, Charles Seiblich, Louis Smith, Henry Sottebier, George Strack, 
Carlo 0. Shultz, Frederic Sailer, Leopold Schorpp, Peter Sauvain, Orvin Vibbard, Ar- 
den Wescolt. 

Capt. Emery Purdy's company : First lieutenant, Aaron Thomas Bliss; second lieu- 
tenant, Joseph Augustus Hatry ; first sergeant, Sj'denham Asail; quartermaster-ser- 
geant, William G. Himrod ; sergeants, Wesley Tackeibury, Daniel Webster Belton, 
Norman R. GifFord ; corporals, Alfred Edson, Richard H. Oliver, Wellington Stone, 
Mortimer Sprins, Everett C. Updike, Jay Crocker, Richard L. Tuke; musician, John 
W. Fletcher ; farriers, Joseph Spielman, Ichabod Beardsley ; saddler, Joseph Metzier ; 
wagoner, Caleb J. Randle; privates, Joseph F. Ashtenavv, Burton F. .Vdkins, Michael 
Bainbridge, Jacob R. Brodock, Walter Bell, Reuben S. Brown, John Burlew, Alonzo 
D. Brooks, Marvin H. Benjamin, Charles F. Briggs, William Briggs, Charles Briggs, 
Albert Davy, David R. Davis, Augustus Eldridge, Charles Eastman, Josiah Edwards, 
Elias D. Evans, Lewis Edwards, Robert Evans, William F''inn, James Griffin, Nathaniel 
Hempstead, Hiram Hadilen, Leonard Hannawold, Eli Laird, Lorenzo Lewis, John D. 
Leek, John Lownsbery,^John Miles, Charles Myers, Gnrdon H. Miller, Philip J. Mosher, 
Charles Morgan, Isaac Manchester, Joseph McKeagan, Henry McEhoy, Thomas Mo- 
Klligott, John H. McQuien, Ezra Phipps, William Ryan, Stephen Read, Walter Robin- 



TEA'TH REGIMEXr \. V. M OCX TED rOLCXTEERS. 255 

son, Robat B. Svvailwoiit, Alexander H. Swarlwout, Calvin Stevens, John A. Slie])- 
herd, George Slea, Silas R. S|)encer, Loren Sexton, Robert Trotter, Eli Telyea, Marsena 
Telyea, More Tallniadge, William W. William?, Ebenezer S. White, Siba Z. Washburn, 
■William D. Wlialey. 

In Capt. Norris Morey's company : Corporal, Holconili C. Franklin; musician, Will- 
iam Dunn; saddler, James Ilussey ; privates, William Brooks, Daniel Bentzel, Philip 
Brentzel, John Charlesworth, Charles W. Cliflbrd, Uenry Gloris, William M. Prentice, 
Marcus Smith, Frank Uhls, Addison G. Welsli. 

In Capt. Wilkinson W. Paige's company: Second lieutenant, William H. Whiting. 
quartermaster-sergeant, Edward S. Hanes; sergeant, Henry L. Barker; corporals, David 
Brinkley. James Henn, Alfred Owen, John Robinson; musician, Christian Whitmer ; 
farriers, James Kearns, James Cobb; saddler, Earlie Collins; privates, Thomas Arkins, 
Ralph Burger, Charles Bartlam, William P. Burgess, Edward Bradley, Andrew Colvin, 
Charles Cooper, William H. Clark, Eleazer W. Collins, Sylvester Chesborough, Law- 
rence Day, Nelson V. Day, Charles Finn, Chester Griswold, Robert Hopkins, George 
W. Hubell, Frederick Kuhner, James Lettioe, Peter Mclntire, Charles Minotte, James 
M. Myers, Clemence Newmire, Albert W. Orson, William Patterson, Edwa-'d Pierce, 
Charles Roundy, Franklin Spicer, John A. Shay, Josepli Trontman, Thomas D. Trunley, 
Thomas Vinter, Oliver C. Whitehead, John Wick, Dennison Wright. 

In Capt. Delos Carpenter's company : Sergeant, Wallace S. Springsteen ; corporals, 
Delos E. Landers, John R. Bennett, Luke Allen ; musician, Isaac Bradley ; privates, 
William Adams, jr., George Bloser, Timothy Cronan, Edmund Dye, Edwin A. Fink, 
Ebenezer B. Ilogoboon, Isaac Jamison, jr., Casper La Grange, William Menter, 'I'homas 
McLaughlin, John R. PuUum, Edwin Pier, John Thompson, Hiram P. Walker, Rowland 
D. Wade, George Wilson, Oscar P. Whedon. 

In Capt. William Peck's company : First lieutenant, Francis G. Wynkoop; first ser- 
geant, Charles E. Pratt; quartermaster-sergeant, George Vanderbilt; sergeant, John C. 
Reynolds; corporals, Hiel Lockwood. Jonas Erway ; farrier, Chester G. Wilcox; sad- 
dler, William Weygint; wagoner, Thomas ilolineaux ; privates, Elemuel Barber. 
William E. Davis, Samuel Earley, Henry Embree, Willis S. Ellis, Edwin Hammond. 
William N. Harrison, Henry T. Hunter, James D. Hunter, Jolni C. Hicks, Henry S. 
Jacobson, Emmet Lockwood, John F. Lowe, Julius McCreary, Silas Mallory, William 
Miner, Jasper Mix, George W. Newton, William H. Potter, James S. Reynolds, Stephen 
Smith, James Skinner, James B. Shedd, Mahlon K. Smith, Simeon Tittsworth, Leman 
Van Wormer, Clayton Vincent, O.scar Woodrull', George Wright, James S. Weathcrall. 
Francis Weaver, Michael Weltin. Moses D. Bishop, George M. Kennedy. 

In Capt. David Getman, jr.'s company: Private, Charles Benson. In Capt. Wheaten 
Loomis's company : Private, Emory A. Butler. In Capt. Alvah D. Water's company : 
Privates, John Arnold, John Forgerty, John Fariter, Andrew Ginn, Neville P. Wood. 
Robert Watson. Ellas Wright. 

Lieut. L. L. Barney, of Captain Ordner's company of this Tenth Cav- 
alry, was an Elmira man and was very active in the organization of the 
regiment. He made an exceedingly competent and valuable officer. 



25G OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Since the war he has been largely interested in the insurance business, 
being connected in responsible positions with some of the strongest 
companies in the country. In his company were Sanford Klock and 
his two sons, M. V. H. Turk, and other Elmirans whose names will be 
readily recognized in the roll. Lieutenant Barney rose to the rank of 
captain and brevet- major, and served as assistant adjutant- general on 
the division staff of General Gregg. 

Two companies of the Fifteenth New York Cavalry, Capt. Marshall 
M. Loydon and Capt. Seth F. Steves, were mustered in at Elmira in 
January, 1864, with 173 officers and men. In the first named of these 
organizations of the county were First Lieut. Morris J. McCornell and 
private Thomas Beckwith ; in the second named were Second Lieut. 
Eldward Fuller and privates Michael Burke, Michael Grady, and John 
Raidy. 

Capt. Joseph H. Simpson's company of the Eighteenth New York 
Cavalry was also organized and mustered in at Elmira with eighty-five 
officers and men on January 30, 1864. It came from the northern part 
of the State, but two of its members were county men, First Lieut. Ira 
Hall and Second Lieut. John M. Smith. Capt. Eugene B. Geer, of 
Owego, subsequently a member of Assembly from Tioga County, raised 
a company for the Twenty-first New York Cavalry, and enlisted for it 
from Chemung County Edmond Hibler and Rawson B. Hultz. 

The Twenty- fourth New York Cavalry, mustered at Auburn in De- 
cember, 1863, had one company, that of Capt. L. L. Dooliltle, which 
had a number of men in it accredited to Chemung County. They were 
from the several towns as follows : 

Chemung, John Bisley ; Baldwin, Janie.s H. Bainl, James Green, Jeremiah J. Mcln- 
tyre, John Savey ; Veteran, Thomas H. DaUrymi)le, William Dalh-ymple, Jacob Hin- 
man; Southport, Josephus C. Fuller, Jared H. Gibbons, David H. Mclntyre, Cyrus 
Sample, Shepard D. Spencer; Catlin, Denman Moody, Charles Thomas, Isaac L.Weller; 
Elmira, Daniel W. Piper, Andrew J. Pound, Jesse Weaver. In the same regiment in 
Cajit. John G. Allen's company was Rowlon D. Davenpeck. 

Some cavalry companies were raised in the county in July, 1863, 
largely composed of men who had originally enlisted in the two years, 
infantry regiments first in the field, and preferred or wished to try an- 
other branch of the service. The organization was called the Seven- 
teenth New York Cavalry, but it was eventually consolidated with the 



THE FIRST VETF.RAX CAVALRY. 257 

First Veteran Cavalry. It was raised by Colonel Taylor of the Thirty- 
third Regiiiicnt. Two hundred and seven officers and men, being two 
companies of this regiment, were mustered in at Kimira. One of these 
companies was raised by Capt. William L. Morgan, who had resigned 
from the One Hundred and Seventh. He himself personally enhsted 
every man but two of his company, and was very active in securing le- 
cruits for other companies of the regiment. He was a good soldier and 
served his country well. He was killed in an action with Mosby's 
guerrillas at U|)i)erville, Va. Most of his company were Chemung 
County men as the roll shows. They were mustered in at IClmira on 
July 30, 1863, and were as follows: 

First lieutenant, Eiiward V. Coiilton ; second lieutenant, William H. Neisli ; first ser- 
geant, Frederick Bender: quartermaster-sergeant, Frank Muidoon: commissary-ser- 
geant, Charles Giles; sergeants, Oscar W. Allison, Theodore H. Merithew, Edward D. 
Lane, William II. Sliter, Charles Stuart: corporals, Joseph Turner, William H. Brooks, 
James W. Conklin, Andrew T. Davi.s, Q-eorge Travi.s, Addi.son Wheeler. John P. Innian, 
David Stadt;e; trumpeters, Joseph McMiUiu, iMichael A. Tully : farriers, Nicholas Duni- 
fee, John M. Humplue}': sadciler, Frank Marsh; wagonej-, John Kumsey ; privates, 
Henry Argetsinger, Patrick Ambrough-:, Edmund A. Baldwin, Aaron F. Bennett, Lewi.s 
Bougliton, William Benson, Grant B. Carpenter, Guy W. Curtis, John Cole, Ernest I!. 
Colby, Daniel Chase, Patrick Cooney, John U. Cooley, Jolm A. Cole, Jonathan D. 
Campbell, Thomas C. Dilmore. Eugene M. Davis, David Decker, John Donovan, Waller 
Dommick, George E. Dinniny, Patrick Daly, Benjamin C. Esselstine, William Er.skine, 
Joel A. Field, Frank Fonneljerger, David II. FUino, James P. Fagin, Charles Fritz, 
William Golden, William Gallager, Harrison Grick, James Gi-oesbeck. Paul Havelock, 
Michael Harrigan, James Harris, Thomas Hopper, W. H. Humphrey, John T. Irwin, John 
Johnson, Anthony Jennings, William H. Jones. Horace A. Jone.«, James Kenyon, John 
Kurtz, John Z Lewi.«, George C. Levvi.s, Patrick Lavin, Jerome B. Lain, Herman Lis- 
dell, Thomas Landing, Thomas Leary, Darius M. Morris, Joseph Miller, Frederick 
Noyes, William Nickolson, Samuel .\. Paine, Martin A. Palmer, Joseph Pidlis, John 
Smith, Charles Smith, John Smith, 2il, John C. Smith, George Smith, Benjamin Sliarp, 
George Snyder, Squire J. Smith, Frank Shaw, Jacob Sortman. Mordecai Smith, Frank- 
lin Seymour, Joseph S. Showers, John Shay, William A. Thompson. Allen A. Wheeler, 
John Weaver, George S. Wuitlock, William H. Wells, Henry C. Wray, James H, 
Young, Daniel Van Auken, George Hall, Jo.seph Owen. James B. Neish. 

Samuel A. Paine, who had served in the One Hundred and Third, 
was a member of this company. He has since the war, in the columns 
of the newspapers in Elmira, demonstrated his ability as a crisp, ready, 
and pleasing writer. Capt. John Whitley, jr., who had been connected 
with William M. Thayer in publishing the Daily Press, the two having 
33 



258 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

purcliased it of Capt. R. R. R. Duniars, also raised a company for tliis 
cavalry regiment. He like Capt. Morgan himself secured every man 
for his company but two. They were mostly Chemung County men. 
The roll shows the following mustered in at Elmira on September 8, 
1863: 

First lieutenant, Horace H. Peter.*!; second lieutenant, Robert Troup; fiisL seifreant, 
James H. Smith ; quarternuister-sergeant, Isaac Oileikirk ; commissary -sergeant, Joseph 
L. Darling; sergeants, Hamilton K. Redway, Edwin J. Rogers, Oren D. Grinnell, John 
H. Redfield : corporals, Alvin G. Bainhardt. Frank Mathew.s, Frank Murphy, Zelotns R. 
Colby, Ciarkson H. Reeser ; trumpeter, John Tonor : farriers, George Ackerman, Ben- 
ajah M. Parks : saddler, Joseph Cornell ; privates, William Bennett, Delanson Bennet, 
Joseph Butler, George W. Briggs, Melvin A. Burdick. Frederick Bookmyre, Oscar N. 
Bartholomew, John F. Bitts, James Cooper, Michael Cherry, Burt Cook, Alfred S. 
Cranmer, Joseph Cavna, Adolphus W. Crans, David N. Clark. Joseph H. Clark, Will- 
iam H. Decker, Charles A. De Lam, Nahura H. Emmons, Michael Frowley, Uriah Fur- 
guson, Edward Gardner, William Green, Sandy O'Donnell, Michael O'Riley, John 
Randall, John Rathbun, Eugene Root, John R. Rowley, Reuben Strong, Cliarles Smith, 
Robert E. Smith, Ephraim Smith, George C. Smith, John Sinnett, Thomas B. Sturdi- 
vant, Henry Traver, George H, Terry, William G. Vandermark, Stephen A. Vander- 
mark, David L. Wert, Uri A. Warner, Amos White, Jacob Waller, Barnard Harrison. 
Jerome Hummer, Elias D. Henderson, James Jackson, Laurence Jennings, Eri L. Jor- 
dan, James Kennedy, Lsaac H. Leavenworth, Clark Lockwood, Simon L. McCain, 
Daniel Morrisey, William F. Mitchell, Charles ilcConnell, Schuyler B. Xichols, Charles 
H. Davis, Thomas Henderson, Noah W. Simond.-;. 

The second lieutenant of this company was Robert Troup. He was 
the first man drafted from the city of Elmira in the first draft in Jul}-, 
1863. At the time he was a clerk in the grocery of D. L. Holden. As 
soon as drafted he began recruiting for the company and secured the 
second lieutenancy. Among others in the company whose names are 
familiar to the city are J, A, Wilkie, Alvin G, Earnhardt, Oscar N, Bar- 
tholomew, Michael Cherry, Eugene Root (who after the war was for 
some time the commanding officer of the Twenty-sixth Separate Com- 
pany), and Noah W. Simonds. Company F of the regiment was com- 
manded by Capt. Edwin D. Comstock. It was mustered in at Geneva, 
October 10, 1863, and many of the men in its ranks were recruited by 
Captain Morgan. It numbered the following named from Chemung 
County : 

Corporals, Charles Southworth. Robert Ray, Patrick J. Ginnan; trumpeters, Alfred 
B. Davison, George Haskell ; privates, Nicholas Bicker, Henry Cony, Leonard Corliy, 
Thomas B. Denson, Benjamin F. Edwards, Edson Hooker, Ranslier McFailand, Edward 
Nugent, Henry Roe, William B. Torrance. 



THE FIRST VETERAX CAVALRY. 259 

Company G of tlie regiment, Capt. Nelson P. Wildrick, also mustered 
in at Geneva, October lo, 1863, had the following named from the 
county : 

Corporal, Richard S. Dox ; privates, Oramel R. B iiilick. Job BalicocW. Henry Craine, 
Jolin J. Kvaiis. Thomas Gillvon, Samuel L. Griimmonii. Charles Mc(.'oiinell. Merritt W. 
Parks. Edward M. Pierce. Isaac S. Ratliliiin, Osru A.Simons. .John L.Weston. 

In tiiis company will be obser\ed the name of Oramel R. Burdick. 
He was a newspaper man, and wrote very bright and sharp paragraphs 
for the old Weekly Republican and for the Daily Press from 1853-54 to 
the time of the breaking out of the war. His special column was called 
" Sparks from our Locomotive." and he was better known by the sou- 
briquet " Sparks " than he was by his own name. Work similar to this 
was but little known those days ; it was new and peculiar, but grown 
very popular these days, the turning of a point or a joke in two or three 
lines at the most; writing an editorial, as one might say, tliat would 
have the force of a trip-hammer in the bod}' of a wasp's sting. Rut 
" Sparks" was one of those old-fashioned newspaper men of whom when 
one spoke he was apt to add an epithet and call him "poor Burdick." 
He was witty and bright, genial and companionable. He thought "John 
Barleycorn " was his best friend, when on the contrary he was his bit- 
terest enemy. Let us, as we would have others do for us, remember 
what was good in him, how many times he caused a smile to come to 
our lips and warmth to our hearts, and forget his frailties. Let us think 
of him as indeed " Sparks " and forget that after them come only ashes. 
In H Company of this regiment, Capt. Allen Banks, also mustered in 
at Geneva, October 10, 1863, were these from the county : 

George Edwards, William Green. George Wilson. Benjamin F. Collins, James Munn, 
Marlin Harrigan, Thomas Bassett, Tliomas F. Rhinehart. Charles E. Carl. George W. 
Delle. Thoma-s Lament. George Johnson, William Hellan. 

RECAPITULATION. 

To the twenty-four infantry organizations with 18,171 officers and 
men already named, as mustered in at IClmira, are to be added four or- 
ganizations of artillery with 975 officers and men and six cavalry organ- 
izations with 1,650 officers and men, making a total of thirty-four organ- 
izations of all arms of the service and 20,796 officers and men forwarded 
from Elmira during the war. There were a number of individual in- 



200 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Stances of men of the city and county entering the service daring the 
war, but not attached to organizations raised or mustered in at Ehnira. 

Capt. Uriah S. Lowe earned his title in a regiment enhsted in New 
York city, and saw much service in the field during the first years of the 
war. He was made an acting assistant adjutant- general and served on 
the stafT of Gen. A. S. Diven in Elmira while General Diven, as acting 
assistant provost marshal-general, wasin charge of theWestern Division 
of the State of New York. Captain Lowe was very prominent in county 
politics before the war, having been elected county clerk in 185S. After 
the war he served a number of terms as city clerk. He removed to New 
York city, where heengagedln the practice of his profession, the law, and 
where he died August 11, 1888. 

One who can hardly be credited to Elmira or the county, yet whose 
conspicuous and honorable career reflects some credit on the locality 
where he spent the years of his boyhood and youth, merits a line of re- 
membrance — Capt (subsequently Gov.) Buren R. Sherman. With 
his family he went from Elmira to Vinton County, Iowa, just before the 
breaking out of the war. He enlisted in the Thirteenth Iowa and rose 
to the rank of captain. He was in a number of those hard fought bat- 
tles on the Mississippi, and was wounded at Shiloh so severely that he 
was incapacitated for further active service, resigning on April 17, 1863, 
to go home as was thought to die. But he recovered and served a num- 
ber of times as auditor of his State and afterward as governor. He is 
now a resident of Waterloo, Iowa, the president of an insurance com- 
pany. He ranks very high as a Mason, having been raised to the 
thirt\'-third degree. 

Capt. Philip Holland was for many years before the war a clerk in the 
dry goods store of John Hill at Lake and Water streets. When Mr. 
Hill went to Lawrenceville, Pa., to continue his business young Holland 
went with him. He had been a very prominent young man in Elmira 
and a leader among his fellows, at one time foreman of the youth's fire 
compau}' "Young America." He raised a company for the Thirteenth 
Pennsylvania Reserves and was killed in action at Charles City Cross 
Roads, Va., on June 30, 1862. John Bradley, another Elmiran, became 
major of a Pennsylvania regiment and was killed at Fredericksburg, Va. 
A brother of his named Mark, also in a Pennsylvania regiment, was 



ELM IRA THE DRAFTIi\G HEAD(2UARTERS. 2(il 

killed during the war. They were the sons of Mark and Rose A. 
Hradlcy, English people who came from Yorkshire to Daggett's Mills in 
1840 and in 1S50 to Elmira. The father died January 28, 1866, and 
the mother lived to the advanced age of eighty-two years, dying in 
Elmira in February, 1881. Two of the sons, Thomas and Dobson, en- 
gaged in business in the oil regions and acquired large properties. 

In the late spring and early summer of 1863 the laws relating to the 
draft went into operation, and Elmira was made the headquarters of the 
district as well as for the Western Division of the State, comprising the 
last eleven congressional districts. Of the latter as we have seen Gen. 
A. S. Diven was placed in command. One reason for putting him in 
the position was his intimate acquaintance with Horatio Seymour, wlio 
was then governor of the State. There was considerable feeling through- 
out the State with regard to the draft, and it was thought and with rea- 
son that there would be less friction between the general and State 
governments if men were put in charge of the business who were person- 
ally known and acceptable to the governor. So far as the Western Di- 
vision of the State was concerned no belter choice could have been 
made. 

There was an " enrollment board " in each congressional district, com- 
posed of the provost-marshal witii the rank of captain, the commis- 
sioner, and the surgeon. None of these officers were at any time men 
of the city or county. The first provost-marshal was Capt. Samuel M. 
Harmon, of Allegany County, who was succeeded by Capt. John T. 
Wright, also of Allegany County. At first the headquarters were on 
Water street about opposite li-xchange Place, and they were eventually 
removed to the corner of Second and State streets, where the Lehigh 
Valley Railroad freight houses are now located, and there they remained 
to the end. 

After each call bj' President Lincoln for more troops the number of 
men to be raised was apportioned to the several localities of the country 
in proportion to the number of men enrolled. Each township and ward 
knew for how many men it would be called upon, and when this num- 
ber was made known most of the localities made efforts to secure im- 
munity from the draft by enlisting men and putting them to their credit 
against the impending draft. Bounties for such recruits rose to large 



2(;j OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

sums, $1,500 being offered in some instances and paid. Tlie first draft 
was made in July, 1863, and during the following two years there were 
three other drafts attended by no disturbance whatever in the district, 
and resulting in securing the number needed to fill up the depleted ranks 
of the army. 

General Diven was succeeded in the command of the division in 1864 
by Maj. John A. Haddock, who came from the northern part of the 
State, was a newspaper man by profession, and had acquired some no- 
toriety before the war by making a balloon ascension of greater extent 
than had ever before been attempted in this country. Bounties were 
very high at the time and money was exceedingly plentiful. Major 
Haddock was accused of having some connection with the bounty 
brokerage business; was arrested, tried by court-martial, and convicted. 
He paid a fine of $10,000. He subsequently went to Philadelphia and 
engaged in the printing business in a large concern. He was succeeded 
in the position of acting assistant provost- marshal-general by Col. Sam- 
uel B. Hay man of the regular arm\', a grandnephew of Gen. Anthony 
Wayne, one of Washington's favorite ofiicers. Major Hayman was a 
graduate of West Point and an accomplished gentleman who left a 
pleasant impression at the post and in the district that he commanded. 
He remained in Elmira until it was abandoned as a military headquar- 
ters. His chief executive officer was Capt. William L. Tidball. 

With all the hurry, bustle, and crowd in the small town that Elmira 
then was, and in the gathering there from all quarters of men of all 
kinds of character through the whole four years and more of the war, 
there was never any serious disturbance or breach of the peace or trouble 
that might reasonably have been expected under the circumstances, 
with perhaps one exception, and that of brief duration and resulting in 
the loss of one life and the breaking of a few panes of glass and some 
wooden shutters. 

A number of regiments were sent to Elmira to be mustered out, and 
among them in the latter part of 1864 was a cavalry regiment from 
Michigan. Some members of it in the exuberance of their feelings 
tipped over a load of hay in the streets that was being quietly driven 
along by a countryman. On his objection to such familiarity even from 
returned soldiers some of the men attacked him and he fled down Water . 



A'/:.U/.\7SCEXCES OF U^AR DAYS. 263 

Street, eventually dashing tlirougli tlie glass door of a store at the foot 
of Baldwin street and escaping his pursuers. There was much noise 
and shouting and the shopkeepers along the thoroughfare, ignorant of 
what was impending, began to close their doors and put up their wooden 
shutters. The patrol guard appeared and marched up and down the 
street. No one seemed to know what the matter was or what the excite- 
ment was all about. An officer of the regiment playing billiards hard 
by came out of the saloon with his cue in his hand, and probably more 
for amusement than any other feeling wrenched from some of the guns 
of the patrol guard their bayonets. A shot was fired and it took effect 
on an entirely innocent man who stood leaning against the wheels of a 
lumber wagon looking on at the gathering crowd. He dropped dead 
where he stood. Word had been sent to the barracks of the " Veteran 
Reserve Corps," the prison camp, and to a detachment that was sta- 
tioned on Market street in a building just west of the city hall. These 
speedily appeared, but before they arrived at the corner the street was 
comparatively deserted. The cavalry officer who had taken the bayo- 
nets of the patrol guard from their guns with his billiard cue was court- 
martialed, but was only very lightly punished. 

There was a curious deprivation in the early part of the war that will 
be remembered by those who are able to do so with a feeling of " gone- 
ness " to which there is nothing that can be compared that has happened 
within the memory of any of this generation, the complete and sudden 
disappearance of silver change. Tradesmen were put to it to supply 
the want and carry on their business. No one not experiencing in it can 
conceive of the constant annoyance it caused. Postage stamps were 
used until they became soiled, sticky, and obliterated. Individual dealers 
issued printed slips of all denominations, making them redeemable when 
presented in one or five-dollar amounts, one fmancier issuing five-cent 
ones redeemable when presented in the amount of five dollars and put- 
ting out ninety-nine of them ! The city of Klmira finally issued the 
very neatest shinplaster; that were in circulation, of denominations of 
five, ten, twenty-five, and fifty cents each. They were )-ellow in color, 
like gold or butter, an inch or so wide and two inches long, the design 
engraved upon them and their whole appearance reflecting great credit 
on the judgment and taste of Schuyler C. Reynolds, president of the 



2G+ OCR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

village, and F. C. Steele, treasurer, who were instrumental in their 
issue. They were eagerly and heartily welcomed as a great relief by the 
changeless inhabitants of the city and county, and found a ready circu- 
lation at a distance. One of them retained to this day is highly prized 
and held at a price a good many times its face value. They were event- 
ually superceded by the postal notes issued by the general government. 
No more observable change was made by the war than this. The 
smaller currency was altered, for when silver again appeared it was all of 
our native coinage; the old fashioned shillings and sixpences represented 
by the Spanish-pillared coins never came again, and our reckonings 
became of the decimal rather than as it had been of the octamerous 
nature. 



CHAPTER V. 



Elmira as a Prison Camp — Its Establishment in 1864 — Describing it and its Loca- 
tion — Arrival of the first Detachment of Prisoners — A terrible Railroad Disas- 
ter — The appearance and condition of the Prisoners — How they were cared for 
in the Camp — The "Veteran Reserve Corps" — Officers in Charge of the 
Camp — Imaginary accounts of Escapes — False Alarms — Visitors attracted to 
the Camp — What could be Seen — The surroundings of the Camp — How the 
Prisoners occupied Themselves — The appearance of the Interior of the Camp — 
Providing food for the Prisoners — Sickness and mortality Prevalent — The dead 
at Woodlawn — John W. Jones, the Sexton, who Buried them All — Breaking out 
of the Small pox — The disastrous Flood of March 17, 1 865 — Burying the Dead 
— Means for their Identification — The close of the War and the breaking up of 
the Camp. 

THERE is a melancholy interest attaching to this period of the his- 
tory of the valley of the Chemung relative to the prison camp 
that was established by the government in Elmira. It is a matter that 
cannot and should not be neglected. As time rolls on, away from 
the events this chapter is to record, unless the truth is set forth in rela- 
tion to them posterity will be liable to misunderstand and unfriendly 
ones to misconstrue and misrepresent one of the most notable matters 
that have marked the annals of the valley. The camp was established 



LOCA r/O.y OF the prison camp. 2(i5 

in May, 1864, at what had been called No. 3 barracks, the ground it 
occupied, about thirty acres in extent, being on the western confines of 
the city of Elmira lying between Water street and the river. The 
northeast corner of the premises was a few hundred feet west of what 
is now Hoffman street and thirty or forty feet south from Water street. 
The fence along the northern boundary, builf of twelve-foot boards 
standing upright, ran for about 1,000 feet west from this corner, keeping 
at the stated distance from Water street. Nearly opposite to what has 
long been known as the Foster House were the main gates to the 
premises, great wide, high, thick, heavy structures that swung open and 
shut with many a growl and snarl. Just at their side to the west was 
a small narrow gate for those on foot. In front of these gates and at 
their sides or near them, night and day, were numerous United States 
soldiers, some of them on guard duty, others waiting to serve at the 
same, others there for companionship or gossip. A wooden pathway 
two or three feet wide, with a hand rail built up on stilts on the outside 
of the fence and close to it high enough for the sentry who constantly 
paced along it to have a clear view of the interior, ran along the north 
side. There were sentry boxes at intervals along this pathwa_\', and 
also flights of steps here and there to the ground. A fence similar in 
height with a like pathway for the guard ran south from the corner 
named in rather an uneven and irregular course, over the outlet to the 
pond inside, down to the bank of the river for a distance of about 800 
feet. On the west side also the fence ran from the northern line down 
to the river bank, the distance being about i,O00 feet. 

There are broad fields now under cultivation on this spot, one of the 
most fertile and favorably situated in the whole valley, with here and 
there a dwelling or a newly opened street. Every vestige of the situa- 
tion as it was now nearly thirty years ago has disappeared, and the 
busy military- looking scene is changed to one as peaceful and quiet as 
are tiie cattle grazing in the meadows or the calm sheet of water shin- 
ing still and placid under the summer sun. 

A little west of the great gates leading into the camp and lying be- 
tween the high fence and Water street were the offices and quarters of 
the officers, long, low, one-story wooden buildings rude in construction, 
but made as comfortable as possible, in many instances decorated and or- 

31 



■2V,G OUR COUXTY A AD ITS PEOPLE. 

nainented with vines and some of them painted, most of them, however, 
merely whitewashed. The soldier hospitalities of these temporary 
homes of the wives and families of the officers in command are recol- 
lections connected with these war times that are pleasing to many of 
the citizens of Elmira and its surrounding neighborhood, and the names 
of Col. Stephen Moore, Colonel Donovan, and Lieutenant-Colonel 
Crocker with others will be held in kindly remembrance for many a 
day. Elmira was selected as a place for the confinement of prisoners 
captured for the same reason that it was chosen as a depot for volun- 
teers — its accessibility. It was easily reached by railroads from any di- 
rection and especially from the south, and at the same time it was so far 
removed from the scenes of conflict that there was no possible danger of 
its ever falling into the hands of the enemy. 

The first detachment of prisoners arrived in the latter part of June, 
1864. They came around by the way of New York city up the Erie 
Railroad. They met with a serious disaster on their way. While stand- 
ing on a switch at Shohola, on the Delaware division, their train was 
struck by another train with most deplorable results. Sixty-four of the 
prisoners and sixteen of their guard were killed. Life was cheap in 
those war times and this terrible occurrence attracted comparatively 
little attention. A railroad accident these days in which the lives of 
eighty persons should be sacrificed would be heralded all over the 
world as a disaster of unparalleled magnitude. The bodies of the dead 
were buried near the scene of the awful occurrence. Afterward an offi- 
cer was sent to remove them to Elmira, but it was ascertained that the 
graves were all in the State of Pennsylvania, and the officer, being un- 
der the authority of the State of New York, decided that it was not his 
duty to remove the remains and they lie there till this day. Other de- 
tachments continued to arrive in larger and smaller numbers during the 
year. There were not many who could be called hearty, robust, or vig- 
orous men. The much larger proportion were sick and disabled and 
very old or very young men. One of the earlier detachments, which 
contained not one perfectly well man, came from Point Lookout, where 
the water was bad and the worst species of malaria prevalent. 

The first detachments attracted a great deal of interest and curiosity 
and unmistakable sympathy rather than any other feeling, and these 



fc> 



/HECE/l'/A'G .IXD CAK/XG FOR T/IE PA'/SOXEA'S. 'JiiT 

were never entirelj' abated even to the last, a detachment being met at 
tlie railroad station by throngs of persons drawn thither to look upon 
the " rebels." As a rule they were all forlorn and unhappy looking 
men, spiritless in movement, and expressionless as to eye ; poorly clad, 
even ragged, emaciated, hollow-eyed, tired creatures, some of them 
scarcely able to move. There is in recollection as an illustration one 
aged man who found it impossible to keep up with his comrades, 
although the whole detachment moved very slowly up Third street from 
the railroad station down Main and up Water to the camp. He was 
left behind guarded by three stalwart soldiers to be brought along as 
he could go, perhaps to be carried. He sat down upon the curbstone 
many and many a time by the way, and often apparently so exhausted 
it seemed as though he would never again arise voluntarily to his feet. 
He was rejoiced to arrive at length at the camp, where he could get a 
good meal and lie down. The aggregate of all the detachments arriv- 
ing for the year and confined in the camp was 11,916 men, the large 
proportion of them being from North Carolina, although every State 
South had representatives in the number. 

When the first detachments arrived all preparations had not been 
completed for their proper housing, although the feeding of them had 
been sufficiently attended to. The high fences. about the grounds were 
not entirely completed and the shelter provided was only in the shape 
of ordinary " A " tents. But they were banked up, (it was in the summer- 
time,) and they supplied quarters quite as good if not more comfortable 
than were given to soldiers in the field. Substantial wooden barracks 
were speedily built and before the winter had set in with any severity 
all were comfortably housed. 

There was great care taken antl much vigilance exercised in guarding 
the prisoners lest they should escape. At first there were portions of 
two infantry regiments of the regular army and a battery of the Fourth 
United States Artillery on such duty. These were succeeded by the 
Nineteenth and First Regiments of the " Invalid Corps." This corps was 
recruited in 1863, the idea originating in the office of the provost-mar- 
shal-general. It was comprised of men not fit for active duty in the 
field, but competent to serve at the headquarters of provost-marshals and 
such other light duties as did not take them to the front. The name was 



268 OUR COUyiTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

not a very fortunate selection, for it did not at all describe the character 
or condition of the members of the corps. It was therefore changed in 
1864 to the " Veteran Reserve Corps," which had at least a much more 
honorable sound. The two regiments of the Invalid Corps guarding the 
camp of the prisoners were succeeded by the Twelfth "Veteran Reserve 
Corps," commanded by Colonel Moore, who remained until the camp 
was broken up. Colonel Moore readily became a favorite in the mili- 
tary and social circles of the town. At the conclusion of the war he 
kept a popular summer hotel on Lake Keuka, and then for some time 
was the proprietor of the P'assett House in Wellsville, Allegany County. 
He was an exceedingly competent and careful officer, and while under 
his control the camp was kept in the most perfect and orderly condition. 
He died in Wellsville, Allegany County, N. Y., August 29, 1891. 

There have been circulated from time to time some stories, curious 
from their improbability and inaccuracy, in relation to a "dead line " in 
this camp, a line marked out on the interior a rod or more from the 
fence, stepping over which toward the fence was a sure warrant for the 
death of such an offender at the hands of any of the guards patrolling 
the pathway along the outside. As regards the camp in Elmira there 
was no such line ever in existence and no occasion for it. There was 
never even an organized attempt of any extent to escape. A dozen or 
so of the prisoners once began a tunnel, but by a miscalculation or in 
their hurry the exit end of the hole did not reach outside the fence and 
the effort was a failure. It was claimed that two or three succeeded 
in digging out and escaped, and that it was not known to the authori- 
ties of the camp until a letter was received from one of the prisoners so 
escaping from a distant point giving an account of how they got away, 
and of their lighting a fire on West Hill from where they watched the 
commotion the discovery of their flight occasioned ! The continuation 
of the story was to the effect that the fugitives somehow or other got 
back to their regiments just in time to be killed in one of the later bat- 
tles of the war around Richmond. Such tales are but the emanations 
of the brains of those whose fancy and imagination are more strongly 
developed than their love for trutfi, or they may have been the inven- 
tion of those who for one reason or another sought to throw discredit 
on the management of affairs at the camp and the vigilance of the 
guard. 



GUARDING THE PRISONERS. 269 

Once or twice as a matter of discipline, and perhaps as well to vary 
the dullness and monotony of the camp, the commandant started an 
alarm, for which there was no foundation, of a general attempt at escape 
by the prisoners. It would show him how his men would act in case a 
real effort of that nature should be made. There was a terrible time 
for an hour or more. Orderlies and aids were bustling here, there, 
and everywhere. The guns of the battery were got in position to 
sweep the supposed point of outbreak, the infantry were all under arms 
and in line ready to march to any spot, and there was great noise, confu- 
sion, and bustle along the streets and in the meadows adjoining the camp. 
The commandant was satisfied that the force under him was on the 
alert and vigilant, declared the alarm a false one, complimented his 
officers and men on their attention to duty, and dismissed them, while 
within the grounds the prisoners were quietly sleeping and dreaming 
of anything rather than breaking through the guards that surrounded 
them. They never had any intention of trying to escape in a body by 
a sudden outbreak. Those were times of excitement, apprehension, and 
uncertainty such as those of the present generation find it difficult to 
understand or appreciate. Only the year before the Confederate army 
had come so far into Pennsylvania that their campfires could be seen 
from the city of Harrisburg, and that city is only a few hours by rail 
from Elmira. When the greatest number of prisoners were confined in 
the camp, and popular apprehension, ignorant of what that was in reality, 
more than tripled it, there were frequent disturbing rumors that the 
enemy were again approaching and for the purpose of liberating the 
prisoners and adding them to their own forces. The folly and impossi- 
bility of such an undertaking is well understood now, and is entitled 
to the ridicule and sneer that even its mention may excite. But it was 
not understood then, and there were apprehensions, groundless, how- 
ever, as it all turned out, that the valley might become a portion of the 
scene of the war. 

The prison camp in its first few months was the show-place of all the 
region of country for miles and miles about Elmira. Daily groups and 
companies of sight-seers came to look upon it. Along Water street on 
the opposite side of the grounds was a long row of rude wooden booths 
like those at a fair, or more like those that spring up in a night along a 



•.'7(1 OUR COU.\TV AND ITS PEOPLE. 

street that is the route to the grounds where a circus tent is to be spread. 
The stocks exhibited were also similar, there being for sale cakes, lem- 
onade, peanuts, crackers, beer, and sometimes stuff considerably stronger 
than beer. Some one eager for an extra penny, one of that kind who 
would hardly have hesitated at making a peep-show of any sacred thing 
if there was money in it or of gathering stamps out of the distress 
of others, built at the northwest corner of Hoffman and Water streets a 
tall, square tower of sufficient height to view from its top the whole in- 
terior of the prison camp. The top was level and securely railed off, 
was supplied with chairs and spy-glasses, and a small admission fee was 
charged to ascend thereto with the privilege of remaining as long as 
you liked. One who visited this eyrie has left this record of the half 
hour spent there with some rural friends who were eager to see all that 
could be seen. It is a reminiscence deserving preservation : 

A full and complete view of the whole interior of the camp was pre- 
sented. It was like looking down into an immense bee-hive. There 
was a constant motion on all sides, but without noise or confusion that 
could be heard. Groups were standing here and there, formed one min- 
ute, broken up the next; some men had built a fire underneath a tree 
and were baking corn-meal cakes ; some one was coming or going every 
instant to or from every building whose entrance was in sight, and many 
were seated in the shadow of the. trees whittling or fashioning some ob- 
ject, the character of which the distance forbade making out. In the space 
between the buildings and the fence nearest sat a small circle of men, with 
one on his feet who seemed to be speaking and making the most violent 
gestures. When he finished he seated himself in his place in the ring 
and another one rose to go through similar exercises in his turn. A 
few feet from these were five men playing cards. In the corner close 
at hand was a large tent that had a very lonesome look. Into it, dur- 
ing the half hour of the visit to tlie eyrie, came two men five times, 
bearing each time on a stretcher the dead body of a man covered over 
with a piece of canvas. 

The booths on the street and the tower 'in the corner did not remain 
long. They were ordered away by those who had command, and they 
went. Visitors, however, did not cease coming. Townsfolk in their 
afternoon or morning drive or walk went up to the camp as a regular 



HOW THE PK/SOiXERS BUSIED THEMSELVES. 271 

exercise ; strangers in the city always visited it, and many came from 
all parts of the country with no other purpose in view. Yet only the 
outside was visible to most of those who came. Very few indeed, as was 
proper, were permitted to enter the great gates and look within or wit- 
ness the life of the prisoners. There was nothing to see save the high 
fences bounding the grounds on every side and the sentinels pacing mo- 
notonously up and down with bayoneted guns at their shoulders. Fort- 
unate did the visitor consider himself if, as the great gates swung open 
to admit a team or an officer on horseback, he caught a momentary 
glimpse of the interior. Hundreds of those who came to view the place, 
or who lived within sight of it or within hearing of its noises, knew not 
so much of the interior of the cainp as will the reader of this chapter. 

The occupations of the prisoners during their confinement were as 
various as were the tastes of the men themselves, and such as they them- 
selves chose, their onh' duty daily attendance upon morning and even- 
ing roll-call with here and there willing ones detailed to bake or cook 
or care for the grounds. It was said, and with truth, that those who 
kept constantly employed, were busy daily at something no matter how 
simple or unimportant in itself, were those who kept their health the 
best. The grounds were well cared for, the roads and paths being al- 
ways in the very best condition, and a large and handsome lawn was 
kept the whole time closely shaven. About some of the barracks were 
some very beautiful flower gardens laid out in irregularly shaped beds 
with many border plants having various colored leaves. Very much 
taste, skill, and ingenuity were shown by many of the prisoners in mak- 
ing a great variety of trinkets out of the shells of nuts, pieces of soft 
pine, straw, or horsehair. These were sold by some of the guard while 
off duty, and there are many relics of these times scattered all over the 
country in the shape of watch chains and guards, small picture frames, 
fans, and ornaments of various kinds. A great deal of the furniture in 
the officers' quarters was made by the prisoners, most of it being that 
of which the most skillful cabinetmaker would have no need of being 
ashamed, and some of it by its beauty and curious formation would 
have deserved a place in any parlor, especially in these days of search- 
ing for what is odd and uncommon. The prisoners by their work not 
only occupied their time, minds, and hands, but provided themselves 



in OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

with personal funds with which they obtained credit at the sutler's, one 
of whom was established within the camp. 

Where the large quantity of horsehair was obtained out of which so 
great a number of trinkets was constructed was a mystery for a long 
time, which the tails of the horses of contractors and others permitted 
within the enclosure eventually revealed. Col. Samuel B. Hayman, 
who was the acting assistant provost- marshal- general of the division 
stationed in Elmira during the closing months of the war, rode into the 
camp one afternoon to confer with the surgeon in charge on some mat- 
ter of business. He was detained very much longer than he expected, 
giving the person who had accompanied him an opportunity to ex- 
amine the premises somewhat thoroughly, some of the results of which 
appear herein, and to find that the men confined there, except in the ab- 
sence of their liberty, seemed to be in want of nothing else. Colonel 
Hayman had ridden into camp and hitched at a post some distance from 
the entrance a handsome and favorite white horse of his, much of whose 
beauty consisted in a flowing mane and an especially profuse tail. There 
was something besides the usual summer flies that kept the animal un- 
easy in the warm June day. The colonel discovered it when his visit 
ended ; he came down to mount and could hardly recognize his steed. 
There were not to exceed five lonesome hairs left in the poor stump of 
a tail, and the mane, what there was left of it, looked like the head of a 
man who had been scalped ! For a long time thereafter the watch 
chains, finger rings, brooches, and other ornaments that came from the 
prison camp looked more delicate and frail than usual, being made of 
white horsehair ; but the colonel, whether or not he made an effort to do 
so, never discovered the person or persons who so denuded or de-tailed 
and de-maned his handsome charger. 

Something deserves to be said of the food provided for the prisoners. 
In quality it was of the best and in quantity even profuse. John H. 
Leavitt, a long time and well regarded citizen of Elmira, after the war 
for many years the superintendent of the Elmira Water Works Com- 
pany, and who died in 1890, was connected with the quartermaster's de- 
partment of the post while the prison camp was in existence. He has 
left it on record that he virtually saw every pound of the rations or food 
issued to the prisoners. Great plenty reigned and of a good, sound. 



SUPPLIES FOR THE PRISON CAMP. 273 

solid, substantial kind. In the year of the existence of the camp there 
were nearly 13,000 barrels of flour issued to and consumed by the pris- 
oners, flour being issued instead of bread, there being a great saving 
thereby, some of the men being detailed to do the bak-ing. The amount 
of meat, salt and fresh, issued in the period named was nearly 2,000,000 
pounds. The plentiful supply for the prison camp is further testified to 
by the fact that there were large savings from the rations allowed by 
the government after the prisoners had had all they needed. These 
savings were turned into cash and went of course to the benefit of the 
prisoners themselves, making what was called a " prison fund." It was 
in charge of a board composed of officers of the post and enabled tiie 
prisoners to have potatoes and other vegetables in their season ; fruit and 
delicacies for the sick, which the government did not furnish ; to im- 
prove and beautify the grounds and buildings; and do many other things 
that they would have been unable to do without it. The generosity and 
liberality in the matter of rations and the savings therefrom are still 
further shown by the fact that when the camp was broken up there re- 
mained in the bank to the credit of this prison fund the magnificent 
sum of $92,000 ! A draft for this amount was sent by Captain Sap- 
pington, the commissary of subsistence at the post, to Washington as 
almost the last act of his duty in Elmira. Divided among the prisoners 
this amount would have given each of them about $10. 

It could not very well have been otherwise than that much sickness 
and great mortality should have prevailed in the camp. As has been 
intimated the condition of the men on their arrival was ver}' bad. The 
change of climate, the water, the difference in the manner of living, and 
the enforced confinement did not tend to improve the matter. One 
complaint recognized as a disease, home-sickness, was exceedingly 
prevalent. The art and skill of the physician are powerless before this 
distemper. It may not itself be fatal, but it is an open door through 
which more serious complaints find ready entrance to the system. 

A death occurred soon after the arrival of the first detachment, and 
as an illustration of the haste with which the camp had been established, 
and the want of complete preparations for caring for the prisoners, there 
had been no arrangements made for the proper disposal of the dead. 
Perhaps it had not occurred to those in authority that any of them would 



274 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

die. What to do with the body of the dead soldier was not determined 
for some hours. It was put in an ambulance and taken to the headquar- 
ters on Carroll street, until the commissioners of Woodlawn gave per- 
mission and authority to bury it in their grounds. It tauglit those in 
command that their duties did not solely consist in caring for the living, 
but as well demanded their attention as to the proper disposition of the 
dead. A portion of the Woodlawn Cemetery was therefore set apart 
for this purpose. Here were laid 2,988 of the prisoners, all of them 
buried by the sexton of the grounds, John W. Jones. There is some- 
thing rather suggestive in the fact that the last rites of so many of those 
who had been enlisted in an effort to preserve slavery as an institution 
of their country should have been performed by one who had escaped 
from that slavery and was a representative example of what freedom 
could do for the colored man. John W. Jones, with his brothers Charles 
and George, came to Elmira from the neighborhood of Leesburg, Va., 
in 1843, walking the whole distance of 300 miles excepting eight miles, 
when they hired a ride from a farmer, in fourteen days. He was the 
sexton of the Baptist Church in Elmira for nearly half a century, giving 
up that position in 1890, and has accumulated a property to a very re- 
spectable amount. 

The deaths in the prison camp aggregated the number of 2,994. Of 
those already named 2,988 were buried in Woodlawn ; three were 
buried on the bank of the river, but were washed away by the flood 
(hereafter to be referred to) ; and three more were buried in the neigh- 
borhood of the pest-house, down the river from Elmira, where they still 
remain. In detail, in the month of July, 1864, there were il deaths; 
in August, 115; in September, 386; in October, 282; in November, 
220; in December, 269; in January, 1865,293; in February, 434 ; in 
March, 495 ; in April, 269; in May, 133; in June, 54; in July, 30; in 
August, 3. 

In the spring of 1865 the small-pox broke out in the prison camp. 
Between 300 and 400 died of the disease. The sanitary measures of the 
camp were as perfect and complete as they could be with such a large 
number of men confined in so small a space. There was a pond of liv- 
ing, running water extending nearly across the grounds parallel with the 
river. Between this pond and the river, and nearest to the river, were 



THE SMALL-POX EPIDEMIC A.W THE GREAT FLOOD. Tt'^ 

located the hospitals for tliose sick with the small-pox. The living bar- 
racks for the prisoners were across tliis pond 900 or 1,000 feet away to 
the north. The other hospitals for the ordinary sick were in the far 
northwest corner of the grounds. These were large, airy, and well 
ventilated, and provided with every convenience that is seen in the best 
of such places No one confined within the premises need suffer for an 
instant for the want of any medicine or means of relief if he made his 
condition known. To add to the distress of the spring of 1865 came that 
remarkable flood so well remembered in the valley of the Chemung, 
happening on March 17th, St. Patrick's day. The river rose with as- 
tonishing rapidity, and the small-pox hospital was soon surrounded and 
lay deep in the water, situated as it was near the bank of the stream. 
The situation for the sick was very serious, and to rescue them froni their 
peril seemed at first impossible, the torrent swept by with so much force 
and with .such an ever-increasing volume. But there were volunteers for 
the work. A few of the sick were brought over to the higher land in 
boats, a few only of which could be gathered for the purpose, but most 
were saved by means of the fences. Two men would seize the mat- 
tress on which a sick man lay, one at the head the other at the foot, and 
doubling it up until he within was almost hidden from sight make their 
way along the upper timbers of the fence to a safe and dry point out- 
side the camp. After the waters subsided the sick were all returned to 
their quarters and the dead buried. The exposure doubtless increased 
the mortality for that month, in one day the number of cases of death 
having been forty, the largest number for any one day during the exist- 
ence of the camp. 

There was no attempt at any ceremonial at the burial of the dead from 
the prison camp, no services of any kind or character at the grave. 
ICach body was put into a pine box and nine were taken to the ceme- 
tery at a time, just a good load for an ambulance. In a trench large 
enough to contain a number of these boxes they were laid side by side 
or foot to foot. On the top of each box was written the name of the 
person occupying it, his company, regiment, and State where from ; this 
information, if it could be obtained, for not in every instance did the 
prisoner give his right name, although if he got into the hospital he was 
pretty sure to announce it. Some curious instances of fictitious names 



27G OUR COUNTY AKD ITS PEOPLE. 

are met with. One was borne on the record for some time as " Regis- 
tered Enemy," the person giving it i<nown by it until he was taken sick 
and was sent to the hospital. Then the bitterness that caused him to 
give such a name evaporated and he told his true name, Henry Mat- 
thews. 

These names written on the tops of the boxes were copied by Sexton 
John W. Jones, and the location of each was recorded. Wooden head- 
boards were erected on which was painted the information written on 
the boxes, but these soon totted away and the grounds in a few years 
presented a very dilapidated and forlorn appearance, not at all in har- 
mony with the other portions of the well kept and beautiful cemetery. 
At one time there was a suggestion that permanent headboards of iron 
were to be erected, but it was never done. The grounds were surveyed, 
a map made, the location of each body accurately set forth, and now the 
plot is and for some years has been a fair smooth lawn with no evidences 
apparent that underneath the sod are reposing the remains of nearly 
3,000 men. Twenty-five of the bodies were identified and reclaimed by 
friends. 

An incident will well illustrate how the care for the living and dead 
at the Elmira prison camp was and still may be misunderstood and mis- 
represented. A year or two after the war a gentleman came to Elmira 
saying that he was from South Carolina and was in search of some tid- 
ings concerning his youngest son, who, as he said, had been in the Con- 
federate army. It had been told him that the youth had been in the 
prison camp in Elmira and had died there. The gentleman came North 
to buy goods, and as he left his home his wife had put a letter in his 
hand which he was not to read until miles on his journey. Opening the 
missive at length the only words it contained were: " Bring our boy 
home with you." He had come to Elmira without hope of success, but 
willing to try. His astonishment and gratitude were unspeakable when 
it was ascertained that the name of his boy was on the record of burials 
with the name of his regiment and State. Further examination led to 
complete identification, and the mother's wish was gratified. There were 
other cases where bodies were reclaimed by correspondence, the record 
kept in the prison camp being so accurate and careful. 

The gradual breaking up of the camp began very soon after the re- 



LAST DA YS OF THE ELMIRA PRISON CAMP. 277 

turn of peace. In the latter part of the month of June, 1865, came the 
order to parole the prisoners, not all at once, but in small detachments. 
The strongest and healthiest were first selected for release, the sick and 
those in the hospitals remaining, so that all were not gone until the latter 
part of August of the same year. Those who saw the first detachment 
marched down from the camp to post headquarters on Carroll street 
cannot soon forget the scenes enacted there. The prisoners knew, of 
course, that the war had ceased, but as to what was to be done with them 
they were ignorant and anxious. The)' were conscious of having been 
engaged in a rebellion that had been unsuccessful, and very naturally 
expected that some punishment was to be visited upon them. They 
did n't know when they were marched down to headquarters, fully 
guarded bj' armed soldiers, but what they were marching to their death, 
and. there were many inquiries among them whether they were to be 
hanged or shot. When they were told that they were absolutely re- 
leased from restraint their joy was excessive, but when added to this 
they were provided with transportation to their homes, and had their 
haversacks filled with rations in sufficient quantities to keep them in food 
until they arrived there, many were touched to tears that came from 
feelings that differed very much from sorrow. 

The horrors of a camp where prisoners of war are crowded into aeon- 
fined space, poorly clad, uncomfortably housed, insufficiently fed, and 
scantily provided with medical attendance, hospital accommodations, 
and other provisions for the sick, form one of the most deplorable feat- 
ures of any war, but none of these can apply with truth to the camp at 
Elmira, nor can they be attached for a moment to the reputation or be- 
come a portion of the history of the fair valley of the Chemung. 



PART IV. 

Chemung County During the Latter Half of the 
Nineteenth Century. 



The Times are the masquerade of the Eternities; trivial to the dull, tokens of 
noble and majestic agents to the wise ; the receptacle in which the Past leaves its 
history ; the quarry out of which the genius of to- day is building up the Future. We 
talk of the world, but we mean a few men and women. If you speak of the age 
you mean your own platoon of people. — Emerson. 



PART IV. 

Chemung County During the Latter Half of the 
Nineteenth Century. 



CHAPTER 1. 



The changed Character of the Valley — Continuation of the History of the Churches 
of Elmira — The Rev. Dr. David Murdocli — John Murdoch — The Rev. Dr. 
George C. Curtiss — Burning of the unfinished Church — Maxey Manning Con- 
verse — His heroic Death — The Rev. Dr. William E. Knox — Thomas K. 
Beecher — Park Church — Lake Street Presbyterian Church — lis Ministers — 
Trinity Church — Bishop William Paret — The Rev. Dr. George H. McKnight — 
The Arnot Memorial Chapel — Grace Church — The Baptist Church — The Rev. 
Dr. W. T. Henry — The Methodist Church — Its Ministers — Hedding Church — 
Its first Members — The Rev, William H. Goodwin — Others of its Ministers — 
Growth of the Methodist Church — Catholic Churches — St. Patrick's — The Rev. 
J. J. Bloomer — St. Mary"s — The Rev. James C. McManus — Hebrew Syna- 
gogues — Churches for the Colored People — The Young Mens Christian Asso- 
ciation — Its first Meetings, Members, and Officers — Its Strength and Usefulness. 

IT is a favorite expression, ajid one as true as it is popular, that tiie Civil 
war, brief as it was, made a great chasm between the times preceding 
and succeeding, so great and noticeable that the years before 1861 seem 
to be a long way oft' in the past. Events that happened then and men 
who hved then, even if the active lives of the latter extended to the 
generation preceding this one, seem to belong to the ancient history of 
the county. To no locality do these notions apply in a more striking 
manner than to the city of Elmira and the cotmty of Chemung. Sit- 
uated as the city was; enabled to secure most of the benefits and to 
:ti; 



282 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

escape most of the evils or disasters of the war ; w ith a constantly shift- 
ing and changing population ; with an abundant supply of money re- 
quired by the exigencies of the military service ; with all kinds of busi- 
ness springing up and thriving, — the very character of the town changed 
from that belonging to a quiet, retired rural village to that of a brisk, 
bustling city. Those who left Elmira in 1850 and not returning until 
the close of the war were scarcely, except in the natural features of the 
place, able to recognize the town. From i860 to 1865 the population 
of the county increased a little over 5,000, mostly in the city of Elmira, 
where the increase was in the city proper almost double from a village 
of a scant 7,000 to a city of nearly I2,000 inhabitants. 

In the decade between 1850 and i860, however, the citizens of the city 
and county were by no means inactive either in the founding of new 
business enterprises and societies or in advancing the religious, social, 
political, and educational interests of the locality. It may be said that 
they were not unprepared for the good fortune that the war threw into 
their laps. The strength and power for good of the religious societies 
constantly increased, and first of all the interests of the city of Elmira 
demand attention. The Rev. Dr. P. H. Fowler continued to have in 
his charge the Presbyterian Church until December 9, 1850. He was 
succeeded in his duties and labors in July, 1851, by the Rev. David Mur- 
doch, D.D. Dr. Murdoch was perhaps one of the most remarkable 
men, if not the most remarkable intellectually, that ever made the sun 
brighter and a community better for having lived. Certainly Elmira 
among all its citizens never counted one his superior. He was born in 
Bonhill, Scotland, October 4, 1800, and was graduated at the University 
of Glasgow. He came to America in 1832 and for a time preached in 
Canada under the auspices of the London Colonization Society. In 
what became known as the " Patriot war " in that countr)' in 1837-39 he 
was, as might have been expected of one like him, on the side of the 
people against the Crown and was obliged to escape to the United 
States. He was called to a church in Ballston, Saratoga County, of 
which he had charge until 1840, when he removed to Catskill, N. Y. 
From Catskill he came to Elmira. For a decade he was one of the most 
conspicuous citizens of the town, and in all of his relations to his church 
he filled the measure of excellence to the full. It was difficult to tell in 



TUF RFW DR. MIRUOCH'S REMARKABLE CAREER. •.'«:< 

which he was the most admirable or in which his eminent abilities 
showed to the best advantage. In the pulpit his sermons were clear, 
earnest, and convincing, and of the highest oriler of literary merit, while 
his delivery of them approached near to if it did not become eloquence. 
No one could hear Dr. Murdoch preach without being strongly im- 
pressed. In the prayer meeting, at the bedside of the dying, and at the 
mouth of the open grave he was equally effective, persuasive, and ten- 
der. Withal he had a fund of Scotch humor that could with a sentence 
or sentiment make the earth seem a happier place and bring a smile 
where a tear was ready to start. And above all he had that strong 
sense, that is somewhat Scotch, too, that always led him to do the right 
thing and say the right thing at the right moment. 

A deplorable disagreement in the chinch resulted in the friends of 
Dr. Murdoch leaving the old organization and forming with him as 
their pastor what has become the Lake Street Presbyterian Church, 
powerful and prosperous, a monument to the everlasting memory of 
its first pastor. He was not permitted ever to preach within the walls 
of the new edifice, his death occurring suddenly on June 13, 1861, 
within a month of his sixty- first birthday, and without doubt hastened 
by the exxitement attendant upon the sorrow and trouble that had been 
thrust upon him through no fault of his own. 

John Murdocii, one of Dr. Murdoch's sons, was during his life-time 
one of the most prominent members of the bar of Chemung County 
and a man of exceptional ability and force of character. No member 
of Dr. Murdoch's family bearing the name now lives in Elmira. A 
daughter, Kate, is the wife of Daniel R. Pratt. 

Dr. Murdoch severed his connection with the First Presbyterian 
Church \n September, i860, and was succeeded on March 17th of the 
year following by the Rev. George C. Curtiss, D.D. During Dr. Cur- 
tiss's connection with the church the new edifice was begun, the old one 
having been occupied for more than a quarter of a century and not 
being in any respect equal to the demands of the congregation or the 
times. Work was begun in August, 1862. From that date until Sep- 
tember, 1865, more than three years, the church was without a home, 
occupying for purposes of worship the old lecture room north of the old 
church building or the court-house. 



284 OUR COU.XrY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

While the new church was in process of construction there was held 
in it in March, 1864, a fair for the benefit of the Sanitary Commission. 
The interior of the unfinished building was profusely trimmed with 
evergreens, much for ornament, but mostly to conceal the bare timbers 
and unfinished walls. The fair was to have lasted a week, and apart 
from its disastrous ending formed an event that for the interest it ex- 
cited, the display of objects of value and beauty, and the liberality 
shown on all sides has never had an equal in the valley. A youth in 
lighting the gas on Friday evening, March i8th, in some unexplamable 
manner ignited the evergreens, which, being dry and inflammable, were 
almost instantly in a blaze all through the church. It was " tea time " 
and the building was comparatively deserted, else so rapid was the spread 
of the fire the disaster might have been a more terrible one than it was. 
Few who witnessed the conflagration will ever be able to drive the mem- 
ory of it from them. When at its height it was feared that there were 
some within the burning mass who had not been able to escape. Two 
citizens of Elmira, Maxey Manning Converse and Samuel S. Hamlin, 
returneti within the structure to make search and both of them were 
severely burned in their humane efforts. Mr. Hamlin eventually re- 
covered and is still a citizen of Elmira. Mr. Converse died from the ef- 
fects of his heroic endeavors in the burning building. He had long been 
an esteemed citizen of Elmira, having come there from the little village 
of Thompson, Conn., in 1841, his business being that of a music teacher. 
He was one who could trace his ancestors through some of the earliest 
settlers of New England back to the De Conyers, who was one of the 
officers who helped William of Normandy to his title of William the 
Conqueror. He himself proved by the manner of his death that he was 
as heroic as any of his ancestors. One of his daughters is the wife of 
the venerable Ariel S. Thurston, another the wife of Judge Lowry, of 
Indiana, who a long time represented his district in Congress. One of 
his sons, Charles Cozart Converse, is a distinguished musician who has 
won the commendations of the best musical critics in Europe. Another 
life was sacrificed by the burning of the church, that of Frederick Hart, 
a son of William E. Hart. He was burned alive while trying to extri- 
cate himself from the building. 

The Rev. George C. Curtiss, D.D., remained pastor of the Presby- 



SKETCHES OF PRESBYTERIAN PASTORS. 285 

terian Cliurcli until May 17, 1869, when he resigned on account of ill 
health. lie subsequently had charge of a church in Canandaigua, N. Y. 
His daughter is the wife of Henry S. Kedfield, esq., one of the members 
of the Chemung County Bar and son of Jared A. Redfield. 

The Rev. Dr. William E. Knox was called to succeed Dr. Curtiss as 
pastor of the church on December 5, 1869, and was installed as such 
May I, 1870. Dr. Knox was one who added luster and prominence to 
any community where he might reside. He was 'one of the most widely 
known and highly regarded clergymen of his day and generation, and 
belonged to a family each one of whom is distinguished in his chosen 
walk of life. He was born October 20, 1820, in Knoxboro, Oneida 
County, N. Y., the son of Gen. John Knox, prominent as a merchant in 
the central part of the State for many years. Dr. Knox was educated 
at Hamilton College and the Auburn Theological Seminary. His first 
church was at Watertown.'N. Y., where he married Alice Woodward 
Jenks, a lady whose influence in Elmira in all ways that were for the 
good was felt for many years. From Watertown Dr. Knox went to 
Rome, N. Y., serving as pastor of the Presbyterian Church there for 
twenty-two years. He retired from that charge in 1869, andwhileona 
visit to Europe received his call to the church in Elmira. He died at 
Blue Mountain Lake in the Adirondacks on Monday, September 17, 
1883. 

The Rev. Isaac Jennings, D.D., is the present pastor of the church, 
having succeeded Dr. Knox in that relation in December, 1883. Under 
his zealous and intelligent care the church is in a high state of pros- 
perity and usefulness. 

The Rev. William Bement continued to be the pastor of the Indepen- 
dent Congregational Church, known now as Park Church, until 1854. In 
1851, May 5th, a church building had been erected where the present 
one is located. The Rev. Thomas Kennicutt Beecher, known the coun- 
try if not the world over as T. K. Beecher, succeeded Mr. Bement as 
pastor of the church in June, 1854. He continues in that relation to 
the church, making him the dean of the clerical profession in Elmira, 
his services extending over the lengthened period of thirty-seven years, 
having few parallels in that respect anywhere in the country. His rep- 
utation is so widespread and is so intimately associated with Elmira that 



2SG OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

hundreds of miles away from the city its name suggests his name and 
liis name suggests its. He was born in Litchfield, Conn., February lo, 
1824, the fourth son of Lyman Beecher by his second wife, and was 
graduated at Illinois College. His education had been in the direction 
of making him a teacher, but in 1852 he received a call from the New 
England Congregational Church, Williamsburg, L. L, which he accepted, 
remaining, however, only two years and coming from there to Elmira. 
Familiar to the citizens of Elmira and the county as his form and face are, 
what he is, what he has done, and what he is doing are hardly realized 
or completely appreciated. When the time comes, and may it be far into 
tl\e twentieth century that the volume of the book of his life is closed and 
finis is written therein, it will be found, I think, that he was the best of 
all that notable family whose name he bears, and the most distinguished 
and longest remembered citizen of the Chemung Valley. In 1861 the 
Park Church was remodeled, and was taken down in 1872 to make room 
for the present noticeable building that was completed and occupied in 
1876. 

The second offshoot from the old Presbyterian Church, called at the 
time the Second Presbyterian Church, the name being legally changed 
in 1876 to the Lake Street Presbyterian Church, was organized Decem- 
ber 27, i860. It was composed of 117 members who withdrew from 
the old church. The first trustees were Erastus L. Hart, David H. Tut- 
hill, Ariel S.Thurston, Lyman Covell, H. M. Partridge, and Robert Cov- 
ell, jr. The old church building of Trinity Church at the southwest 
corner of Railroad avenue and West Church street was first used as a 
house of worship, but in 1861 the lot at Church and Lake streets was 
purchased and in September, 1861, the corner-stone of the church was 
laid. It was dedicated on the first anniversary of Dr. Murdoch's death, 
June 13, 1862. For a time the Rev. William Bement served as pastor 
of the church, and he has been followed in that relation by the Rev. 
Isaac Clark, who was installed November 12, 186 1. He remained until 
April, 1868, and for a year the church was without a regular pastor. In 
April, 1869, the Rev. N. M. Sherwood, of Putnam County, N. Y.,came 
to the church as its pastor, remaining for six years, and was succeeded 
by the Rev. S. T. Clarke, of Owego, who was installed May 16, 1875. 
Following him in 1880 came the Rev. A. M. Spooner and after him in 
1890 the Rev. Allan F. De Camp, the present pastor. 



PRESBVTERIANISM — TRINITY CHURCH. 287 

There was a further outgrowth of the Presbjtcriaii Cliurch in the 
Fifth ward which resulted in 1882 in the organization of a new society 
in that locality. The church edifice is located in Franklin street, from 
which it takes its name. The formal organization was perfected Janu- 
ary 17, 1882, the first Board of Trustees elected being John S. Smith, 
E. B. Van Wie, A. Van Pelt, J. H. Harris, E, !•:. Dillisdin, John Mc- 
Neeley, Eugene Ribble, William Mosher, Charles Dance. The Rev. 
Dr. D. D. Lindsley was for many years settled over the church. 

A still further outgrowth of the Presbyterian Church resulted in 
building what is called the North Church, located on College avenue 
northwest of the college. The edifice was finished and occupied in 
1890, and is a very attractive house of worship. 

Trinity Church, under the earnest and self sacrificing labors of the Rev. 
Dr. Andrew Mull, during the period under consideration very greatly 
enlarged the sphere of its usefulness. The lot where the church now 
stands was purchased in 1850 and the rectory was finished and occu- 
pied in 1853. The wardens of the church at the time were Hervey 
Luce and J. L. Parker ; vestrymen, VV. P. YatQS, Dorus Hatch, A. C. 
Ely, E. Jones, Stephen Hill, and E. G. Brown. June 12, 1855, work 
was begun on the new church, the corner- stone being laid on August 1st 
of that year. The new edifice was opened for worship in July, 1858, 
and cost $30,000. A debt remained, which, however, was cancelled, and 
the church was consecrated by Bishop Coxe, April 5, 1866. At that 
time it was the finest church edifice in the section. 

Dr. Hull was succeeded as rector of the church in 1867 t>y the Rev. 
Dr. William Parct, who remained a little more than two years. During 
his incumbency a mission church was begun in the Fifth ward which, 
however, was abandoned as unprofitable. Dr. Paret went from Elmira 
to Williamsport, and thence to the Church of the Epiphany in Wash- 
ington, D. C. While there he was elevated to the office of bishop of 
the see of Maryland, a position that he still occupies with dignitj' and 
much usefulness. 

The Rev. Dr. George H. McKnight came to Trinity Church in Jul)-, 
1869, and still remains its rector. He was born in Watertown, N. Y., 
but went when a mere lad to Rochester. In the Collegiate Institute 
of that city he was prepared for the General Theological Seminary in 



288 OUR COUXTV AND ITS PEOPLE. 

New York, where he was graduated in 1849. He received his degree 
of A.M. from Hobart College in 185 1 and of D.D. from Hamilton 
College in 1873. His first parish was that of St. Mark's in Le Roy, 
N. Y., from there going to Christ Church, Madison, Ind., and thence to 
Christ Church in Springfield, Mass. From Springfield he came to 
Elmira. Dr. McKnight has always been very active and prominent in 
church work. For three times he has been a member of the general 
convention of the Episcopal Church. He was for a number of years 
president of, the Sixth District Convocation of his diocese; served on 
the committee of his diocese having in charge the revision of the prayer 
book ; is a trustee of the Elmira College for Women and of the hospital 
at Sayre. He has been a constant and valued contributor to church 
periodicals and others, and has written several popular tracts, one of 
which at least, on the " Lord's Supper," attracted much attention. In 
the twenty- two years of his rectorship of Trinity the parish has been 
greatly prospered spiritually and temporally, strongly testifying to Dr. 
McKnight's zeal and ability as a man and Christian character as a 
pastor. 

The Arnot Memorial Chapel attached to Trinity Church forms one of 
the achitectural features of Elmira. It is situated just east of the church 
and was the thought, work, and gift of Mrs. Marianna Arnot Ogden, 
the eldest daughter of John Arnot. The corner-stone of the building 
was laid in 1880, and it was consecrated in November, 1882, by Bishop 
Huntington. The whole building is I28x 56 feet, and includes besides 
the chapel a library, parlors, dining room, kitchen, and dressing rooms. 
The stained glass windows, memorials to various members of Mrs. Og- 
den's family, are rich examples of the art producing such objects. 

Grace Church was an oftshoot of Trinity Church and was incorporated 
in 1864, the wardens and vestrymen being Hervey Luce, William P. 
Yates, B. P. Beardsley, E. N. Frisbie, F. H. Atkinson, and Francis Col- 
lingwood. The first rector was the Rev. Charles T. Kellogg, who was 
followed by the Rev. William H. Hitchcock and he by the Rev. F. D. 
Hoskins. The Rev. W. E. Wright is now the rector. The chapel oc- 
cupied by the church was erected in 1866. 

No church has thrived during the latter half of this century more than 
the Baptist. The pastors of the organization immediately preceding the 




MA 



/^<l-1i^^-C<^ 




THE liAPTIST DENOMINATIOX. 289 

present one were the Revs. Dr. T. O. Lincoln, J. J. Keyes, and Addison 
Parker. The Rev. Dr. William T. Henry, the present pastor, came to 
the church in 1877, occnpying the pulpit in that relation for the first 
time on March 27th of that year. Dr. Henry was born in New York 
city on Januar)' 16, 1849. His early education was obtained in the 
public schools of that city. At the age of eighteen he was converted 
and united with the South Baptist Church of New York. In 1868 he 
entered Colgate Academy to pre[)are for the university, graduating 
therefrom in the year 1870 at the head of his class. He graduated from 
Madison (now Colgate) Universit\- in the year 1874, also at the head 
of his class, and from the Hamilton Theological Seminary in 1876. 
His first call was to the Elmira church. On the 24th of December, 
1872, he married Miss Annie Swift, of Hamilton, N. Y. In college 
Dr. Henry was a member of the D. K. E. fraternity and on his 
graduation was admitted to the Phi Beta Kappa. He has the degrees 
of A.B. and A.M. in course, and of D.D. bestowed on him first in 
1886 by the Chicago University and again in 1887 by his own Alnta 
Mater, Colgate University. For the sixty and more years of the life of 
the Baptist Church it has had but fourteen pastors, and Dr. Henry has 
already served in that capacity longer than any of his predecessors. 
The present beautiful church edifice was begun in the spring of 1889 
and was occupied for the first time on December 28, 1890, services be- 
ing held in the Sunday school room. The building is one of the most 
tasteful and imposing ones in the State. 

On May 6, 1 854, at their own request sixty-four members of the 
Baptist Church asked to be dismissed ; their request was granted and 
they formed the " Central Baptist Church," coming to be known after- 
ward as the " Madison Avenue Baptist Church." But the duration of 
this organization was brief A house of worship was erected at the cor- 
ner of East Church street and Madison avenue on the lot now occupied 
by the Industrial School, the society using during the time of its erec- 
tion the old Trinity Church, corner of Railroad avenue and West Church 
street. The first pastor was the Rev. R. J. Wilson and the first trus- 
tees : E. B. Georgia, N. L. Higgins, Riggs Watrous, Joseph M. Buck- 
bee, and John -S. Baldwin. Among the pastors was the Rev. I'lzra F. 
Crane and the last pastor was the Rev. E. M. Mills. 



290 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The Methodist Church during these years was passing through a 
period that, however much it may be looked back upon as being one of 
a struggle, self-denial, and debt, cannot be regarded at all with sorrow 
or regret by those the most interested. It seems to have been more 
like that period in a youth's life when he is suffering from what are called 
" growing pains." They hurt at the time, but when the full stature is 
attained the recollection of them seems to make them somewhat nec- 
essary. The long roll of clergymen who served the church, all of 
whom are remembered with affection and respect, will show tiie kind of 
timber that went to help build up the fibric that is so important and 
useful in these latter days. 

The Rev. Henry Hickok was pastor in 1851-52 and he was suc- 
ceeded the next year by the Rev. Theodore McElheney. In 1854-55 
came the Rev. Dr. D. D. Buck; in 1856, the Rev. Thomas B. Hudson; 
in 1857-58, the Rev. J. R. Jaques; 1859-60, the Rev. Robert Hogo- 
boom ; in 1861-62, the Rev. James E. Latimer, D.D. Dr. Latimer 
was a son of the Rev. Ebenezer Latimer who was pastor of the church 
in 1835-36. He was a highly educated and cultured gentleman. The 
Rev. Dr. A. C. George was first appointed to this charge in 1863 and 
served for two years. He made a strong impression on the community 
as well as upon his own church. The Rev. S. V^an Benschoten followed 
Dr. George in the years 1865-66. His wife was a daughter of Presid- 
ing Elder the Rev. J. G. Gulick, who for many years resided in Elmira. 
The Rev. O. A. Houghton was pastor of the church in 1867-68. The 
daughter of Socrates Ayres, one of the most active and influential of his 
parishioners, became his wife. In 1869 the pastor of the church was 
the Rev. D. D. Mather and next to him in 1870-71 came the Rev. 
Thomas Toucey. While he was pastor of the church the new edifice 
was begun, the last service held in the old church being August 30, 
1 87 1. At the conference in the fall of that year the Rev. C. Z. Case 
was appointed to the church. He remained one year, and it is but 
little to say of him that he won the love not only of his own people, but 
of the whole community. The Rev. Dr. A. C. George was returned to 
the church in 1872 and served it with ability and zeal for three years. 
During his last year, 1874, the new church was occupied for the first 
time for public worship. The Rev. Elijah Horr, jr., was pastor of the 



THE METHODIST CHURCH. 291 

chuicli in 1875-76 and the Rev. II. F. Spencer for the three following 
years. During Mr. Spencer's pastorate in 1877 the Central New York 
Conference held its meeting in Elmira, Bishop R. S. F"oster presiding 
and IManley S. Hard acting as secretary. The Rev. J. H. McCarthy 
was pastor of the church for three years after Mr. Spencer, he being fol- 
lowed by the Rev. E. M. Mills and he by the Rev. Carlton C. Wilbor, 
Ph.D. At the conference in the fall of 1891 the Rev. E. M. Mills was 
returned to the church and Dr. Wilbor was made presiding elder of the 
district. 

In 1886 great misfortune befell the church in the burning of its beau- 
tiful edifice that had been occupied only twelve years. The conflagra- 
tion occurred on the afternoon of May 27th. With a vitality and force 
that have always marked the society instant steps were taken for re- 
building, and moral and solid support came from the whole community 
to help forward the effort. The corner-stone of the new church was laid 
March 27, 1887, the building was re-opened April 17th, and dedicated 
May 2d. Tiie officers of the church are : S. Ayres, president ; Dr. 
C. W. M. Brown, vice-president; W. S. Gerity, treasurer; J. Robinson, 
secretary ; trustees, S. Ayres, W. Furguson, E. Plumb, A. D. Sy- 
monds, B. N. Payne, J. Robinson, Dr. C. W. M. Brown, J. H. Sackett. 

There has been some intimation that the Methodist Church was 
growing all of this time. There was good evidence of this in the fact 
of the organization in 1852 of the " Hedding" Church. The old mother 
church was too large, and as early as 1849 there was felt the need of a 
new organization, but it did not take practical shape until the year 
named. The society was organized August 31, 1852, Joseph Dumars 
being chairman of the meeting and S. S. Luce secretary. Ste[)hen S. 
Luce was one of the older citizens of Elmira. He was born in New 
Jersey in 181 i and came to Ithaca with his parents in 1826. Five 
years later, in 1831, he removed to Elmira and engaging in the mercan- 
tile business continued to follovv its pursuit until within a short time of 
his death, which occurred in March, 1879. He was a member of the 
Methodist Ciiurch, devoted and consistent, for the nearly half a century 
of his life in Elmira. His wife was a sister of Mrs. R. R. R. Dumars. 

Among those who organized the Hedding Church, or who very soon 
became its active members, were the Hon. John I. Nicks, John Davis, 



292 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Horace Kingsbut)', William Polleys, Benjamin G. Briggs, Henry T. 
Palmer, Joshua Thompson, Bradley Griffin, David T. Tillotson, George 
W. Cantine, N. W. Gardiner, B. Gabriel, H. F. Wells, J. C. Clark, T. C. 
Cowen, A. P. AveriU, J. Compton, R. B. Vanpatten, J. Lowman Mc- 
Dowell, Hector L. Miller, Dana Fox, A. M. Bell, David Decker, T. O. El- 
more, D. Van Allen. The first Board of Trustees of the church was 
composed of the following named : John I. Nicks, N. W. Gardiner, John 
Davis, Bradley Griffin, D. T. Tillotson. The first pastor of the church 
was the Rev. William H. Goodwin, a gentleman of imposing personal 
appearance and an exceedingly fine orator. He afterward attained 
considerable political prominence in the State, served as State senator 
from the Geneva district in 1855, and was appointed one of the 
regents of the university in 1865. He was followed as pastor of Hed- 
ding Church by the Revs. Henry Hickok, J. C. Nobles, Sylvester L. 
Congdon, K. P. Jervis, and John Raines, jr. Mr. Raines had two sons 
who were lads in Elmira, and both of whom have attained high rank in 
their profession of law. One of them, John, is the member of Congress 
from the Steuben district, and another, George, has been State senator 
from the Monroe district and district attorney of that county. The 
Rev. Edward J. Hermans, the prcbcnt presiding elder of the district, fol- 
lowed Mr. Raines as pastor of Hedding Church, and after him have 
come in regular succession the Revs. Otis L. Gibson, Charles Z. Case, 
John Alabaster, George W. Izer, Luke C. Queal, Manly S. Hard, Oscar 
A. Houghton, D. R. Green, and the incumbent, Liston H. Pearce. Of 
this church on Easter day, 1867, Charles H. Palmer became the leader 
of the choir and has retained the position since. He has also always 
been active in the Sunday school work of the society. He is the assist- 
ant postmaster. 

A curious accident happened to the church building on Sunday, Sep- 
tember 2, 1 88 1. It was in the direct path of the tornado that swept 
through the valley at that time, and the spire of the church was lifted 
from its resting-place and thrown to the ground. It has never been re- 
placed. 

There are further intimations of the growth of the Methodist Church 
in the organization of one in the F"ifth ward in 1872, known as the 
Centenary Church. Tlie building occupied by this society was erected 



OTHER CHURCH ORGAXI/.ATIONS. 293 

in 1884. The pastors have been tlie Revs J. G. Giilick, II. B. Cassa- 
vant, Jose[)h B. Sliceiar, T. K. Sharpe, and the present one, E. J. Her- 
mans. Still further evidences of the aggressive growth of the church 
are found in the formation of a " Methodist Union "and the contempla- 
tion of a new church in the Fifth ward on or near Maple avenue. 

Other branches of the main parent churches have sprung out and 
been located in other quarters of the city. The Freewill Baptist Church 
in the Seventh ward was organized in 1869, and the church building 
was opened for service on July 30th of that year. Its first pastor was 
the Rev. Schuyler Aldrich, its present pastor being the Rev. J. O. 
Dickey. A new Congregational organization is in process of formation 
in the Seventh ward. 

The German Evangelical Church, whose building is on Church just 
below William street, was organized November 8, 1874, the pastor 
being the Rev. Mr. Loesch, who was succeeded by the Rev. H. VVinter- 
ick and he bj' the Rev. William Kammerer. The church building was 
erected in 1876. 

The Catholics have been nowise inactive in their church work. The 
German Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist on upper Dickinson 
street was organized in 1867, its first resident pastor having been the 
Rev. G. Erhard. The following have served in that capacity since : 
The Rev. Ferdinand von Riiapplin in 1871; Rev. S. B. Gruber from 
1871 to 1873; Revs. II. Bachman and T. Niebling in 1874; and the 
Rev. Anthony Gisenhoff, who came in 1875 and is the present pastor. 
A large parochial school is connected with this church, established in 
1875. A new church was erected in 189 1 at the corner of Lake and 
East Second streets, the corner-stone thereof being laid on May 4th of 
the year named. 

St. Patrick's is the most conspicuous Catholic Church of the city, oc- 
cupying an exceedingly favorable site in and adjoining much used thor- 
oughfares, and being an imposing and noticeable edifice. It was built 
in 1871 and consecrated on December 13, 1875. Its upbuilding is due 
to the zeal and intelligence of its pastor, the Rev. J. J. Bloomer, who to 
a Christian character adds a business tact and judgment that eminently 
fit him for the position he occupies. He is a Philadelphian b)- birth 
and has won his own way in the world since a lad. He is much beloved 



29i OUR COUNTY AA'D'JTS PEOPLE. 

by his people and has the confidence and respect of the whole com- 
munity. 

St. Mary's Church in the Fifth ward was largely due to the labors of 
the Rev. James C. McManus, a constant and indefatigable laborer and 
unusually successful in the building up and organization of churches. 
Ht always held a high place in the regard of his superiors and his 
people. He came from Watkins, where he had built a church, and put 
St. Mary's on the surest of foundations. The first church was built in 
1872, a frame one, and was replaced in 1874 by the present brick 
structure costing in the neighborhood of $30,000. Father McManus 
was afterward transferred to Batavia, where he died in January, 1882. 
His sister is the wife of John Moore, of the Albany Telegram. The 
present pastor of St. Mary's is the Rev. Michael O'Dwyer, a revered 
pastor and well loved man of high natural abilities and scholarly attain- 
ments. He began his preparation for the ministry in France and com- 
pleted his studies at the seminary at Suspension Bridge, N. Y. He was 
ordained a priest on August 19, 1866, by Bishop Timon, the first bishop 
of Buffalo. He had charge of several parishes, being successful in all, 
coming in 1876 from Salamanca, N. Y., to Elmira. In August, 1891, 
he celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination in a manner 
that will long be remembered by his people and friends. 

Those of the Hebrew faith have two places of worship. The congre- 
gation of B'nai Israel was organized in i860 and their synagogue on 
High street was erected three years later, the following named being the 
trustees: Joseph Gladke, jr., H. Straus, I. Sellner, S. Sittenfield. The 
present rabbi is A. M. Radin. The other congregation, of Shomer 
Hadoth, have their place of worship on Orchard street, their rabbi being 
Abraham Rubin. 

A church for the colored citizens of Eluiira was organized in 1850, 
being of the Methodist denomination and calling itself the African 
Union Methodist Protestant Church. Tiie first church building was 
erected at tlie northwest corner of Dickinson and Fourth streets in 1852. 
The present edifice standing on the same spot was erected in 1879 and 
was dedicated in August, 1880. The pastor of the church now is the 
Rev. George Lodine. Another church calling itself the African Meth- 
odist Episcopal Zion Church grew out of the first organization in 1870, 



FORMA TIO.X OF THE V. M. C. . /. 295 

and built a church home for themselves on the opposite corner that year. 
Its first pastor was the Rev. S. H. Thompson, its present one being the 
Rev. Dr. M. H. Rose, who was born in Frederick, Md., in 1835. Dur- 
ing the war he served at one time as orderly in Col. Benjamin F. 
Tracy's regiment. He is an active, energetic man and a zealous 
worker in church affairs. 

Closely allied to tiie work of the churches is the Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association. This useful, active, and beneficent organization will 
not have very long to wait to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of its 
birth. The first meeting contemplating the formation of such a society 
was held in Jidy, 1858, in the dry goods store of D. Thompson Dunn 
at the northeast corner of Lake and Water streets. Mr. Dunn was an 
active and influential member of the Lake Street Presbyterian Church 
and a son of Hon. James Dunn. After the war he removed to Bruns- 
wick, Ga., of which place he became a most enterprising and prominent 
citizen. He died there in 1890. At the meeting in Mr. Dunn's store 
the following named were elected the first officers of an organization the 
strength and usefulness of which even they, zealous and pure minded 
as they were, could not by any means liaxe foreseen : President, H. M. 
Partridge; vice-president, Seymour B. Fairman ; recording secretary, 
Samuel R. Van Campen ; corresponding secretary, A. R. Wright; 
treasurer, Socrates Ay res ; additional members of the board : Francis 
CoUingwood, D. Thompson Dunn, Ira F. Hart, and Jabez R. Ward. 
Every church was represented in this meeting, a "church committee" 
being appointed of these representative men : Presbyterian, J. A. Rey- 
nolds, Dan W. McWilliams ; Park, George Congdon, J. R. Ward; 
Trinity, M. A. Lewis, F. H. Atkin.son ; First Methodist, William Viall, 
William H. Perry; Hcdding, N. W. Gardiner, S. C. Reynolds; Baptist, 
O. W. Palmer, James Lyon. A glance at these names by one who was 
there then as he is here at present is startling in its indication of the 
changes thirty-three years will make in the personality of a town. One 
of the present generation can easily select the verj- few who still remain 
active in the pursuits of life. 

The first rooms of the association were fitted up for their use in Ely 
Hail and they were taken possession of in September, 1858. Here 
they were at home for nearly ten years, being driven out by a fire in 



200 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

November, 1867. For two months the association met in different 
places, but on January 17, 1868, tliey once more had a permanent 
home in the new opera house blocl-:, where they remained for more than 
fifteen years, coming in the spring of 1883 to Carroll street, at first west 
of Lake street and at length where they are now located, cast of Lake 
street. Some of the most honored and best citizens of Elmira have 
been at the head of this organization, among them being H. M. Part- 
ridge, M. S. Converse, E. N. Frisbie, H. S. Chubbuck, Edward Ford, 
Howard M. Smith, J. Dorman Steele, E. S. Palmer, I. S. Hobbie, C. A. 
Collin, E. A. Scott, A. P. George, T. A. Wales, and John G. Copley. 
At one time its presiding officer was W. L. Moody, a brother of the 
distinguished evangelist. 

In all of its work the association from the start has been earnest, con- 
stant, intelligent, and persistent. In its quiet influence it has been 
perhaps most powerful, althougii the least observed or noticed. Its 
first missionary committee, appointed July 25, 1862, were Stephen Rose, 
H. M. Partridge, N. P. Fassett, B. P. Fenner, J. K. Perry, William 
Brown, F. Collingwood, and Jervis Langdon. In 1866 it procured the 
services as city missionary of. the Rev. William Surbridge, who has 
been succeeded by others in similar work and is a recognized officer of 
the city now. The Seventh Street Chapel, a project first broached in 
July, 1865, and perfected that same year, and the Centenary Methodist 
Church in the Fifth ward are outgrowths of the mission spirit of the 
association. The outward manifestations of the spirit of the organiza- 
tion, its library, its gymnasium, and its numerous appliances to attract 
the attention of young men, are more easily understood and appreciated. 
Its library had its nucleus from the sympathizing wishes of the gentler 
sex, a fact that deserve-; not to be forgotten. In 1868 the Callisophia 
Society of the Elmira College presented the association with twenty- 
two volumes of De Ouincy's works; Jervis Langdon followed with a 
gift of $500 and the Hon. Asher Tyler gave his collection of congres- 
sional records. The industrious and indefatigable Dr. Ira F. Hart for a 
further addition to the same purpose raised by subscription $1,400, and 
the library was founded. But the gratitude and remembrance of the 
public toward the association have their most definite and surest foun- 
dation for the part it took in the golden age of the lyceum, in introduc- 



THE YOU.W, MEM'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. 2!t7 

ing to the people the learned, eloquent, and distinguished men who 
made their etiforts on the platform the most delightful events of the 
winters. The "course" of lectures was discussed and looked forward 
to with an interest and anticipation which there is nothing like in 
these days, and the revenue derived from this source very material!)- 
aided the association in its other and perhaps more important work. 
A somewhat different and more modern system has the association in 
control these da_\-s, its work being managed by those who are trained 
to the calling and wlio give themselves up to it as a vocation for life. 
Jesse L. Cooley is at present president of the association and Rufus 
Stanley the general secretary. The future of this beneficent association 
and an increased power in its field of usefulness seem to be permanently 
assured by the munificence of Mrs. J. Dorman Steele and an aroused 
interest in it in the minds of citizens of generous impulses. A building 
for its own use is contemplated, toward which Mrs. Steele has contrib- 
uted $10,000. The library of Dr. Steele, valued at $25,000, will give 
that sphere of the organization an interest, attractiveness, and value not 
surpassed by any similar collection anywhere except in the largest 
cities. 

Working along similar lines to those followed by the Young Men's 
Christian Association, but addressed particularl)' and devoted entirely 
to the interests of railroad men, is the Railway Young Men's Christian 
Association. It is an organization sustained by the moral and active 
influence of all the many railroad companies centering in Elmira, and 
its opportunities of benefitting those for whose sake it exists are numer- 
ous and constantly taken advantage of. It was organized on May 12, 
1878, and the modest but convenient and excellently equipped building 
it occupies at Church street and Railroad avenue was built in 1881 and 
occupied for the first time in August of that year. The Board of Man- 
agers is composed of the following named: President, J. H. Shearer; 
vice-president, Y.. Wing; recording secretary, F. C. Marsh; treasurer, 
T B. Delo ; general secretary, C. L. Shattuck. Additional members : 
W. V. Calkins, G. H. Carise, W. J. Drake, W. J. Marsh, W. H. Peters, 
C. M. Nichols, T. J. Murphy, H. J. Rurt, F. F. Fitch, C. Wehnes. 
:!8 



2!)8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Schools of Elmira — Something of the Early Ones — Who were the Teachers — 
The Cleves School — The Elmira College — Simeon Benjamin — The Teachers 
of the Institution — The old l?alcl\vin Street Academy — Its early Principals — 
Some of its Pupils — Francis Collingwood — Dr. Nathaniel Randolph Seeley — The 
first Board of Education of Elmira — Members of the Board since its Existence 

— The new Free Academy and the new District Schools — Secretaries of the 
Board — Edward Danforth — The thirteenth Annual Meeting of the National 
Educational Association — Some of the Public School Teachers — Dr. J. Dorman 
Steele — Prof. James R. Monks — Mrs. "George Archibald" — Local Masonic 
history Continued — The chief Officers of the several Bodies — The Royal Arch 
Chapter and the Commandery — John D. Williams — William Lee — Dr. Thad- 
deus S. Up de Graff — John S. Bartlett — Ivy Lodge, No. 397 — Elisha H. Cook 

— The Stobo Family — The new Masonic Temple — Permanent quarters for the 
Postoffice — The Postmasters of Elmira. 

THE educational ad\antages of the county so far as the public 
schools are concerned, during the early \-ears of the period under 
» consideration, were in rather an inchoate and formative condition. 
These daj^s they would be called unsatisfactory. Some reference has 
already been made to tlie earliest schools in the valley and in the vil- 
lage of Elmira. The first one was located on quite a hill that there used 
to be just north of where the Masonic Temple now stands on Lake street. 
It was succeeded by one built on the lot where the sheriff's residence 
now stands. About this time, and it was in the second decade of tliis 
century, there was a select school kept in the second story of a building 
that stood on the west side of Lake street where Carroll street now runs. 
Francis Collingwood had his jewelry store in the first story. Here were 
the labors of Judge Ariel S. Thurston in his young manliood directed 
toward " teaching the young idea how to shoot." After him, in the 
same place, came one by the name of Peter Heal}' that sufficiently de- 
scribes his nationality. He was a kind of" Squeers," blind in one eye. 
All the better class of boys of the village went to him. In his mind if 
they were not zealous students they were "idle hounds." He was a 
learned but passionate and disagreeable man. Next was a little build- 
ing that stood about half way between the eastern entrance of Park 



EARL V SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL TEACHERS. 299 

Church and Main street. The name of Pomeroy Aspinwall is one, tlie 
most intimately connected therewith as the teacher in command there. 
The little yellow building, wlieii its school days were over, was moved 
to the north side of Second street a little east from the corner of College 
avenue. It was bought and moved b\- John Davis, who at one time 
kept the tavern half way betiveen Elmira and Horseheads, and liad ac- 
quired the ver\' peculiar nickname of " Crow " Davis. The building is 
still standing used as a dwelling, speaking much in favor of the manner 
in which those who have gone before put up their houses. It was suc- 
ceeded as a school- iiouse by one on Church street on the lot east of the 
Hedding Church. This was a building in which when it was new the 
citizens of Elmira took great pride. Compared with the school build- 
ings of the present day it was a poor concern, but in that day it was a 
triumph of public spirit. At one time one by the name of Pratt ruled 
there. A son of his named Cyrus married the daughter of Whitting- 
ton Sayre, of Southport. Another well remembered teacher there was 
Francis Ferry, l^ut the teacher most clearly remembered as having 
been the longest in service there was one by the name of William G. 
Hathaway, a spectacled gentleman of rather stern aspect and a very 
vigorous disciplinarian. His wife was a sister of the wives of the Hon. 
Daniel S. Dickinson and Giles W. Hotchkiss, of Ringhamton. 

Besides these, and e.xtending over a long period of time, there was a 
famous select school of the day conducted by the Misses Cleves in a 
building on tiie north side of Water street just a little east of College 
avenue. The sisters were iMiss Mary, Miss Sarah, and Miss Julia with 
a niece named Abbie. Miss Mary took care of the school and Miss 
Sally looked after the house. Miss Mary besides her day school started 
and established the Sunday school of the Presbyterian Church. She 
was one of the most active and intelligent women that Elmira has ever 
known. Joshua Cleves, the brother of these ladies, married very late in 
life. He was a large stout man and very deaf With his sisters, also, 
he was a devoted Presbyterian. He had a shop in the rear of the school 
where he carried on wood-turning and did a little also in the chairmak- 
ing way. His widow for a long time was the matron of Park Church. 
She is now living, at an advanced age, with her children in Binghaniton. 
Still another select school was that of the O'Flyngs during the thirties 



300 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

of this century, being presided over by a sister and wife of the Metho- 
dist minister of the time. These were all rude and immature affairs 
compared with the St. Ursula and Bryant Hall of to-day, but they 
served their purposes and were useful in their day and generation. 

Allusion has already been made to Miss Thurston's seminary and 
that brings us to the period of the establishment of the Elmira College 
for Women. This institution, which was first known as the " Elmira 
Collegiate Seminary," its name being changed by act of legislature 
April 13, 1855, to " Elmira Female College," was the pioneer in the 
way of giving to women the higher education that before then had been 
esteemed to be one of the prerogatives of men, and it is a well estab- 
hshed fact, although one not as well known as it should be, that this 
college was the first one of any importance where degrees similar to 
those given at men's colleges were bestowed upon women. It was by 
the merest chance in the world that this institution was located in El- 
mira. Every arrangement had been made to establish it at Auburn, 
the first charter obtained locating it there. All of the first Board of 
Trustees lived in the neighborhood of that city with one exception, 
Simeon Benjamin. But that exception was rather a large one so far as 
the establishment of the institution was concerned. 

The Rev. H. A. Sackett and wife, of Auburn, were the most active 
movers in the enterprise, but subscriptions did not come in sufficiently 
to meet their expectations and no suitable place for the buildings pre- 
sented itself in Auburn or near there. This gentleman and lady visited 
Elmira and at that time secured from Mr. Benjamin a subscription of 
$5,000 provided the college was located in his village. With about 
$60,000, of which $24,000 was a loan, the site was bought and the 
building begun in 1853. It was opened in October, 1855, "ot^ very well 
prepared for its work, but with as many students as could well be accom- 
modated. For a year at its head was Mrs. Dunlap, a lady most excel- 
lently equipped for some of the duties that fell upon her, but it was a 
position hardly fitted for a woman unless she was one of e.xceptional 
qualities. The Rev. Dr. A. W. Cowles was selected for the position as 
president of the institution, and was inaugurated as such on August 7, 
1856. For more than thirty years he maintained that relation with the 
college, and has greatly aided it in its early struggles and in its period of 




. (y M^^^^'^'^'^^'^i' 



-^^. 



TWO WORTHY EDUCATIOXAL I.XSTITUTIOXS. 301 

growth to its present prosperity and great usefulness. He was suc- 
ceeded in 1890 by the Rev. Charles \'an Norden, D.D. Mr. Benjamin's 
benefactions to the college were constant and liberal as long as he lived, 
aggregating a total amount of more than $80,000. It is not too much 
to say that his liberal hand made it. In 1890 the treasurj' of the in- 
stitution was still further increased by the sum of $10,000 by the munifi- 
cence of Solomon L. Gillett, a sum given for the erection of a music 
hall which will add greatly to the facilities already possessed by the 
college. 

Many of the teachers and professors of the institution have been emi- 
nent in their way, adding to it a reputation and interest that are not 
merely local. Of former ones are Fletcher Roe, a son of Isaac Roe; 
Charles S. P"arrar ; the Rev. James E. Latimer, D.D., who became a 
distinguished Methodist clergyman and afterward professor of historic 
theology in the School of Theology of the Boston University ; Mrs. 
Fidelia E. Stanley, Miss Laura A. Wentworth, Miss Anna M. Bronson, 
Miss Eliza H. Stanwood, and Miss Helen N. Converse. And of the 
present Dr. Cowles, who remains connected with the institution, and 
the Rev. Darius R. Ford. 

It seems to have been the period when much interest was felt in the 
subject of education and especially free education. The old academy 
on Baldwin street, where higher studies were pursued than at the district 
schools, was decidedly unsatisfactory. The building was an old wooden 
one that had formerly served as the Presbyterian Church, having been 
moved in 1836 to the lot where it stood. It had outlived its useful- 
ness. Among those wlio had been in charge of it or teachers there 
were Walter Ayrault, William Annin, Daniel Marsh, James L. Alverson, 
J. Guernsey Marchant, Joshua Sweet, Charles O. Counsell, M. S. Con- 
verse, Elijah N. Barbour, the Ford brothers, and H. M. AUer. The last 
named, after leaving lilmira just before the war, went to Kansas, where 
lie became a prominent politician and railroad man, serving at one time 
as one of the judges of the State. He was the last principal of the old 
Baldwin Street Academy. Moses Sumner Converse, one of the teachers 
mentioned, has long remained an esteemed and honored citizen of El- 
mira He comes of the distinguished Converse family of New England, 
and on his mother's side belongs also to the Sumner family of Massa- 



302 OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

cluisctts. He came to Elmira from Butternuts, Otsego County, in 
August, 1843, and with the exception of a few years spent as professor 
of mathematics at the Delaware Literarj' Institute in Franklin, Dela- 
ware County, N. Y., has since resided in Elmira. He married, in Au- 
gust, 1849, Julia N. Bulkeley, the only daughter of Brownell Bulkeley, 
of Coventry, Chenango County. Two daughters were born to them, 
Georgiana and Helen. Georgiana married George B. Stothoff, of Schuy- 
ler County, and died in 1879. Helen is the wife of Prof. William B. 
Seeley, Ph.D. of San Antonio, Tex., and now resides in that city. Mr. 
Converse has always been very active in the work of his church, the 
Presbyterian, and in the educational matters of the city, and at the age 
of seventy-three, clear and active in mind aud vigorous in bod)', ap- 
proaches the sunset period of his life with the memory of an unblem- 
ished career surrounding him that has been full of good deeds and 
loving kindness to all. 

Elijah N. Barbour, another of those above named, came from Otsego 
County to Elmira in 1844. He was a very active member of the Bap- 
tist Church. After leaving the academy in 1851 he had a select school 
in a building called "Temperance Hall" on Carroll street. He after- 
ward engaged in the mercantile business. Mr. Barbour never lost in- 
terest in educational matters. He was a member of the first Board of 
Education of the city of Elmira, and was for verj' many years the super- 
intendent of the Baptist Sunday school. He died September 29, 1864. 
He was a man of great purity of character, and there are many citizens 
of Elmira grown old now who cherish his memory very tenderly. 

More than one person who has risen to distinction received his edu- 
cation at the Baldwin Street Academy. The Hon. Charles B. Farwell, 
United States senator from Illinois, was educated there as were also 
Rear-Admiral Francis Roe, Maj.-Gen. William W. Averell, and Hull 
Fanton, esq., prominent among the officers of the One Hundred and 
Seventh Regiment and conspicuous in the State as a lawyer and a politi- 
cian. Especially belonging to this locality was Francis CoUingwood, 
son of one of the same name, whom a companion has characterized as 
the " most precocious pupil there." His life has quite well borne out 
his promise and has reflected honor upon the city of his birth. He 
graduated in 1855 at tlie famous Polytechnic Institute of Troy, N. Y., 



FRANCIS COLLING WOOD AND DR. SEELEV. 303 

at tlie head of his class, and lias ranked all his life among the first civil 
engineers of the country. For ten years he was a member of the Insti- 
tute of Engineers of Great Britain, and for a paper contributed to it by 
him he was awarded a double premium. He is a member of the Ameri- 
can Institute of Mining Engineers, of the New York Academy of Sci- 
ences, of the New York Microscopical Society, and a fellow of the 
American Association for the .Advancement of Science. He was one of 
the engineers in tlie construction of the Brooklyn bridge and built tlie 
large dry dock at Newport News, Va., a work that has attracted the 
attention of the whole country. One of his latest undertakings was to 
ascertain if possible some means of controlling the turbulent Chemung 
River so that in its sudden rise it will not be so destructive to the val- 
ley and the city of Elmira. Mr. Collingwood was elected in 1890 the 
secretary of the American Society of Civil Engineers, one of the most 
important scientific organizations of the country, with offices in New 
York city. 

Dr. Nathaniel Randolph Seeley, one of the most distinguished and 
successful physicians of the State, was born in 1835 in the valley that 
takes its name from his family, who were among the earliest settlers 
there, and received his education at the old Baldwin Street Academy. 
He studied medicine in the otlfices of Drs. D. A. Towner and Patrick \V. 
Gray in Elmira, and was graduated with distinction from the HonicLop- 
athic Medical College in Cleveland, Ohio. For a time he practiced 
his profession in Corning, N. Y., but came back to Elmira in 1868, 
where his great natural abilities and acquired skill and experience soon 
placed him in the leading rank of his profession. For more than twenty 
years he was the most widely known and the highest regarded phy- 
sician in his locality. His constant application to his business and the 
ceaseless calls upon him, which his love for his life-work forbade him to 
disregard, undermined a constitution not naturally of the most vigorous 
character, and he died in 1888, but a little more than fifty, at too early 
an age to yield up so valuable a life. It might truly be said of him that 
he gave his life for others. His wife, whom he married in 1859, was 
Mary Stuart, connected with the family of Lieutenant-Governor Camp- 
bell, of Steuben County. There were four children in this family, two 
sons and two daughters. Downa, the eldest, a child of unusual intel- 



304 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

lect, mature in thoui^ht, manner, and disposition, died in early youth. 
Tile sons are Fred and Randolpli. Florence Wetmore, tlie second 
daughter, was married on November 4, 1891, to Jolin Magee, a son of 
Gen. George J. Magee, of Watkins, N. Y., and a grandson and namesal<e 
of tlie thrifty and enterprising gentleman wlio liad mucli to do witii the 
development of the southern tier counties of New Yoric and the north- 
ern tier counties of Pennsylvania, acquiring by his well directed efforts 
a fortune not surpassed by that accumulated by any other person in the 
region. 

One of the female teachers of the Baldwin Street Academy at one 
time was Miss Adaline Tubbs, who came to Elmira from Herkimer 
County. She became, first, the wife of Judge William Henry Wisner 
a'nd afterward of E. N. Barbour. A sister of hers married Judge Ira 
Harris, of Albany, who at one time was United States senator from 
New York. Their daughter, Miss Clara Harris, spent much of her time 
in Elmira with her aunt, Mrs. Wisner, and was at school at the acad- 
emy. She and Lieutenant Ratlibone, whom she subsequently married, 
were with President Lincoln in the box at the theater when he was shot. 
The shock was a terrible one, and one from which Lieutenant Rathbone 
never recovered. Once or twice he showed an unsoundness of mind 
that alarmed his friends, but he seemed to recover from it. He was ap- 
pointed to an European consulate, and while on his way to his post of 
duty, in a sudden, uncontrollable frenzy, killed his wife. 

In 1859 the change came in the school system of Elmira, and it came 
with great rapidity. In the legislature of that year a law was passed 
providing for a board of education to have the public schools of the city 
in charge. The first commissioners were Erastus L. Hart, John Arnot, 
Orrin Robinson, Elijah N. Barbour, Ariel S. Thurston, Stephen Mc- 
Donald, Archibald Robertson, Civilian Brown, Shubael B. Denton. 
The first president of the board was Erastus L. Hart and its first secre- 
tary and superintendent S. R. Scofield. Those who have served on this 
board, one of the most important governing bodies of the city or county, 
deserve to be permanently recorded. It will be seen that some of the 
best of the citizens of Elmira have held the honorable position: 

John Arnot, 1859-67; John Arnot. jr., 18G3-G4; i[atthias H. Arnot, 1875-79, 1S81 
to the present time; Levi Averill, 18C7-71 ; Elijah N. Barbour, 1859-Gl ; William Be- 
ment, 1860-61; Civilian Brown, 1859-GO; George A. Bru.'ih, 18G4-G5 ; Thonia,s K. 



A/EM/iERS OE THE BOARD OE EDUCATIOX. 305 

Beecher, 186(i-68; Henry A. Best, 1870-72; Charles W. Brown, 1877-79; Patiick 
Batlersljy, 1877 to the present time ; Joseph II. Barney, 1877-90; Lyman Covell, 18()3- 
lio; Francis Colhngwood, 18G:?-64, 18G8-69; Jesse L. Cooley, 1865-6(>, 1879 to the 
present time; Asahel B. ClianiVierlain, 18G8-74 ; Zaimon F. Chase, 1870-81; Luther 
Caldwell, 1886-87; Michael J. Cosgrove, 1885-87; Isaac Seymour Copeland, 1885-87, 
1889 to the present time ; Freiierick Collin. 1887 to the present time ; Charles B. Davis, 
1880; Shubael B. Denton, 18.59-02; David Decker, 18G3-68; George M. Diven. 18G8- 
71, 1872-76 ; Oliver H. Doimce, 1871-72; William Dundas, 1873-76; Eugene Diven, 
18.80-86; Caspar G. Decker, 1890 to the present time; Truman Fassett, 18G1-G2 ; 
Charles S. Farrar. 18(i2-63 ; Newton P. Fassett, 1S65-G7; Seymour B. Fairman, 1867; 
Patrick IL Flood, 1873-74; Silas O. Gleason, 18G2-(>5 ; Nelson W. Gardiner, 180i;-G7; 
Chauncey W. Gardiner, 1874-76; Everet Green, 1879-81: Grandison .V. Gridley, 
1884-85; Henry S. Gilbert, 1885-89; Erastus L. Hart, 1859-G/ ; Eli S. Huhbell, 18GG- 
G7; Samuel Hotchkin, 1874-75; J. S. Humphrey, 1875-76; Francis Hall, 1887-90; 
Richmond Jones, 18G5-G6; John U. Jones, 1867-72; A. P. Jones, 1876-77; R. B. 
Jenk.s, 188G lo the present time; John R. Joslyn, 1887-91; William C. Loorais, IJ^OO 
to the present time; Stephen McDonald, 1859-61 ; Jesse McKinney, 1861-63 ; Jacob 
L. McDowell, 1870-74; Robert McDowell, 1877-79; John 1. Nicks, 18()1-G3; D.Brain- 
ard Nelson, 1862-63; Alfred F. Norton, 1876-77; William O'Neill, 1879-81; George 
W. Palmer, 1865-67; Edward H. Palmer, 1866-67; H. D. V. Pratt, 1874-84; Henry 
H. Piirdy. 1886-87; Orrin Robinson, 1859-73; Archibald Robertson, 1859-66; Virgil 
B. Read, 1869-73; Daniel Stephens, 1864-67; David W. Samuel, 1866-67; Joseph C. 
Sampson, 1S6C-67 ; Thomas S. Spaulding, 1867-72 ; Robert J. Smith, 1867-68; Chaun- 
cey N. Shipman, 1872-80; Edwin A. Scott, 1872-76; J, D F. Slee, 187.3-79; J. Dor- 
man Steele, 1875-76; Ariel S. Thurston, 18.59-61, 1869-70; James Tillson. 1860-63; 
John B. Toole, 1868-69; C. B. Tompkin.s, 1879-80; Charles Tidd, 1881-85; Thaddeus 
S. Up de Graft", 1872-77; John D. WilHams, 1869-72; William C. Wey, 1S71-75; 
James L. Woods, 1876-84 ; E. Wi.seman, 1881-85 ; J. Philip Weyer. 1S84-S6 ; E. B. 
Voumans. 18S1-S5; F. B. Parke, 1891. 

The first meeting of the first 15oard of Education was held on April 19, 
1859. The Free Academy was completed in 1862, the lot whereon it 
stands, on Clinton street extending from Lake to William streets, having 
been purchased in i860. In 1891 preparations were begun for tlie 
erection of a new building to cost $45,000. 

School No. I on Sullivan street, the first of the new district schools 
to be built, was completed in 1868. School No. 2, at Davis and Second 
streets, was built the ne.\t year. School No. 3, in the Fifth ward, was 
first occupied in January, 1 87 1. The school-house of Commissioner 
District No. 4 underwent a number of vicissitudes. For a time the old 
school-house at " Pigeon Point," a spot at the junction of Lake and Sul- 
livan streets, was used. There had been a sort of an intermittent school 
39 



306 OUR COUNTY AND /TS PEOPLE. 

there for man}' years. It was a lonesome spot by itself then and espe- 
cially so in contrast with what it is now. A small building on Baldwin 
street and another one on Clinton street on the academy lot for two or 
three years accommodated the children of No. 4 district. In 1862 a 
brick building was put up on Lake street near what is now tlie corner 
near the Lackawanna road. This was burned in the spring of 1866, a 
new building being, however, immediately put up in its place. This was 
soon demonstrated to be altogether too small, and in 1872 a new build- 
ing for the district was to be erected on Division street between Benton 
and Hall streets. It is one of the most conspicuous edifices in the city. 
Both buildings are in use, the older one for three primary grades. 
Commissioner District No. 5 is in the northwest part of the cit}'. The 
first building used as a school in the district was on Fifth street between 
Columbia and Davis streets. The new building on Washington avenue 
between McDonald and Lincoln streets was erected in 1S73 at a cost of 
$50,000, and was occupied for the first time January 2, 1874. 

Besides these there is in District No. i a primary school at Madison 
avenue and Second streets, one of the most shapely and convenient of 
school buildings. It was built and occupied in 1878, affording much re- 
lief to the crowded main building of the district. District No. 3, which 
comprises all the city south of the river, also has a new school building 
completed in 1890 and located on Riverside avenue at the foot of Cald- 
well avenue. The enlargement of the city in 1890 brought within the 
limits the old district known as No. 17. The building in this district is 
not in use. 

Many persons have been closely associated with the public schools of 
Elmira who deserve a remembrance in any record of the city. Orrin 
Robinson, a brother of ex- Governor Lucius Robinson and the member 
of Assembly from the county in 1855, was the first secretary of the 
Board of Education, and the Rev. William Bement was the superintend- 
ent and librarian until 1866, as long as that office was in existence. The 
office of secretary and librarian was filled from 1866 to 1875 consecu- 
tively by James S. Thurston, Arthur S. F"itch, Frederick G. Surbridge, 
Hosea H. Rockwell, and Edward B. Youmans. The first secretary and 
superintendent was Edward Danforth. This gentleman, distinguished 
throughout the State as an educator, came first to Elmira in 1873. In 



P£/!SO.\S PKOMINENT IN EDUCA TIOXAl. MA TTERS. ;i(l7 

August of that year Elmira was honored witli being the place of the 
thirteenth annual meeting of the National Educational Association. A 
great many distinguished men took part in the proceedings, among them 
being Dr. James McCosh, then the president of Princeton College, and 
Dr. Charles W. Eliot, president of Harvard University. The president 
of the association was the Hon. Birdscy Grant Northrup, then the head 
of the public schools of the State of Connecticut. The sessions of the 
association were held in the opera house beginning Tuesday, August 
5th, and continuing for three days. It was one of the most important 
meetings of the organization and one of the most entertaining events 
in the annals of Elmira. 

Other active and efficient secretaries of the Board of P^ducation have 
been C. B. Tompkins and Dr. G. V. R. Merrill, the present one being 
E. J. Beardsley, who by a long and very successful career as teacher has 
honestly won the responsible position that he holds. 

Of the teachers there were Dr. J. Dorman Steele and James R. Monks 
of the academy. The first named, by his text books for schools, has 
won a permanent place in the educational literature of the country, and 
Professor Monks, besides his well performed duties at the academy 
and his equally excellent and more onerous work at the reformatory, 
has manifested in connection with editorial labors on the Advertiser and 
Gazette the possession of high literary qualities that deserve to be more 
frequently and constantly exercised. 

Besides these there were in the schools deserving of remembrance 
Luther C. Foster, of No. i, who made a very successful superintendent 
of schools for Ithaca; Miss Jennie Eustace, of the academy, who has 
developed into an actress of a high order of merit; Parley Coburn, 
of No. 3, whose principalship dates from the opening of the school in 
1871 ; W. R. Prentice, of No. i, who as superintendent of the schools of 
Hornellsville is winning the commendation and confiilence of the peo- 
ple of that little city; Comfort S. Brown, of old No 4, of the prominent 
family of that name in Southport, who is remembered with affection, and 
who fairly gave up his life in the pursuit of his favorite calling of teacher; 
the Misses L. Gertrude Wellington, Henrietta E. Munson, Emma Sayles, 
and Emily A. Nelson, of the academy; Miss Cornelia S. Norman, a long 
time of No. i, now of the academy, a member of one of the oldest fami- 



308 OUR COUXTY A.\D ITS PEOPLE. 

lies of tlie valley; IVIiss Anne IC. Hotchkiss, a long time of Xo. i ; Miss 
Mary A. Potter, formerl\- of No. 3, now the principal of the Madison 
Avenue Primary School, also a member of one of Elmira's oldest families ; 
Misses Julia C. and Augusta J. Durbon, of No. 2 ; and she who at one 
time wrote her name Annie M. Campbell, and of school No. 2. She be- 
came the wife of George A. Palmer, of Elmira, and is widely known in 
the literature of the county as Mrs. " George Archibald," selecting as 
her ;/(?;« de plume the given names of her husband. Both in poetry and 
prose she has written that which promises to place her among the emi- 
nent writers of the land. While especially excellent in her literary 
work for children what she does for more mature readers is of a high 
class. .She has won her waj', too, by herself and the merit of what she 
has done, having been an orphan since her fourteenth )^ear and almost 
entirely dependent upon her own exertions. The only legacy she ever 
had was from her mother, and was in the words "Be a good girl." She 
has made that legacy pay her better than if it had been bank stock in- 
stead. 

One thing at present in relation to the public schools of Elmira strikes 
an observer as somewhat peculiar. In 1890 the school census of the 
city, taken of those between the ages of four and twenty- one, shows a 
total of 7,968. Of these 4,413 attend the public schools and 760 at- 
tend private schools. It is natural to inquire : Where do the remaining 
2,795 children go or what are they doing? 

Next to the educating and refining influences in a communitj' of the 
churches and schools very naturally come the ancient and mystic or- 
ders of Masonry. They have flourished greatly for their own prosperity 
and for the benefit of the people in the latter half of the nineteenth 
century. Union Lodge, No. 95, has nearly 200 members in good stand- 
ing, and taking up its official history where we dropped it it remains to 
be said that its masters have been : 

Masters of Union Lodge, No. 95, F. and A. M. — In 185 1-52, James S. 
French; 1853-54, Daniel S. Hamilton; 1855, James S. French ; 1856, 
A. G. Reynolds; 1857, William M. Gregg; 1858, George S. McCann ; 
1859, William W. Dingledy ; i860, William M. Gregg; 1861, Isaac H. 
Reynolds; 1862, Thomas S. Spaulding ; 1S63, Sutherland Dewitt ; 
1864-65, Henry W. Mclntyre ; 1866, George H. Cotton; 1S67, Mau- 



EMINENT REPRESENTA TIVES OF MASONRY. 309 

rice Levy; 1868-69, Joseph Burbage; 1870, E. E. Merrill; 1871-73, 
Siitlierland Dewitt ; 1874, David S. Dorr; 1875, Hosea H. Rockwell; 
1876-77, Menry Simpson; 1878-79, George C. Moore; 1880, Robert 
H. Van Gorder; 1881-82, Charles Van Wagoner; 1883-84, C. B. Chase; 
18S5-86, J. C. Cartledge; 1887, Eugene H. Wilkie ; 1888, John Levy ; 
1889, Louis D. Caldwell ; 1890. John D. Williams. 

These men deserve more notice than a mere catalogue of tlieir names, 
for they were all the best of citizens as they were good Masons. Many 
of them are noted in other places in these pages. James S. French was 
for many years a distinguished feature of the city of Elmira. Tall, and 
even in his advanced years as upright as a young hickory, he com- 
manded by his personal appearance the respect of all, which was con- 
firnierl and strengthened on acquaintance. He served as secretary of 
the Mechanics Society for three years and was its treasurer for the very 
long period of twenty-two years. He died May 4, i88i, long past his 
eigiitieth \'ear. 

Daniel S. Hamilton was a jeweler by trade and was born in the town- 
ship of Catherine in 18 16. He came to Elmira when a young man and 
learned his trade of Francis CoUingwood. Young Hamilton himself 
opened a place of business at first at the northeast corner of Lake and 
Water streets, removing soon to a store in the old " Eagle Tavern." 
When that place was burned in 1849 the fire took with it every cent 
that joung Hamilton possessed in the world. Young and vigorous he 
went to work in the old foundry on Lake street and also engaged act- 
ively in politics. He was deputy sheriff for several terms and chief of 
the village police. He ran once for sheriff and was defeated by one vote. 
He was the leader of the first brass band ever organized in Elmira, 
playing a key bugle. It was called a brass band only by way of com- 
pliment, as the instruments were mostly copper. On one occasion he 
delivered the customary oration on the island on one Fourth of July an- 
niversary, and the effort was no discredit to him or to his large audi- 
ence. In attempting to make an arrest in Corning he fell and injured 
one of his knees so severely that he was lamed for life. It was an inci- 
dent and an accident that seemed to change his whole character. Be- 
fore he had been exceptionally vigorous physically, even meriting the 
title of an athlete. The accident made him almost helpless. He died 
in October, 1882. 



310 OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Both A. G. and Isaac H. Reynolds were sons of Isaac Reynolds, a 
merchant who came to Elmira about 1830 from the East, and who was 
an active and prominent politician of the Whig persuasion. George S. 
McCaiin is one of the sturdy and wealthy farmers of the valley living 
northwest of the city just east of Reformatory Hill. His father, John 
McCann, came originally from Belfast, Ireland, to New York city, and 
thence to Elmira in 1809. Sutherland Dewitt has for thirty- four years 
been the agent of the United States Express Company in Elmira. He 
served a number of terms as alderman from the First ward. Henry W. 
Mclntyre was a machinist by trade and made one or two journeys to 
Alaska, being among the first of Americans to visit that distant country 
after it had been purchased by our government. Some of the curious 
things from the new land that he brought home with him attracted 
great interest. 

High priests R. A. Chapter, No. 42. — Continuing with Elmira Royal 
Arch Chapter, No. 42, the high priest in 1851-52 was Dr. Jotham Purdy; 
1853, Thomas Maxwell; 1854, T, C. Edwards; 1855, John I. Nicks; 
1856, Thomas Maxwell ; 1857-58, Dr. Jotham Purdy; 1859-60, Jesse 
L. Cooley; 1S61-65, John D. Williams; 1 866, J. K. Nichols; 1867-68, 
Henry W. Mclntyre; 1869, Edwin Spencer; 1870-72, Maurice Levy; 
1873-74, F. D. Ramsdell ; 1875, Sutherland Dewitt ; 1876, John D. 
Williams ; 1877-78, John E. Larkin ; 1879, N. D. Doxey; 1880, D. R. 
Davenport; 1881, D. S. Dorr; 1882-83, Conrad Wehnes ; 1884-85, 
Griff D. Palmer; 1886, D. C. Brown; 1887, A. J. Cooley; 1888, J. C. 
Cartledge ; 1889, George H. Kelly. 

John D. Williams, who appears so constantly and conspiciiousl}- in 
connection with Masonic matters in Elmira, and for that matter in the 
State, is a personality so strong and decided that he himself is very 
much a portion of the history of the valley. He is a part of the valley, 
too, for he was born in Elmira on October 6, 1820. His father was 
William Williams, a Welshman who came from Wales in 1801 and settled 
in Canterbury, Orange County, coming to Elmira in 18 18, where in com- 
pany with Isaac Roe he established a tanner)'. It was then "away up 
Water street" on the land now occupied by a block of dwellings owned 
by Jackson Richardson, esq. Mr. Williams cleared the spot from its 
primeval wildness of brush on which the tannery was built. One need 



MORE PROMIi\EXT MASONS. 311 

not to be very old to remember the spot, as not very many years ago it 
made itself quite percejitible to the nostrils of the neighbors and those 
coming near it. John D. Williams learned the trade in which his father 
was engaged, that of tanner and currier, but owing to an exposure to 
water that produced lameness he was obliged to give up that business. 
He was connected with the canal collector's office in Horseheads for 
two years and was the collector of the Junction Canal for six years. 
In 1 864 he became the paymaster of the Elmira Iron and Steel RoUing- 
Mill Company, and retained that position for more than twenty five 
years. For ten years he represented the Third ward of the city of El- 
mira in the Board of Supervisors and in 1890 was elected justice of the 
peace. In Masonry he has gone as high as it is possible for a man to 
go, and has been the presiding officer in every body of the York rite. 
Mr. Williams is an active, earnest, thoughtful man, quick in perception 
and rapid in execution, a business man of exceptionally accurate and 
trustworthy characteristics. Wherever he has been placed he has im- 
mediately gained and held the confidence of his colleagues and the re- 
spect of the people. His mother was Stella H. Durham, a daughter of 
John Durham, one of the early settlers of the valley who served many 
years as under sherift" when the court-house and jail were in Sullivan 
street. Mr. Williams has been twice married, the first time in 1852 to 
Marv J., daughter of E. L. Hoffman, of Fort Plain, N. Y., the second 
time in 185610 Adaline, youngest daughter of Henry Sayler, of Hector, 
Tompkins County. 

Commanders of St. Omcr's, A'o. 19. — I he comniandery of the order 
named St. Omer's was instituted in 1852, the warrant having been 
granted on June 4th of that year, the first commander having been 
Thomas C. Edwards, who was a dry goods merchant in Elmira for a 
few years and deeply interested in Masonic matters. He served as 
commander five years and was succeeded in 1857 by Gabriel L. Smith; 
in 1858-59 by William Lee; in 1860-61 by Benoni P. Beardsley; 1862, 
Charles E. Gillett; 1863-64, Squire Newton; 1865-66, Jesse L. Cooley; 
1867, John D.Williams; 1868, Thaddeus S. Up de Graff; 1869-70, Frank 
E. Cleveland; i87i,John D.Williams; 1872-73, Sutherland Dewitt ; 
1874-75, John S. Bartlett ; 1876, Edmund O. Beers; 1877-78, Hiram 
H. Berry ; 1879-80, Edmund O. Beers; 1 881, Samuel D. Wadhams ; 



312 OUR couy/ y axd n^s people. 

1882, Charles S. Davison; 1883, Port L. Hinman; 1884, A. B. Morcy; 
1885-86, John B. Stanchfidd; 1887, John T. Hill; 1888, James Bacon; 
1889, C. B. Chase; 1890, Charles L. Hart. 

It will be seen, and with gratification, I think, how these names follow 
along from the inferior branches of the order right up to the higher 
grades. Of these past commanders of St. Omer's William Lee is one 
who well deserves remembrance, as he was very loyal to the locality and 
its traditions. At one time he was chief of tlie police of the village of 
Elniira and, although it was not required, was the first one of the town 
to wear the blue uniform denoting or distinguishing his office. But his 
chief remembrance is the place of entertainment he kept, which he 
named the "Red Jacket Garden " in honor of the old Seneca chief who 
made so much or tried to make so much trouble during the early times 
of the white settlers in the valley. Mr. Lee's place at one time was at 
the northeast corner of Baldwin and Market streets, Cross instead of 
Market then, and was afterward on the south side of Carroll street 
about midway between Lake and Baldwin streets. The latter named 
spot was a fresh, green place with large trees and vines, and Mr. Lee 
had gathered a number of relics of the old times in tiie valley that were 
interesting, curious, and valuable. But Elmira was hardly large enough 
tlien to support a place such as this was intended to be, and as inviting 
as it was in many respects it was not financially successful. The place 
remained, much as Mr. Lee made it, under a number of proprietors until 
1 88 1, when the present large block was built upon it b)- Mrs. Reynolds. 
Mr. Lee was afterward on the police force in New York city. 

Benoni P. Beardsley was one of the early manufacturers of Elmira, 
having established in 1852 an axe factory at the northeast corner of Lake 
and Market streets. It was a busy, humming place during its exist- 
ence, with sparks flying all of the time from door and window, in great 
contrast to the quiet, green lawn of to-day that readies from the monu- 
ment of the One Hundred and Seventh Regiment to the stone side- 
walk. Mr. Beardsley was a strong Episcopalian, having been in the 
vestry of Trinity Church and afterward in that of Grace. He lived 
hard by his factory on Market street in the dwelling now occupied by 
Mrs. Stephenson as a boarding-house, afterward removing to the cor- 
ner of Main and Second streets, a home afterward purchased by T. B. 



COMMAXDERS OF ST. OMER'S. 313 

Tompkins when his own iiousc on Roe Hill above the college was 
burned. Among those who worked in the axe factors' were the stal- 
wart Richard Crittenden, who swung a big hammer with great force 
and eftect, and Philip Sherman, one of whose sons, Buren R. Sherman, 
became governor of Iowa, and another, Wright Sherman, who became 
very prominent in the annals of the old volunteer fire department of 
Elmira. He married a daughter of Elias S. Huntley. The axe factory- 
was the nucleus, or suggestion, or parent of the Nobles Manufacturing 
Company that was organized in 1866, which extended the business to 
finer work than making axes, the manufacture of augers and auger-bits. 

Charles V.. Gillett was one of the earlier conductors of the Erie Rail- 
way : a mild mannered, kind hearted gentleman, a relative of Solomon 
L. Gillett. 

Squire Xewton was for many years the tolltaker of the Lake street 
bridge, his office being at the southern end thereof He had three sons, 
Pierrepoint, William, and Jerome, and a daughter, Fanny. The boj's all 
developed excellent business capacities in the way of railroad building 
and made successful beginnmgs in life in that direction in the Western 
States, but there were the seeds of consumption in their systems and 
they all died early. The daughter became the wife of Frederick A. 
F"rasier, proprietor of the l*"rasicr House, but soon followed her brothers 
to the great unknown. There are none of the familj' name now living 
in the county. 

Thaddeus S. Up de Graff was one whose life, cut short too soon, would 
in time have added distinction and reputation to his adopted home, the 
city of Elmira. He was born in Harrisburg, Pa., in 1839, began to 
shift for himself at the age of twelve, studied medicine in Indiana, raised 
a company of soldiers there for the war, acted as surgeon of his regi- 
ment, and came to Elmira in 1862. He established himself in his pro- 
fession of surgeon, and in his specialties, 'the treatment of the eye, ear, 
and throat, won a reputation that was widespread and acquired a com- 
petency. He became much interested in microscopy and followed its 
investigations with intense enthusiasm, being made a fellow of the Royal 
Microscopical Society of England. He established, and edited with rare 
judgment for more than a quarter of a century, a quarterly medical 
magazine called Tlie Bistoury, and was the author of a popular sum- 

40 



314 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

nier book, " Bodines," published by Lippincott, of Philadelphia. He 
died in August, 1885. His son, of the same name, follows his father's 
profession in Elmira, and is a highly cultured and most promising j'oung 
physician. 

John S. Bartlett is the son of Robert S. Hartlett, of Binghamton, who 
was one of the first mail agents on the Erie between that city and El- 
mira when the mails were carried in one end of the baggage car, who 
continued in the service for more than twenty-five years until he saw it in 
its present perfected condition, and who died in Jul}-, 1881, at the age of 
seventy-two. John S. Bartlett was for a time the ticket agent of the Erie 
in Elmira, and went thence to Buftalo as the general northwestern pas- 
senger agent of the road. He is now a coal merchant in Buffalo. His 
wife was Maria, the second daughter of Silas Haiglit. He has been an 
officer of the Grand Commander}' of the State. 

Hiram Bartlett Berry came originally from Maine. He learned the 
art of telegraphy and was chief operator in Charleston, S. C, at the 
breaking out of the war. He remained there for six weeks after the fall 
of Sumter, and \\'as then sent to Washington, D. C, where he became the 
assistant manager of the American Company's business. In 1868 he 
went to New York city as chief operator. That same year he was sent 
to Elmira to take the Associated Press reports for the Advertiser. He 
was among the first to take reports by sound instead of on paper. For a 
time he was in the division dispatching office of the Erie in Elmira, but 
in 1873 was elected the secretary of the Southern Tier Masonic Relief 
Association and devoted himself to that business. He also became very 
active in local politics. In March, 1881, he was made postmaster of 
Elmira, holding that office for four years, removing afterward to New 
York, where he is engaged in business. His wife is a member of the 
Wisner family of Orange Count}', a branch of which had so much to do 
with the early history of Chemung County. 

Samuel D. Wadhams was for a number of years a druggist, his place 
of business being on Water street just west of the Lake street corner. 
His wife was a daughter of William Ogden, also and in earl}' times a 
druggist whose store was farther west on Water street. Mr. Wadhams 
is a nephew of Father Wadhams, a somewhat conspicuous Catholic 
clergyman, of Albany, N. Y. 



RECENT CO.\rMAXDERS OF ST. OMER'S. 315 

Cliarles S. Davison is the manager of vvliat is known as the Briggs 
brewery. This establishment, grown to large proportions now, was 
started in 1858 b\' Bevier & liriggs, who came to Elmira from Bing- 
hainton. Bevier had been a conductor on the Erie Railroad and Briggs 
just before opening the brewery was the landlord of the American Hotel, 
now the Frasier House. Mr. Bevier discontinued his connection with 
the concern and removed to Rochester, where his family now reside. 
John Arnot, jr., then became interested in the business and the firm be- 
came T. Briggs & Co. Mr. Briggs lived many years at the southwest 
corner of Second and Baldwin streets. One of his daughters was tlie 
first wife of John S. Bartlett, just named. He was a most estimable 
gentleman and a good citizen. He died July 29, 1883, and the brewer)^ 
fell into the hands of the Arnot family. Mr. Davison was elected mayor 
of I'Llmira in 1887 and re-elected in 1889. 

John T. I nil is the son of Robert Hill and grandson of the " Tommy " 
Hill who with liis wife were such staunch supporters of Trinity Church 
in its early days. He was bred a merchant, and one of tiie firm of Rap- 
alyea, Richards & Hill once began business in the most attracti\e line 
of the trade, and had by far the prettiest store that ever drew the ad- 
miring eyes of shoppers to view its treasures of ribbons, silks, satins, and 
dainty millinery goods. He is an expert in carpets, and whoever he 
may be engaged witii is sure of Iiaving a capable and trustworth)- man. 

Charles L. Hart is the son of Dr. Erastiis L. Hart, his mother having 
been a sister of Dr. Hepburn, one of the early citizens of Elmira who 
lived where the Lake Street Presbyterian Church now stands, in the 
house which was swung around to face Church street and which is 
known as the parsonage. Cliarles L. Hart has long been one of the 
trusted attaches of the Chemung Canal Bank and alwajs much inter- 
ested in the military affairs of the cit_\'. He was one of the best soldiers 
in the Thirtielii Separate Company, and was one of the first to enlist 
when that organization was formed. When Gen. I-L. O. Beers was ap- 
pointed in 1884 to command the brigade in which Elmira is located Mr. 
Hart was made one of the aids on his staff, with the rank of captain. 

Masters of Ivy Lodge, No. i<ij-j, F. and A. M. — A new lodge of Masons 
was instituted in 1856 called by the attractive name of Ivy and num- 
bered 397. Masonry was growing. This organization held its first 



:ili; OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

meeting on November 22, 1856. It first master was Tliomas C. Ed- 
wards. He served as such two years. After liim came in 1S58 Elislia 
H.Cook; in 1859, Fred A. Phillips; i860, Jesse L. Cooley ; 1861, 
Henry C. Covell ; 1862, Charles L. Gillett ; 1863, E. C. Merrill ; 1864, 
Frank E. Cleveland; 1865, Henry Baldwin; 1866, Edwin Spencer; 
1867, William L. Kingman; 1868-69, ''■ D. Ramsdell ; 1870-73, 
Chauncey N. Shipnian ; 1874-75, Edmund O. Beers; 1876-77, Hiram 
B. Berry; 1878-79, Samuel D. Wadhams ; 1880-81, N. D. Doxey ; 
1882, J. A. Baty; 1883, Silas B. Roberts; 1884, John Stobo ; 1885, 
Dexter D. Curtis; 1886, J. V. Kinner ; 1887, J. N. Ward ; 1888, H. B. 
Rhymer; 1889, Samuel Harris ; 1890, Conrad Wehnes. 

This lodge was largely composed of young men, has been very active 
and prosperous, and stands high on the roll in the State. Among its 
members was the Rev. Christian Greatsinger, a Methodist minister who 
served as chaplain of the lodge a number of years. M. P. White, the 
secretary of the lodge, has served in that capacity many years. Elisha 
H. Cook, the second master of the lodge, came to Elmira from Clinton, 
Oneida County, in 1850, and entered into rhe hardware business with 
Riggs Watrous, who was a cousin of his father. He subsequently went 
into a similar line of business with Hector M. Seward and Henry C. 
Covell and for many years carried on a large trade at the southwest cor- 
ner of Lake and Water streets. He was active in business, politics, and 
church work, and prominent socially. In 1884 he was elected county 
treasurer. His wife was Hannah, a daughter of Col. F. A. Devoe. She 
died in 1880 and Mr. Cook survived her but three years. Their only 
child, Fanny, is the wife of Lieutenant Miller, of the United States 
army. 

Fred A. Phillips, the third master of the lodge, was a son of William 
H. Piiillips, who was an early citizen of Elmira, who conducted the old 
furnace and foundry just north of the spot where the opera house stands, 
and who married for his second wife the widow of the Hon. John C. 
Clark, a conspicuous politician of the time in which he lived, a member 
of the Assembly in 1826 from Chenango, and a member of Congress in 
1827. Fred Phillips married Susan, a daughter of Samuel H. Max- 
well, one of the prominent Maxwell family of the valley. He was in 
the express business and is now engaged therein in Philadelphia, Pa. 



SKETCHES OE THE At ASTERS OE /TV LODGE. 317 

Henry C. Covell was the \-oiiiigest son of Miles Covell, one of the 
earliest citizens of Elniira, and was bred to business in one of the best 
schools that a young man could enter, the Chemung Canal Bank under 
the elder John Arnot, and was an apt pupil. After the discontinuance 
of the firm of Cook & Covell he was appoin.ted to a position in the 
bank department of the State in Albany, which he still holds. 

William L. Kingman came to Klmira just after the war from Owego. 
His father was a prominent man in Tioga County, having been clerk of 
the county in 1852. \'oung Kingman was connected with the Erie 
Railroad and eventually in 1873 became the station agent of Elmira, 
serving in such capacity for two years. Thence he went into the employ- 
ment of J. Langdon & Co., and from there as the coal agent of the New 
York Central Railroad with headquarters at Rochester, N. Y. His wife 
was Miss Sarah Morell, a niece and adopted daughter of W. W. Ballard. 
Leroy W. Kingman, a brother of W. L. Kingman, is the editor of the 
Owego Gazette. 

v. D. Ramsdell was a son of Lyman Ramsdell, well known in his day 
as "Yankee" Ramsdell, who had a brickyard some years away down 
on East Church street near Newtown Creek. Young Ramsdell was for 
many years in the postoffice and became exceedingly expert in the as- 
sortment and distribution of letters. He was afterward and for a long 
time engaged in business with Joseph Rodbourn in Breesport. He is at 
present in one of the departments in Washington, D. C. 

John Stobo belongs to a sturdy Scotch family that in the first half of 
this century lived in the brick dwelling at the southwest corner of Main 
and Market streets, now the property of the Tyler family. They were 
strong Baptists and did much to sustain that church. The dry goods 
store of the elder Stobo was on the south side of Water street a few 
doors west of the bridge, and was one of the tastiest establishments of 
its kind in the village. Robert Stobo, the eldest son, became an agent 
of one of the great steamship lines in New York city and died there in 
1889. John Stobo has long been a merchant in Elmira, although re- 
cently removing to Syracuse and then returning to his old home. He 
has always been interested in military matters and was a member of the 
Thirtieth Separate Company from its start. His wife was an adopted 
daughter of John Selover, one of the early settlers of Elmira and one of 



318 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

its first druggists. He came to Eimira from Auburn and had his place 
of business for many years on the south side of Water street at the foot 
of Baldwin street. He married a daughter of Robert Covell. 

Dexter D. Curtis came to Kimira from Owego and has been in the 
employ of the Erie Railway almost from the time of his entering into 
manhood. He was deputy county clerk of Tioga County and resigned 
that position in January, 1865, to enter the service of the company as 
chief clerk at the Owego station. He was transferred to Eimira in April 
of the same year hy Supt. H. D. V. Pratt to be clerk in his office. Three 
months after that he was put in charge of the ticket office in Bingham 
ton, where he remained a year and a half, and was then made chief clerk- 
there. In 1873 he was made by Supt. R. B. Cable the division clerk 
of the Susquehanna division, where he remained until 1885, when he was 
made station agent at Eimira, a place he now occupies very clearly to 
the satisfaction of the officers and patrons of the road. 

Other Masonic Bodies. — There have been two councils of Royal and 
Select Masters in Eimira. One was instituted in 1855, but was discon- 
tinued in i860. Another one was instituted in the latter named \"ear, 
Charles E. Gillett being the master thereof It is known as Southern 
Tier Council, No. 16. Companion Gillett served as master for two years. 
Succeeding him were in 1862 E. C. Merrill; 1863, Jesse L. Cooley ; 
1864-67, John D. Williams ; 1868-70, H. W. Mclntyre ; 1871-74, E. D. 
Ramsdell; 1875-76, D. S. Dorr; 1S78-81, S. D. Wadhams ; 1882, 
Portus L. Hinman ; 1883, J. A. Baty ; 1884-90, Conrad Wehnes. This 
organization meets annually. 

An adjunct to the Masonic order, making practical one of its theories, 
is the Southern Tier Masonic Relief Association. It was organized in 
1868, and has distributed to the representatives of its deceased members 
more than $2,000,000. 

The several Masonic bodies for many years occupied the upper por- 
tion of a building on East Water street opposite the Chemung Canal 
Bank and rooms over what was the Arnot block at the southwest cor- 
ner of Lake and Water streets. In 1878 the lot at the corner of Lake 
and Market streets was purchased by the trustees of the two lodges, the 
chapter and the commander)', and preparations were at once made for 
the erection of a building in harmony with the prominence and dignity 



THE POSTOFFICE AXD ITS POSTMASTERS. 319 

of tlie oixlcr and woitliy of the cit)' in which it was to stand, the commit- 
tee having the matter in charge being John D. WilHams, C. N. Shipman, 
A. iM. Dewitt, \\'. J. Lormore, and J. A. Bundy. The corner-stone was 
laid on September 5, 1878, with the most imposing ceremonies, forming 
an event in the history of Masonry in the valley that is marked with 
much interest and was prophetic of great future usefulness. The build- 
ing was completed and occupied January i, 1S80, and is one of the chief 
architectural ornaments of Elmira. 

It not only forms a suitable and convenient home for Masons, but 
in it is located the postoffice. This great public convenience has been 
a great wanderer in its day. Early it was in various places on Water 
street, vibrating between Baldwin and Lake streets. It has been lo- 
cated on three of the corners made by Carroll and Lake streets. Post- 
master Henry H. Matthews took it in 1849 to the northwest corner 
thereof; his successor, Daniel Stephens, removed it diagonalh' across 
the way to the building now occupied by the Gerity brothers; and Daniel 

F. Pickering, who was made postmaster by President Lincoln on Jul}' 
26, 1 861, removed the office to the southeast corner of Carroll and 
Baldwin streets, whereat there was immense rejoicing on the part of 
the Baldwin street influence. Mr. Pickering made still another move, 
but only across the street to rooms underneath the upper end of the 
Rathbun House. Here tlie poor wandering office remained peacefully 
for nearly twenty j'ears, coming thence in 1880, again moved hy Mr. 
Pickering, to its roomj- quarters in the Masonic Temple. While the 
ofiice was on Baldwin street, and during the postmastership of Charles 

G. Fairman in 1872, the free letter deliver)' system was adopted and 
organized to the great convenience and comfort of the public. It is 
worth)' of remark that Charles E. Hutchinson, a son of E. P. Hutchin- 
son, one of the old merchants of IClmira, superintendent of the carrier 
service of the postoffice, received his appointment in the service in 1870 
and has retained it since. 

Those who have served as postmasters of Elmira so far during the lat- 
ter half of this century, with the dates of their commissions, are Daniel 
Stephens, April 6, 1853 ; Daniel F. Pickering, July 26, 1861 ; William 
T. Post, March 18, 1867; Charles G. Fairman, April 5, 1869; Daniel 
F. Pickering, April 11, 1877; Hiram B. Berry, March 22, 1881 ; Eras- 
tus F. Babcock, April 2, 1885 ; Henry Flood, April i, 1889. 



320 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTKR III. 

Something more of the I. O. O. F. — The location of its Hall — Town Clocks — The 
Whittlesey Family — A curious Character — Officers of the I. O. O. F. — The 
G. A. R. and its Commanders — Musical Societies — The Sangerbund — Charit- 
able Organizations — The Orphans Home — The Home for the Aged — Mrs. 
Richmond Jones — Dr. Edwin Eldridge — Lake Eldridge — The Industrial School 
— The Arnot-Ogden Memorial Hospital — The Elmira Academy of Medicine — 
Dr. William C. Wey — Dr. J. K. Stanchlleld — Dr. William Woodward — The 
Academy of Sciences — Replacing the old Wooden Bridges across the Chemung 
with Iron Ones — When and How it was Done — Woodlawn and other Ceme- 
teries — The Establishment of new Banks — Further concerning the Erie Rail- 
way — How the Northern Central was Formed — The Elmira, Cortland, and 
Northern, the Tioga, the Lehigh Valley, and the Delaware, Lackawanna, and 
Western Railroads. 

THEl end sought to be attained by this chronicle can be no clearer 
or better reached than in following the career of the other great 
charitable organization popularly known as the Odd F"ellovvs, liardiy a 
rival to Masonry, although working along very nearly the same lines, and 
if a rival a very generous one. Chemung Lodge, which was the older 
body, was merged with Newtown Lodge, No. 89, in December, 1861, on 
account of financial reasons. In 1852 the quarters of the organization 
were moved from tlie rooms on Lake street to the Arnot block at the 
southwest corner of Lake and Water streets, just west of the bridge. 
These new rooms were exceedingly fine for the time, and were the pride 
of the order and more or less of the citizens of Elmira. In 1859, when 
the Holden block at Baldwin and Water streets was built, rooins were 
there fitted up for the organization that they occupied until 1872, when 
they removed to the Wyckofif block on West Water street, remaining there 
until 1880, when they went into their present block on the south side of 
Water street that was built especially for them and is called by their 
name. 

This spot is rather an historic one. It was occupied by the old Baptist 
Church, a wooden building which had been moved there from Church 
street in 1849 when the new church was built. Of course it was a large 



LOCAL Hf.<^TO/^V OF THE PUBLIC TIME. Sl\ 

building, and for a time a portion of it was used by the hook and lad- 
der company of the village; then it became a tavern of a not very sav- 
ory reputation or character ; and then it was a tenement where many 
families of a poorer class lived. It was lifted into usefulness in the spring 
of 1 86 1 by Jackson Richardson, who came from Almond, Allegany 
County, N. Y., and established there a boot and shoe manufactor)-. It 
was badly damaged in the spring of 1865 by the great flood ; much of 
it was washed away by the water, showing, as some of the would-be 
wits alleged at the time, its Baptist origin. It was replaced by a brick 
building, which was occupied by Mr. Richardson and his business until 
1877, when he removed to his present locality at Market street and Rail- 
road avenue. The Odd Fellows Hall now standing on the spot was 
built in 1880. 

The Richardson block at Market street and Railroad avenue is worthy 
of notice from the fact that its tower holds one of the only two " town 
clocks " that Elmira could ever boast itself of When the block was 
burned in 1882 it is said that the clock continued to run and its bell 
struck one only a few moments before the tower fell into ruins. The 
other town clock was in the belfry of the old Presbvterian Church and 
did service for some years just before the war, or uiHil the present church 
was built. The public time was regulated before that by the bell of the 
Presbvterian Church, which was the first church bell brought into the val- 
ley, coming therein 1839 into the church that wasnew then. This bell 
was cracked by a violent ringing it got during the big fire of 1841 on 
Water street, and the continued increase of the cracking could not be 
stopped. A new bell was therefore bought in Troy, N. Y., and put up 
in 1848. Its elevation to the belfry was something of an event in the 
village. It was necessary to attach a rope among the rafters high up in 
the steeple, and a lad, the son of the sexton, rather than clamber up the 
dark and intricate ladders within, went up the lightning rod outside from 
the ground and did wiiat was necessary. The bell was rung ever\' morn- 
ing at six o'clock and at nine o'clock, at twelve noon, and as a sort of 
curfew at nine in the evening. This duty fell on the sexton of the 
churcii, whose name was Whittlesey and who was a member of the fam- 
ous New England family of that name. He died in 1850. A daugh- 
ter of his became the wife of Joseph C. Sampson, who was one of the 

41 



322 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

earliest hardware merchants of Ehiiira and subsequently a large dealer 
in lumber. A son of Mr. Whittlesey, Hezekiah,(it was lie who climbed the 
lightning rod,) served on the military railroads during the war, and a 
worn and disabled veteran is living in Lafayette, Ind. L. A , another 
son, was the editor of the Nortlwrii Pcnnsylvanian, a newspaper pub- 
lished in Scranton, Pa. He was a member of the Twenty-seventh 
N. Y. v., and died from the effects of a surgical operation made neces- 
sary by a fourteen months' imprisonment at Andersonville. Newell R., 
still another son, died in Lower California in 1866 from the effects of a 
poisoned Apache arrow. 

There was a strange character who used to ring the Presbyterian bell 
these times named " Billy " Timms. He was a shoemaker by trade, and 
through some malformation of his legs was unable to stand u[iright, 
his usual position, whether moving or at rest, being as though he were 
sitting. His means of locomotion until he got a velocipede were pro- 
vided by two handle-shaped instruments of wood that he held in his 
hands and vvith which he advanced, dragging his body after them with 
short leaps. He had a very good head and face, but a wondrously harsh 
voice, and was of course very powerful in his arms. When he pulled 
down the rope of the bell and the wheel turned back again it would 
swing him away off from the floor and up toward the ceiling, which he 
seemed to enjoy hugel)'. At such times the most practical minded, if 
he had been acquainted with the character, could hardly help likening 
him to a mild sort of a " Hunchback of Notre Dame." Timms finally 
got a three-wheeled vehicle the size of a small cart which he could 
propel with his arms and steer with his feet. With this his progress 
through the streets of Pllmira was in rapidity hardly surpassed even by 
that of the fastest horse. 

Time was afterward told by the big fire bell near the hose tower, but 
so far as sound is concerned the steam whistles and bells of a busy man- 
ufacturing place tell the time accurately enough, showing at least the 
hours for beginning and quitting work. Since the clock has been in 
the Richardson tower it has been one of T. K. Beecher's self-imposed 
tasks to make it do its work accurately. 

There were other bodies in Odd Fellowship organized besides those 
already named. Southern Tier Lodge, No. 344, was instituted January 



ODD FELLO WSHfP I\ ELM IRA. 323 

21, 1873. The charter nienibers were Edward Cuvell, John T. David- 
son, Augustus Vooihees, A. V.. IMcNair, R. H. White, Thomas M. Losie, 
C. B. Hanyeii, George C. Peters, Charles Elmendorf, W. H. Plowman, 
C. B. Bovier, Johnson Beers, John L. Cooper, A. B. Dewitt, William H. 
Carman, Robert N. Parmenter. The first noble grand of the lodge was 
John T. Davidson. Mr. Davidson has always been an enthusiastic Odd 
Fellow. He is Scotch by descent and was born in Oneida County. 
His legal studies were pursued in the office of I\'Iilo Goodrich, esq , in 
Dryden, Tompkins County, one of the most eminent lawyers of Central 
New York. In 1858 Mr. Davidson was admitted to the bar. Reserved 
in the war in the Fiftieth Engineers, rising to a captaincy. In 1864 he 
came to Elmira, being connected with the quartermaster's department, 
and has made it his home in that city ever since. He was appointed 
United States commissioner in 1877 and holds the office still. In 1887 
he was the commander of Baldwin Post, G. A. R. He has been win- 
ning for himself much commendation and reputation b}'' his clear and 
entertaining articles published in the Klmira Telegram on war topics. 

Other noble grands of Southern Tier Lodge have been Thomas M. 
Losie, Charles B. Bovier, Henry Minar, E. L. Sanford, M. J. Cary, R. C. 
Peters, W. D. Ayers, J. L. Cornell, William R. Tenbroeck, A. Walker, 
R. B. Craig, Seeley G. Ingersoll. The present noble grand is J. B. 
Underwood. 

There is a German lodge of Odd Fellows, working in the German lan- 
guage, called Donau Lodge and numbered 363. Its name is a memory 
of the Fatherland. We call a famous river in German)- the Danube. 
Its name there is Donau. So it would not be far out of the way if we 
called this body of Odd Fellows the " Danube Lodge." It was organ- 
ized June 30, 1873, tlie charter members being Jacob Snyder, Henry 
Anders, Louis Snyder, Jacob Schlosser, Adam Mander, Fred Vockeroth, 
Jacob Kolb, Constantine Bantley, Fred Duellin, Joseph Christen, sr , 
William Bower, Charles Hoppe, John Eshbaum, Jacob Diehl, Gottlieb 
Hummel, John Stuemptle. The first noble grand of the lodge was 
Jacob Sn\der. 

Another encampment of I. O. O. 1'"., Elmira, No. 86, was organized 
September 24, 1875, the charter members being C. B. Bovier, T. M. 
Losie, Cyrus W. I-"ay, C. Bantley, E. O. Beers, Augustus Voorhees, 



324 067? COU.XrY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

J. Kolb, J. J. Meyer, jr., Edward Covell, E. H. Pickering, D. K, Daven- 
port, O. N. Smitli. The first chief patriarch was C. B. Bovier, and he 
has been followed in the office by the following named : T. M. Losic, 
Augustus Voorhees, Johnson Beers, Charles Hoppe, J. L. Cornell, 
C. Bantley, R. R. R. Dumars, Jacob Kolb, J. S. Allen, Henry Minar. 
The Queen City Uniformed Patriarchs was an organization of tlie 

I. O. O. F. formed August i, 1879, composed of members of the two 
encampments in the city, the first chief captain having been C. 15. 
Bovier. 

There were other lodges of the Odd F'ellows in the county at one 
time: One in Horseheads, Sullivan, No. 269, and one in Millport, Mill- 
port, No. 272. The first named was discontinued in 1863 and the sec- 
ond the year following. A lodge was organized in Breesport, February 

II, 1875, called Breesport Lodge, No. 419, the charter members being 
George S. Sadler, Reuben Tift't, jr., Charles Brown, Howard S. Homer, 
John Nichols, Myron H. Brees, John P. 15rees, Orlando S. Ladow, Hor- 
ace E. Purdy. The first noble grand was George S. Sadler. 

Very nearly allied to these benevolent orders, but having a stronger 
tie to unite the members into one body by reason of their services in 
behalf of their country during the Civil war, is the Grand Army of the 
Republic. Very soon after the order originated a post was established 
in Elmira, taking its name from Col. Lathrop Baldwin, of the One Hun- 
dred and Seventh, the date of its organization being June 1 1 , 1 868. Its 
first commander was Col. Gabriel L. Smith. He was succeeded in the 
office by the following named : John G. Copley, S. Gait, Seymour Dex- 
ter (who served three years), J. H. Lyman, Arthur S. Fitch, Theodore 
G Smith, Delos L. Holden (who served two years), C. B. Tompkins, 
Hosea H. Rockwell, Frank P. P'rost, M. M. Conklin (who served two 
years), Robert B. Van Gorder, Hervey E. Jones, John T. Davidson, 
John B. Beman, John Hathorn, Judd Griswold, James C. Cartledgc. 
The roll of membership now shows men who represent eighty- five dif- 
ferent organizations of the war time. 

Elmira has always been well known as a great home for all sorts of 
organizations, secret, benevolent, political, and social, and in most in- 
stances they have been successful. Where there have seemed to come 
the most failures has been in the musical way. This, perhaps, does not 



MUSICAL ORGAXl/.ATIONS. 325 

apply to what are known as "brass bands," for there have been a num- 
ber of these of \o\\'^ continuance and mucli popuhuity. I am sure that 
older citizens of Elniira remember the organizations known as " Wis- 
ner's," "Up de Graff's," " La k"rance's," "The 1-Lmmett," and " Ha- 
ger's" bands, not to mention those of later date, who headed processions 
with attractive music or made the summer moonlight evenings full of 
harmony ; or the Densmores, father and two sons, one of these latter 
known better with his dulcimer than they all were by their daily avo- 
cation as painters ; or that useful " martial band " of the older times, 
composed mainly of the Roberts's family, one fife, one snare-drum, one 
bass-drum. If tlie\' did n't make music they at least made a very ex- 
liilarating noise. George Roberts, a younger member of this famil)-, 
did make music. On the minstrel stage, when that was in its heyday 
of popularity, in the representation of the " Aged Darkey " he never 
had an equal, and his singing of " Old Black Joe," which he originated, 
was an artistic act that never failed to win the sympathy and applause 
of liis hearers. But there have been Apollo clubs, Philharmonics, and 
various organizations of that nature that, whether from the peculiar and 
proverbial construction of those who understand music and who have 
fine voices, or from lack of public interest, have always speedily melted 
away. A young man who was born in South Wales in 1846 and em- 
igrated to this country, settling in Scranton, Pa., in 1864 and coming 
to Elmira in 1875, ^^'''s about the only one who has ever been able to 
bring the English speaking portion of Elmira up to any enthusiasm in 
such matters. This was Howard S. Hamer, and he died in the insane 
asylum at Buffalo. For fourteen years he was tlie chorister in the First 
Methodist Church and for three years he had charge of the music in 
the public schools. In 1882 he began his series of May music festivals 
in Elmira and made them in every way very successful. Tliey were 
the annual musical feasts of the valley, being conducted by some of the 
most eminent masters of the country. Mr. Hamer died in October, 
1890. 

The Germans are more successful in this line, their Sangerbund being 
one of the oldest organizations of any kind in the city. It was formed 
in November, 1856, more than a generation ago, the original members 
having been Ernst Schidlen, Ernst Schlotter, John Brand, George Goeli- 



:!2(i OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ring, Fred Amberg, John Kickbusli, John Fuchs, Charles Uh'ich, An- 
drew Haas, Theodore Staetler, and Charles Mosgau. Ernst Schidlen was 
the first president of the organization and Charles RTosgaii the first 
leader. In the earlier days of the society it passed through consider- 
able misfortune, which onlyseemed to cement the members more strongly 
together to attain the ends sought. They were burned out in i860 of 
the first pleasant quarters that they occupied on East Water street, 
nearly opposite the Chemung Canal Bank, losing all their furniture, in- 
cluding a fine piano and much valuable music. George Goehring, who 
lived in the building, had a narrow escape with his life. A similar fate 
overtook them in their next home, which they fitted up handsomer than 
their first one, in the building over what is now the Arbour. Here 
another piano was burned and a $500 flag. 

This organization, with others formed of men of the same nationality, 
built in 1865 what is called the German school- house on Madison ave- 
nue, which for a time was leased by the Board of F^ducation for the 
school which now has quarters at Second street and Madison avenue. 
Some of the best citizens of Elmira, of German birth or descent, have 
been the presiding ofiicers of the Sringerbund, among them being John 
Young, Henry Haupt, George Wiegand, George Bartelle, Fred Schweppe, 
Christian Hauser, John T. Eschbaum ; and among its leaders Pro- 
fessors Koch, Baker, William Steubinger, and P'red Hager. Tlie latter 
named served the society for the longest period of any and under him 
it became very proficient. The public performances of the Sangerbund 
have always been of a high grade, and away from home it has been 
recognized as among the best in the country. Its visit to Buffalo, N.Y., 
in 1883 gave it and its members a wide reputation. 

Of a more public character than these organizations are those whose 
foundations are for charity and whose work is for charity's sake. 
The earliest of these in Elmira is the Orphans Home. It had its origin 
during the war in the efforts of kindly disposed women, under tiic name 
of the Ladies' Relief Association, to care temporarily for sick and 
disabled soldiers who might be passing through the city on their way 
home, and its building was located on Third street conveniently near 
to the railroad station. The society was incorporated as the Southern 
Tier Orphans Home in 186S, and its substantial building in the Fifth 



WORTHY CHARITABLE IXSTITUTIONS. 327 

ward is evidence of its prosperity and the good-will it lias of the people. 
It is governed by a committee of ladies representing each of the 
churches of the city, from whom the officers are chosen. More than 
3,000 children have been cared for b}' the institution since it was estab- 
lished. It has no endowment or settled income, excepting $2,000, the 
gift of Simeon Benjamin, and of that only the interest can be used. Nor 
does it receive any money from the State. It depends for its support 
upon gifts from the charitable, the receipts from a yearly festival, and the 
compensation made for care of dependent children by the supervisors. 

Those ladies who, in the beginning of their efforts, were prominent 
and active were Mrs. David Decker, Mrs. Richmond Jones, Mrs. A. 
I'risbie, Mrs. Andrew Ilathorn, Mrs. George Steele, Mrs. R. I5adger, 
Mrs. Cottrell, and Mrs. L. N. Murdoch. Mrs. David Decker was the 
first president of the association. Others who in the course of the life 
of the institution have rendered prominent and valuable service have 
been Mrs. P. A. La France, Mrs. Archibald Robertson, Mrs. Luther 
Caldwell, Mrs. J. B. Dunning, Mrs. E. P. Brooks, Mrs. W. J. Dounce, 
Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Hall, L. D. Pratt. The present officers of the 
society are: President, Mrs. Frederic Hall; first vice-president, Mrs. 
D. R. Rice; second vice-president, Mrs. A. S. Diven ; third vice-presi- 
dent, Mrs. W. W. Fish ; recording secretary, Mrs. Lucy Armitage ; 
corresponding secretary. Miss F. B. Meade ; treasurer, J. C. Greves ; 
matron, Mrs. L. S. Rothe. 

The " Home for the Aged" was the next public charity in point of 
time of its establishment founded in Elmira. This institution as well 
as the Orphans Home is very largely due to the efforts of a lady who 
deserves the kindliest and most permanent remembrance of the citizens 
of the valley, Mrs. Richmond Jones. She has been, and with reason, 
called the local " Florence Nightingale." During the war her labors in 
the hospitals and among the sick and disabled soldiers were constant and 
continuous. She was conspicuous in the organization and management 
of the Elmira Sanitary Commission, and after the war was instrumental 
in the establishment of the Orphans Home. The society of the " Home 
for the Aged " held its first meeting in the parlors of her home on Clin- 
ton street, and as long as she lived it had her loving and fostering care. 
She was constantly busy doing good. Her maiden name was Sarah A. 



3-28 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Millard, and she was born in Wellsboro, Tioga County, Pa., the dauj^h- 
ter of a prominent lawyer there, Col. Ambrose Millard. Her husband, 
Richmonrl Jones, was a son of Joel Jones and a nephew of the Rev. 
Simeon R. Jones, so that the family is among the oldest in the valley. 
From 1852 until the time of his death, in 1886, Richmond Jones 
was one of the largest lumber and real estate operators in Elmira. Mrs. 
Richmond Jones died in 1888. She had two sisters. One of them was 
the wife of T. B. Tompkins, esq., a long time citizen of Elmira and the 
mother of two of Elmira's solid merchants and business men, Charles B. 
and Ray Tompkins. Anotiier sister of Mrs. Jones married Levi Bishop, 
esq., of Detroit, Mich., a lawyer by profession who wrote an exquisite 
poem of considerable length, Indian in its subject, to which Longfellow 
acknowledged his indebtedness in writing his " Hiawatha." 

The first meeting of the society of the Home for the Aged was held 
in May, 1874, and three years afterward, in 1877, the building near 
Lake Eldridge was begun. It was completed and ready for occupancy 
July I, 1880. This charity has been a very favorite one with the citi- 
zens of Elmira, and its festivals for its benefit, of whatever nature, are 
very popular and profitable. Mrs. George W. Hoffman has been at the 
head of the institution for many years, and its successful career is 
largely due to her wise management. Her husband is the son of Will- 
iam Hoffman, one of the earliest settlers of the vallej'. George W. Hoff- 
man was born February 9, 1822, in Elmira, and has always lived there, 
prominent as a citizen and farmer and in the agricultural interests of the 
State. 

But the Home for the Aged owes its chief and original start in its 
profitable existence to Dr. Edwin Eldridge, who gave to it the plot of 
ground on which its building stands. It was a thoughtful and munifi- 
cent gift, although by no means the onlv deed showing the kindl\' im- 
pulses that governed the career of Dr. Eldridge. This narrie is one that 
deserves to live long and will live long in the records and annals of the 
valley. Dr. Eldridge came originally from Dutchess County, N. Y., at- 
tended lectures in New York city, and was graduated from the medical 
college at Fairfield, Herkimer County, then one of the foremost institu- 
tions of the country, and subsequently removed to Albany, where it is 
now known as the Albany Medical College. Dr. Eldridge's promise as 




c:^^^^^u^^ 



THE HOME FOR THE AGED— THE IXDUSTRIAL SCHOOL. 329 

a physician was high, as he had studied tlie profession as a matter of 
choice and under tlie most favorable auspices. His wife was Miss Han- 
nah Stuart, of Monticello. In i839he settled in Bins^hamton, and his resi- 
dence there isstill remembered forits beautiful situation and surroundings. 
Its outlook, one of its finest peculiarities, was destroyed b\' the coming of 
the Erie Railway, which passed just in front of its gates. In 1857 Dr. 
Kldridge removed to Elmira and speedily became one of its most active 
citizens, continually alive to its interests. He was largely interested in 
the rolling-mills, but his purchase and development of the park and sur- 
roundings of the little lake that bears his name was an act that especially 
endeared him to the public. When he bought the property it was any- 
thing but an inviting spot, almost wild in its primitive condition. He 
made it a garden of beauty, with his own eye and taste directing the 
grading and filling, the planting of trees, and formation of artificial 
ponds and lakes, reaching results in perspective and in effect that largely 
increased the apparent size of the place. His sudden death in Decem- 
ber, 1876, put an end to plans that he had made for the future beauty and 
disposition of a spot to which he was much attached and which he made 
so celebrated. 

The city was very wise to buy the property in i S89 and care for it as 
it deserved. At one time Elmira was known abroad for its Eldridge 
Park more than for any one other enterprise or business within its 
borders. The " Home for the Aged " is governed in a manner similar 
to that of the Orphans Home, each church in the city being repre- 
sented on the committee from which the officers are chosen. 

The " Industrial School" is the third most extensive public charity in 
which the citizens of Elmira have reason to take pride. It had its in- 
ception in 1S77 at the time of the Murphy temperance movement, 
when it was desired to assist the families of the pledge-takers and help 
the pledge- takers themselves in keeping their newly formed resolutions. 
It was intended at first as a sewing school where garments could be 
left and re-made for the benefit of deserving families, and for furnishing 
meals and provisions to carry home for the children of the poor. It 
was simply at first an annex to the temperance movement, and meet- 
ings for the purpose intended were held every Saturday- in Buiuly Hall 
at Carroll and Lake streets as long as that was the headquarters of the 

42 



330 OUR COUNTY /IND ITS PEOPLE. 

temperance folks. When the temperance agitation and excitement 
waned and was eclipsed the school idea widened and developed, and a 
little house on West Second street was taken to carry on the undertak- 
ing. The school was for every day, and besides the teaching there was 
given each child who attended a substantial warm dinner. The place 
was speedily overcrowded, and it was soon determined to ha\e a suit- 
able building devoted to the purposes of the institution. The corner- 
stone of the new school at Church street and Madison avenue was laid 
in July, 1883, and a year later it was occupied. 

The inception of the charity and the direction of its labors in its 
early years were very largely the work of Mrs. William E. Kno.x, 
whose interest in children has always been deep and continually mani- 
fested, her work in the field of the Sunday school in all parts of the 
country being well known and highly appreciated. The munificent gift 
of Mrs. Marianna Arnot Ogden of upwards of $5,000, at the time of the 
erection of its building, placed the financial condition of the charityon the 
most solid foundations. The government of the institution is similar to 
that of the other charities : by a committee of ladies of the several 
churches from which the officers are chosen and an advisory board of 
gentlemen. 

The beautiful Arnot-Ogden Memorial Hospital on Roe avenue in the 
northwestern part of the city is the latest charity whose beneficent use- 
fulness is destined to carry the name of its charitable and generous 
founder down to the " remotest syllable of recorded time." It is the 
gift of Mrs. Marianna Arnot Ogden as a memorial of her late husband, 
William B. Ogden. It is perfect and complete in all respects for the 
uses to which it is devoted, and was so delivered in trust to its Board of 
Managers in December, 1888. Its medical staft" is composed of the sev- 
eral phj'sicians of the city, who serve in turn and without compensation. 
A number of beds have been endowed, Trinity and Park Churches taking 
the lead in this direction, the Northern Central Company having one 
for their employees. The benefit that this institution will confer it would 
be impossible to estimate, as there is no way of measuring the good of 
which it is capable. 

There has been for many years in Elmira an organization working 
along these lines and similar ones so quietly that it is but little known, 



SOME EAJl.XEXT PHYSICIANS OF ELM IRA. 331 

yet very effectively. This is tlie Academy of Medicine. It was organ- 
ized June 29, 1852, tlie names of the constituent members being Drs. 
H. S. Chubbuck, T. H. Squire, Ira V. Hart, Erastus L. Hart, Jothani 
Purdy, Uriah Smitii, N. R. Derby. William C. Wey, J. K. Stanchfield. 
All of these are the names of those who have helped largely to make 
up the history of Elniira during the period we have under consideration, 
and most of them have received the attention to which their abilities 
and conspicuous position in their profession entitle them. 

Dr. William C. Wey is one of the most distinguished physicians in the 
State. He was born in Catskill, N. Y., January 12, 1829, and was 
graduated at the Albany Medical College in Januar)-, 1849. ^'i t''c 
spring of the latter named year he came to Elmira and has ever since 
been one of its most prominent citizens, securing for himself a practice 
and a reputation that makes him the favorite medical advisor of some 
of the best families in the city. In 1871 he was the president of the 
State Medical Society and served in that capacity with great distinc- 
tion. He is one of the Board of Managers of the reformatory and has 
been for many years one of the wardens of Trinity Church. His wife 
was the daughter of Dr. Covell, of Wilkesbarre, Pa., a member of that 
same family who helped so much in the early times to make the history 
of the Chemung Valley. A son of Dr. Wey, Hamilton D. Wey, follow- 
ing the profession of his father with no uncertain steps, is the physician 
and supervisor of physical training at the reformatory. 

Dr. J. K. .Stanchfield was also one of the most careful and estimable 
of the long roll of Elmira physicians. He was born in Leeds, Me., 
Jul)' 6, 18 18, and was educated at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Me. 
He came to lilmira in 1852 and practiced his profession there with 
succe,>s and profit for more than thirty years, leaving a memor)- when 
he died of being one of the most conscientious and honest hearted of 
men and one of the most careful and skillful of physicians. 

His son is John B. Stanchfield, esq., of the law firm in Elmira of 
Reynolds, Stanchfield & Collin, whose career, only just begun, is one of 
great future promise. He is a graduate of the Elmira Free Academy 
of the class of 1873 and of Amherst College four years later. He pur- 
sued his law studies in the office of Gov. David B. Hill, and under his 
direction, and when first entering into the practice of the profession he 



332 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

adorns, was Governor Hill's partner, lie served two terms as district 
attorney of the county, having been elected in 1880 and 1883, and was 
ma\'or of Elmira in 18S5. Doubtless future political honors await one 
whose capacity for the public business has been shown to be of so high 
an order. 

The first officers of the Elmira Academy of Medicine were : E. L. 
Hart, president; H. S. Chubbuck, vice-president; T. H. Squire, sec- 
retary; N. R. Derby, treasurer; and the first regular meeting was held 
in the court- house July 6, 1852. Of the nine original members of the 
organization only one. Dr. William C. Wey, remains. Six are dead, 
one has removed to another city, and one has withdrawn from the asso- 
ciation. At first the meetings of the academy were held in public 
places, like the court-house and city hall, but later on they were held at 
the homes of the members, sometimes those of non-resident ones in Big 
Flats, Corning, Hornellsville, and other places, and then there was 
alwa)-s a generous hospitality shown by the host. One of the earliest 
endeavors of the society was in relation to the condition, medical treat- 
ment, and support of the county poor, a work subsequently taken up by 
the State Charities Aid Association. Another was of a historical 
nature in securing complete information in regard to the physicians of 
the locality, and successful in this the academy has and keeps local 
records of great value. 

Among the out of town members of the academy was Dr. William 
Woodward, of Big Flats, who was so elected November 7, 1853, only a 
short time after its organization. Dr. Woodward was one of the mem- 
orable men of the valley. He was a genial, whole-souled, old-fashioned 
individual, a close student, of quaint manners, and possessing an inex- 
haustible fund of anecdote and quiet humor that made him the most 
delightful of companions. He was the academy poet, and his contribu- 
tions in this line were always very enjojable. He died in July, 1887. 
During the war there was an interregnum in the meetings of the acad- 
emy, but they were resumed in 1866, from which time its growth has 
been marked, its membership increasing wonderful!)' and reaching in 
all directions for 100 miles from Elmira. 

One object of the academj' from its first organization has been the 
collection and preservation of statistics as to the number and causes of 



THE ELM IRA ACADEMY OF MEDICI \E. 333 

death, the luiinber of marriages and births, and such other information 
as might be iisefui and valuable for comparison or reference in after 
days. This was begun by the academy and persistently carried on in 
spite of iniuimerable obstacles and difficulties. To Dr. William C. Wey 
more than to any other one person is due the credit of providing for 
the city of Elmira the excellent system of mortality reports and vital 
statistics it now possesses. As a result of his efforts there is now a 
series of monthly records running back for more than thirty years 
which are invaluable as a part of the medical histor\' of the city. In 
April, 1 87 1, Dr. T. H. Squire broached to the academy the subject of a 
city hospital, and for years it was the hope and wish of the organization 
that such an institution might be established. Looking to this object 
the academy was incorporated on February i, 1888. But continual 
obstacles presented themselves and every plan failed. A private bene- 
faction, tiic Arnot-Ogden Memorial Hospital already referred to, re- 
lieved the necessity for any further effort of the academy in that direction. 

The presiding officers of the academy since its organization, some of 
them serving several terms, have been : Erastus L. Hart, H. S. Chub- 
buck, Jotham Purdy, Uriah Smith, William C. Wey, Truman H. Squire, 
J. K. Stanchfield, Nelson R. Derby, Z. F. Chase, William Woodward, 
Patrick H. Flood, Joshua B. Graves, Louis Velder, H. D. Wey, G. V. R. 
Merrill, Charles L. Squire, T. A. Dundas, C. W. M. Brown, and A. D. 
Tewksbury. The total membership has been 121. The officers for the 
present year are : Dr. H. D. V. Pratt, president ; Dr. George M. Case, 
vice-president; Dr. R. B. Pratt, secretary; Dr. H. D. Wey, treasurer; 
Drs. H. D. Wey, C. L. Squire, C. W. M. Brown, censors. 

There was another academy organized about this period whose labors 
so far as the public is concerned have been rather obscure, but which in 
relation to the members have been entertaining. This is the Academy 
of Sciences. It was organized in September, 1861, by Prof. Charles S. 
Farrar, of the college, the reason of its being existing in an astronom- 
ical observatory at the junction of College avenue and Park Place. The ' 
ground was a gift from the Hon. E. P. Brooks, and the building, fixt- 
ures, and telescope of eight and one-half inches clear aperture were 
provided by a subscription of the citizens of Elmira. The first presi- 
dent of the organization was the Rev. T. K. Beecher. 



334 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

After Dr. Tracy Beadle and Capt. Samuel Partridge in 1850 pur- 
chased the big farm which is now the western portion of the Fiftli ward, 
in anticipation of the growth of the village consequent upon the com- 
pletion of the Erie road, the speculation would have fallen flat unless 
some means were found to connect the locality more closely and cjuickl)^ 
with the village itself So a new bridge became necessary across the 
Chemung. The Lake street bridge had seen many vicissitudes. After 
the fire in 1850 it was rebuilt and so stood for thirteen years, when it 
had become rather shabby and decayed, and was overhauled and almost 
entirely built over. It stood two years, and then in the flood of 1865, 
a period of time from which a number of occurrences are dated, the 
only stone pier of the bridge was undermined and almost the whole of 
the southern span dropped out and sailed off down the river. That was 
a great spectacle for the valley that the flood on St. Patrick's day, 1865, 
afforded to the citizens, not the least of the interest it excited being the 
destruction of property it caused. But it was a great sight to look 
south across the valley and see, instead of meadows, fields, and fences, an 
immense lake formed there almost in a night. Communication with 
the Fifth ward e.xcept by the railroad bridge and for persons on foot 
was entirely cut off for two or three days. A wooden pier was put 
under the Lake street bridge in place of the stone one, and the span 
repaired in the summer. 

The new Main Street Bridge Company was chartered in 1853, the 
projectors and incorporators having been Samuel B. Strang, Tracy 
Beadle, William T. Post, and Anson C. Ely. The bridge was built that 
year, over the island being a trestle work only, and from it down to the 
island itself being a wide flight of stairs. The property was not a very 
profitable one, as it was sold in 1862 at sheriff's sale and the company 
re-organized. The flood of 1865 also served the structure badly. 
There is a common expression about "knocking the pins" from under 
one. It might be applied to the manner in which the flood treated the 
bridge. It swept the trestle work on the island away. This was 
speedily repaired, the same man, J. H. Gallagher, doing the work who 
had built the Lake street bridges. Both bridge companies were con- 
solidated soon after the flood had so damaged both structures. The 
action did n't perhaps protect them from the effects of floods, but evened 



BRIDGES AMD CEMETERIES. 335 

up the financial affairs. In March, 1866, the Main street bridge suf- 
fered further, not from water this time, but fire, nearly the whole north- 
ern span having been burned when the Schwenke buildings on the 
corner were destro\'ed. 

Botii bridges were soon to meet with the fate befalling many old- 
fashioned matters tiiat were not pleasing to the public, such as toll- 
bridges and the like. After a great deal of agitation and argument the 
legislature in 1872 authorized the city of Elmira, if the tax-payers so 
voted, which they did, to bond itself in the sum of $120,000 to replace 
the two old wooden bridges with iron ones. The commissioners ap- 
pointed to see to the proper execution of the work were Hon. Asher 
Tyler, Hon. William T. Post, Hon. John Arnot, jr., the Rev. T. K. 
Beeciier, and Robert M. McDowell, esq. Mr. Tyler declined to serve 
and Casper S. Decker, esq., was named by the common council to fill 
his place. The Main street bridge was built first, the work being done 
by the Cincinnati Iron Bridge Company, and it was completed Septem- 
ber 15, 1873. Its total length is 795 feet and its cost was nearly $85,000. 

The Lake street bridge, built by the same company, was completed 
for traffic on October i, 1874. Its total length is 546 feet and it cost 
$65,000. The additional sum of $30,000 required to complete the struct- 
ure was asked for by the commissioners and promptly granted by the 
legislature. Mr. Post retired from the commission in 1874 and was 
succeeded by James L. Woods, esq. 

In all this period we meet with the names of the same men moving 
always toward objects for the interest of the village and city. It is 
curious to note that those prominent in one direction are apt to be 
prominent and active in other and many directions. It is easy thus in 
looking over old records to know who have been the leading citizens 
who led in the generations before us. I think that on examination a 
similar state of affairs will be found to exist in our own generation and 
all generations, not only locally, but throughout the country at large. 
We have seen these same names at the head of other public concerns 
and we now find them looking into the matter of cemeteries. In 1858 
Samuel B. Strang, Ariel S. Thurston, and Nathan Baker began to urge 
the necessity for a new cemetery. The ancient one on Main street was 
no longer in use for burial purposes, and the Second street grounds 



330 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

after twenty years had begun to be somewhat crowded. Many nioved- 
there and none moved away. 

The legislature in the year named authorized a loan qf $I0,000 for the 
purchase of a suitable site for the purpose required. Tlie ta.\-payers 
agreed to borrow the sum named by the very slight majority of twenty- 
two. The following named formed the committee who selected and 
purchased the site of the cemetery which we now know under tiie beau- 
tiful name of " Woodlawn " : Francis Hall, who was at the time the 
president of the Board of Trustees of the village, John I. Nicks, Nathan 
Baker, and John Hill. The cemetery was dedicated on October 9, 
1858, the address being delivered by the Rev. Dr. Murdoch, who was 
assisted in the services by the Rev. R. J. Wilson, the Rev. Dr. \V. H. 
Goodwin, and the Rev. Dr. A. W. Cowles. A very beautifully written 
hymn, the work of a member of the senior class of the Elmira College, 
was sung. There was a long procession of military, firemen, and civic 
societies, and the body of Col. John Hendy was taken from the old Main 
street grounds and borne to a new and it is to be hoped a permanent 
resting-place in the newly chosen spot. The cemetery comprises nearly 
100 acres, and is so laid by nature that it affords an infinite variety of land- 
scape that can easily be improved and beautified by art. Within its 
borders is a national burying ground under the care of the government, 
where are laid away by themselves 128 Union soldiers. On Decoration 
day not on these alone are laid the floral offerings of eternal remem- 
brance, but scattered all through the beautiful grounds are to be seen 
evidences that there are many others than those referred to whose serv- 
ices for their country are remembered and appreciated. 

In 1877 all of the bodies of those buried in the old Main street or 
Baptist " burying ground " were taken up and removed to Woodlawn 
unless otherwise provided for by friends, being buried in a plot in the 
southeastern part of the grounds. The old Baptist burying ground is 
now a portion of the Main street park, being all that part of it just west 
of the church and reaching not quite to the stone sidewalk on the east 
side of Main street. 

Besides Woodlawn there are cemeteries belonging to the Catholic 
Church and the Jews in the Fifth ward very near each other on oppo- 
site sides of Franklin street. The Catholic cemetery, a plot of ground 



THE SECOND AXD THIRD HANKS IX ELMIRA. 337 

of about six acres, has been used for burial purposes since 1850, wlien 
tl)c church of SS. Peter and Paul at Market and Higli streets was built, 
a portion of tiie land on which the churcii stands liaving been used prev- 
ious to tlie date named for tlie burial of those who died in the Cath- 
olic faith. 

Tliere was only one bank in Elmira up to the period at which we 
have arrived, but the increase in the volume of business in the city and 
surrounding country caused by the building of the railroad called for 
the establishment of other moneyed institutions for the accommodation of 
the public. The Bank of Chemung was organized in 1S49, being the 
second banking institution of the city. Simeon Benjamin was its first 
president and Tracj' Beadle its first cashier. Vox fourteen years its 
place of business was on the north side of Water street a few doors east 
of Baldwin street. It then changed its location to Carroll and Baldwin 
streets in the Stanclifif Hall block, and remained there fifteen years, its 
doors and existence having been closed on March 23, 1878. It was a 
national bank from 1865 to 1 87 I. Familiar and pleasant to its custom- 
ers and the public for many j'ears of the existence of this institution 
was one of its faithful officers and attaches, John J. Curtis. He was 
born and reared in Owego, and just arrived at manhood served as dep- 
uty count)' clerk of Tioga County with Horace A. Brooks as county 
clerk from 1862 to 1864. In April, 1864, he was made assistant pay- 
master of the United States army under James S. Thurston, paymaster, 
and was on duty in St. Louis, Mo., New York city, and in Elmira. He 
wds in Iilmira at the close of the war, and at that time became con- 
nected with the Bank of Chemung as book-keeper, which position he 
retained until the aftairs of the institution were wound up. Since then 
he has been with the Butler Colliery Company in its Elmira offices, a 
trusted and competent official, and is one of Elmira's most esteemed 
and highly regarded citizens. 

The third banking institution of the city was called the Elmira I'iank, 
and it was established in 1853. Its first president was David 11. Tuthill 
and its first cashier Anson C. Ely, its place of business being the one 
subsequently occupied by the Bank of Chemung, now the offices of the 
Western Union Telegraph Compan\', in the block then just built bj' 
Mr. Ely and called by his name. The Elmira Bank lasted but ten 

4.'! 



338 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

years, suspending operations in 1S63, at tliat time its officers being 
Lewis J. Stancliff, president; Edwin Eldridge, vice-president; and 
William F. Corey, cashier. This institution was the immediate prede- 
cessor of the Second National Bank of l^lniira, or rather the latter was 
its continuation with a change of name. The Second National Bank 
was organized December 14, 1863. Its first officers were: Henry M. 
Partridge, president; Daniel R. Pratt, vice-president; William F. 
Corey, cashier. Some of the solidest business men of Elmira were 
among its stockholders, men like Edwin Eldridge, Daniel Pratt, Chris- 
topher Preswick, William S. Hatch, Robert Covell, Henry W. Rath- 
bone, David H. Tuthill, Ransom Pratt, H. M. Partridge, D. R. Pratt, 
and William T. Post. The bank was the I4gth institution of that nature 
organized under the national banking laws. It has been a United States 
depository almost since its first organization. 

William F. Corey, the cashier of the Elmira Bank while it remained 
in e.xistence and for nearly twenty years the cashier of the Second 
National Bank, was an Elmira lad whose father, Augustus F. Corey, 
came from Cooperstown, Otsego Count)', and was one of the earlier 
merchants in Elmira. He was prominent and active as a member of the 
I. O. O. F. in its early days in the city and in its prosperity. William 
F. Corey was delicately constructed and full of artistic impulses. He 
e.xcelled as a draughtsman, some of his pencil drawings being really 
gems that should have entitled him to rank as an artist. He took great 
delight also in music and sang with expression and force. After 
leaving the Second National Bank he entered into business in Bradford, 
Pa., going thence to Boston, where he did some newspaper work, and is 
now living in Buffalo. When the new opera house on Lake street was 
completed in 1868 the Second National Bank was moved thither and 
has remained there since. 

Subsequent to the first organization of the Second National Bank 
the Pratt family, of the woolen-mills, became the chief stockholders and 
continued in possession of the concern until July, 1889, when the entire 
stock was sold to a new list of stockholders, the following named being 
in the direction: Seymour Dexter, J. Sloat Fassett, J. Monroe Shoe- 
maker, W. N. Easterbrook, F"rancis E. Fitch, Henry L. Armstrong, 
John C. Seeley, John E. Larkin, Robert T. Turner, Dr. Tlieron A. 



BANKf.XG CONCERNS A\I) THE ERIE RAILROAD. 330 

Wales, and W. E. Slieives. It is officered as follows : Se}'mour Dex- 
ter, president; J. Sloat Fassett, vice-president; D. M. Pratt, cashier. 

There was also a l^'irst National Bank of Elmira once, organized also 
in 1863, of which Simeon Benjamin was president. Its capital was 
$100,000. But its affairs became very much complicated and it fell 
under the control of the Chenning Canal Bank. 

The Farmers and Mechanics Bank was organized in 1876 by Lewis 
M. Smith and Henrj- L. Bacon. 

The latest moneyed organization of the city is the Elmira National 
Bank, established in September, 1889, with a capital of $200,000. In 
its direction are Thomas S. Flood, Judson H. Clark, E. L. Wyckoff, John 
Brand. John J. Bush, F. Cy. Straat, Jackson Richardson, and Charles 
Kellogg. Its banking house is in the Robinson building on Lake just 
below Market street. 

These make the facilities for doing business in Elmira of the first 
order, but it is the easy and numerous methods of communication with 
the outer world that has had most to do with the progress and prosper- 
ity of the city. Some reference to the completion of the Erie Railroad 
has already been made, and it is interesting to note those persons who 
have represented the company in the various places in the county. 
They have much to do with making the road a living reality hi the 
communities where they serve, being the personalities or the personifi- 
cations of a corporation that is but an abstract thing. Names are met 
with, too, in the connection that are unexpected or in such a relation- 
ship forgotten. 

The first agent of the Erie in Elmira in 1849 was Theodore L. 
Minier. He had been connected with the Chemung Canal Bank, sub- 
sequently went with Charles Cook in the at one time famous Havana 
Bank, served as State senator from the district in 1870-71, and has 
been alderman in the Elmira common council from the First ward for 
a number of years. He was succeeded as agent for the Erie at Elmira 
by Samuel H. Maxwell; he in 185 I by Philander Norton. After him 
came in 1858 one by the name of Lane; in 1861, James H. Rutter; in 
1864, J. G. Baker; in 1865, H. B. Smith; in 1873, William L. King- 
man ; in 1875, George S. Shepard ; in 1880, A. F. Norton; in 1883, 
William C. Buck; in 1885, D. D. Curtis; — twelve agents in all in forty- 



340 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

two years. Of these William C. Buck is of the family of that name who 
came among the first into the county. During the agency of H. B. 
Smith, in 1867, the present brick passenger depot was built succeeding 
the old wooden depot with its high platforms and general inconvenience. 

The agents of the I'^ie at Big Flats have been : 1849-61, Jesse Cro- 
fut; 1861-63, W. L. Doyle; 1S63-65, M. M. Pritchard ; 1865-83, S. H. 
Smith, jr.; since 1883, T. P. Reeder. 

The Erie station near Horseheads is called North Elmira. It was 
formerly known as West Junction. On January i, 1882, this name was 
changed to Horseheads and five years later to North Elmira. The 
agents here have been A. Z. Higgins; W. H. Whitmarsh; W. C. Buck 
from May, 1882, to June 14, 1883 ; S. H. Smith, jr., to August 17, 
1885 ; B. F. Van Demark to February 8, 1886; F. P. Frost to Sep- 
tember, 1889; and J. C. Flannery since the last date. The agents at 
Wellsburg have been W. H. Ferguson from 1849 to September, 1853; 
James Gray to March, 1864; A. L. Parmalee to May, 1865; C. B. 
Scribner to October, 18S0; D. B. Russ since October, 1880. The 
agents at Chemung have been from 1849 to 1850, G. O. Chase; 1850 
to 1863, John Buck; from 1863 to 1865, Simon Lathrop ; from 1865 
to 1869, W. E. Lewis; from 1869 to 1885, Frank P. Frost; since 1885, 
F. L. Geer. 

As at first organized the Pirie road was called by the statute that 
authorized the formation of the company, the " New York and Erie 
Railroad," and it was known the country through in common parlance 
as the "York and Erie." Under the Gould and Fisk management 
its legal title became the more stately and somewhat English " Erie 
Railway." Whatever may be said of the road in those days as regards 
the rights of the stockholders it recommended itself most favorably to 
the consideration of the public. It was the day when for the first any- 
where the passenger coaches became models of elegance and comfort. 
Whether it is the mere name itself that falls easily from the lips and 
tongue, or the popularity achieved in the Gould and Fisk days, it is cer- 
tain that the title the " Erie Railway " clings persistently to the road, 
although its proper and legal name, the " New York, Lake Erie, and 
Western Railroad," eclipsed by the shorter designation, very much 
longer and less easy to manage with pen or tongue, is hardly recognized 
when seen or heard. 



RAILROAD IXTERESTS IN THE CHEMUSG VALLEY. ?A\ 

As early as 1832 there had been bc<jun the enterprise of a raihoad 
between Ehiiira and WiUiamsport. In 1846 the time was extended by 
the legislature for its completion, but nothing was done under the 
charter. In 1852 there was a new organization under the laws of both 
States of New York and Pennsylvania stimulated by the completion of 
the I''ric. There was an effort, that failed, however, to carry the line to 
Blossburg, reaching the Erie by the way of Corning instead of direct 
to Klmira, a route that has subsequently been selected for a road by in- 
terests that have not been friendly to I-^lmira. It was largely through 
the efforts of General Diven that this railroad connection was secured 
for the Chemung Valley. The contractors for the work were King, 
Stancliff & Co., the senior member of the firm being John S. King, of 
Geneva, and the others Lewis J. Stancliff and Gen. A. S. Diven. Work 
was begun on January i, 1853, and the whole line was completed from 
WiUiamsport to Elmira, August i, 1854. Between Canandaigua, N. Y., 
and WiUiamsport there were then three separate companies : The Y.\- 
mira and WiUiamsport a little more than seventy-five miles in length ; 
the Chemung from Elmira to Watkins, seventeen and one half miles 
long ; and the Jefferson and Canandaigua road from Watkins to Canan- 
daigua, forty-six miles long. All of these came by long leases under 
the control of the Northern Central Railroad Company, an organization 
that is a part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, which now operates 
them. The first named of these short lines was leased May i, 1863, 
and the other two were leased in October, 1866. The Northern Cent- 
ral has secured a right of way over the New York Central from Can- 
andaigua to Rochester, so that practically it has a through line from the 
latter named place to Baltimore and Washington. 

Under the consolidation the first superintendent having charge of the 
line was Henry Coffin, who had been superintendent of the Erie in its 
early days. With him was associated as general freight and ticket 
agent Hector I. Maxwell. This gentlemen was one of the younger 
sons of Guy Maxwell. He was connected with the Chemung Canal 
Bank in its earlier days. He died in January, 1861. His wife was 
Irena Vail, a sister of Benjamin Vail, one of the old-time cabinetmakers 
of Elmira. They came from Orange County to the Chemung Valley. 
Another brother, Ira Vail, was a farmer in Southport, and it was in his 



34l> OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

house in 1821 that Mr. Maxwell was married. Mrs. Maxwell died in 
March, 18S0. Of her two daughters one, Sarah, is the wife of the Hon. 
Theodore L. Minier and the other, Ellen, became the wife of William 
Hoffman, jr. Her two sons were Edward and Thomas Maxwell. The 
latter removed to Troy, Pa., where he died. 

Mr. Coflfin was succeeded byjared A. Redfieid. Mr. Redfield might 
well be accounted one of the strong men of whatever place he miglit be 
a citizen. He was born in the town of Bainbridge, Chenango County, 
in 181 5, and as a young man followed the occupation of farmer. He 
married a daughter of Dr. Hayt, of Corning, and a sister of the Hon. 
Stephen T. Hayt. He was the first station agent of the Erie at Corn- 
ing in 1849, occupying afterward a similar position in Hornellsville, and 
was also for a time the superintendent of the Bath branch of the Erie. 
He came to Elmira in 1856. For twenty years he occupied a responsi- 
ble position in the local management of the Northern Central. He died 
in June, 1880. His son, Henry S. Redfield, is the law partner of George 
M Diven, esq. 

H. A. Fonda succeeded Mr. Redfield as superintendent. He was 
afterward superintendent of the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad, and 
acquiring a competency by a fortunate contract lives now in comfort 
and contentment in Milton, Pa. When he left the Northern Central 
Mr. Redfield returned to the position until he was succeeded by E. S. 
Bowen, a railroad man who manifested large ability in the direction of 
his profession. He afterward became the general superintendent of the 
Erie, and was at one time one of the vice-presidents of that road. He 
is general manager now at Oswego of the Rome, Watertown, and Os- 
wego road. When he retired from the Northern Central Mr. Redfield 
again acted as superintendent until Robert Neilson was appointed to 
the position. Mr. Neilson made a more than favorable impression upon 
the public of Elmira. He came from Canada, and his thorough capac- 
ity and sterling qualities brought to him friends in general as well as 
established him in the good opinion of his superiors in the company in 
whose service he was. It seems to be a part of the S3'stem of the Penn- 
sylvania Railroad that valuable men are advanced as thoSe at tiie top re- 
tire. Mr. Neilson went from the superintendency of the division be- 
tween Elmira and Williamsport to be the general superintendent at the 



SOME RAILROAD HISTORY /A' ELM IRA. 343 

latter named place of the same division, and besides of the Pennsylvania 
and Erie line, as it is called. It is of such material that the Pennsylva- 
nia has made its chief officers. The successor of Mr. Neilson was 
Spencer Meade, a son of Gen. George G. Meade, and he has held the 
position for nine years to the profit of the road and to the satisfaction 
of its patrons. 

The agents of the road in the county have not been man)', being men 
who seemed to be so well fitted into the places they occupied that they 
stayed there. The first one in Elmira was Edward Maxwell. He was 
the son of Hector I. Maxwell named above, and had been a merchant 
in Elmira. He subsequently removed to Oswego. Elmira's other 
agents of the Northern Central have been Julian Clark, Jared A. Red- 
field, Edward Wiseman, and Horace C. Erench. The wife of the last 
named is a daughter of Jared A. Redfield. There have been but two 
agents of the road in Horseheads since its completion : Hiram Bentley, 
who was there from the first, and Hiram H. McConnel, who succeeded 
him. At Millport from the first John T. Fowler acted as agent and 
telegraph operator. He was succeeded as agent by M. M. Parsons. 
James Gray has been the company's agent in VVatkins now for more 
than thirty years. The shops of the Northern Central Company, 
located in the Fifth ward, were established there in 1868 and have 
added greatly to the business prosperity of the city. 

So far Elmira was provided with railroad communications tending 
toward the four cardinal points of the compass. It reaches out now in 
other directions. Toward and from the northeast goes and comes the 
Elmira, Cortland, and Northern road. This was originally tlie Utica, 
Ithaca, and Elmira, an enterprise worked to completion by the persistent 
etTorts of Joseph Rodbourn, of Breesport, aided by the money antl influ- 
ence of Ezra Cornell. Its aim was to reach through Elmira to the bit- 
uminous coal fields at Blossburg by means of another new line toward 
and from the southwest, and as originally organized known as the Elmira 
State Line road. Both of these lines were finished in 1876. The Ithaca 
road after \arious vicissitudes came in 1884 into the control of Austin 
Corbin, one of the railroad magnates of the day, and its name was 
changed to that already given. He sent to Elmira to take charge of it 
A. A. McLcod, whose capacity as a railroad manager was shown b}' 



344 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

his lifting the road into the best condition, and it lias since been so 
clearly shown that he has become the president of the Reading system, 
one of the largest and most prominent organizations in the country. 
At first the Ithaca road ran into the citj' on the Erie tracks, but on tiie 
re- organization it had a track and a handsome station of its own. From 
Elmira to Horseheads its line follows that of the old Chemung Canal. 

The Elmira State Line road also passed out of the management of its 
originators and projectors and in 1882 became the Tioga branch of the 
Erie, in March, 1885, being put under the control of the superintendent 
of the Susquehanna division. In 1870 the Lehigh Valley road was ex- 
tended to Elmira, running on the Erie's tracks from Waverly, a third 
rail being laid to accommodate its rolling stock, the gauge of the Erie be- 
ing " broad " at that time. This laying of the third rail on the Erie was 
continued along its whole line and branches, and in the spring of 1883, 
when the work was completed and its equipment had been changed to 
conform to the standard gauge, the use of the broad gauge was discon- 
tinued. 

The Lehigh road opened its offices for business in Elmira on Decem- 
ber 21, 1870, its representative there being James S. Sheafe, who from 
an early age, beginning with the Boston and Maine, was connected with 
the railroad business. He conducted the affairs of the company very 
successfully until the time of his death, which occurred August 4, 1891. 
Associated with him from the first was John Hathorn, a descendant of 
one of the oldest families of the valle}-, who now has charge of the busi- 
ness of the company. 

Another trunk line, the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western, reached 
Elmira in its extension toward Buftalo from Bingiiamton in 1882. Its 
route througli the valley was much the same as that taken more than a 
hundred years before by Sullivan's troops and the same that had been 
adopted b\- the Junction Canal Company. Its first train rolled into El- 
mira at 4:20 I'. M. on Sunday, April 2, 1882. It was somewhat of a 
pilot, as it was made up of an engine, No. 45, of which George Shoe- 
maker had charge, and one passenger coach. In fifteen minutes after- 
ward the passenger train arrived. It had two baggage cars, four day 
coaches, and one drawing-room coach, all drawn by engine No. 6, M. J. 
Nihil, engineer. W. B. Pierce, conductor, had charge of the train. A 




':wi,^„., if:-^ !>i 




J--^ 



/ 



SKETCH OF THE D..L.. AND W. 345 

train of cars was not such a novel sight as it was thirty and more years 
before, but there was much enthusiasm manifested and a great tlirong 
of people at the depot welcomed the opening of a new thoroughfare. 
The passengers came waving their handkerchiefs and were saluted at 
every crossing witii shouts and similar manifestations of pleasure. 

The first regular passenger train of the road left Elmira at 5:10 A. M., 
Monday morning, April 3, 1882. It consisted of one engine and six 
cars, W. H. Pierce, conductor, and M. J. Nihil, engineer. At 7 A. M. 
the second regular train, an accommodation, began its regular trips, 
An old Erie engineer, " Jim " Clark, flung an ancient and worn horse- 
shoe after the train as it pulled away from the station for "good luck." 
At 1 1 o'clock on that same morning the first regular passenger train 
arrived in Elmira from the East. There were four coaches full, among 
the passengers being W. F. Hallstead, the superintendent of the road, and 
J. Archibald, tlie chief engineer. The county lies on the Buffalo divis- 
ion of the road extending from Binghamton to ]5uffalo. F. A. Seabert, 
who was tlie trackmaster at the time of the opening of the road, is now 
assistant superintendent, having charge of the division. The agents of 
the road in the county are E. M. Lowman at Lowman's; W. H. Peters 
at Elmira; T. H. Wheat at Morseheads; and S. C. Leonard at Big 
Fiats, the latter of whom succeeded M. Whitcomb. 

William H. Peters, the agent in Elmira, is a thriving, active young man 
born and bred in the railroad business. His father was George Peters, 
who was connected with the h-rie for more than thirty years, in the lat- 
ter part of his service as engineer. He was a member of the common 
council of Elmira, representing the Seventh ward for two terms. He 
died in January, 1888. William H. Peters was an Elmira lad who left 
the junior class in the Free Academy in 1873 to become a clerk in the 
I^rie freight oflfice. He was transferred from there to the office of the 
division superintendent, where he remained until the opening of the new 
Lackawanna line, when he was made its agent. He served as alderman 
from the Seventh ward in 18S3 and 1884, and in 1888 was appointed 
by Governor Hill one of the Reformatory Commissioners. He is an 
active business man and politician and one of the rising young men of 
tlie valley. 

14 



3'IC OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Further changes in the Civil Divisions of the County — Horseheads Townsliip Organ- 
ized — Schuyler County ta-ken t'rom Chemung — Hon. Jeremiah McGuire — \'an 
Etten Township — Van Ettenville — Its first Postmasters — Baldwin Township — 
Hicks and North Chemung — Elmira becomes a City — Its Mayors — One of its 
earliest Chiefs of Police — A notable gang of Horse Thieves— The Fire Depart- 
ment — Its Chief Engineers — New companies Formed — "Ours 4" Hose — 
Coal taking the place of Wood — Tom Talliday — Berry, the " Learned Shoe- 
maker" — Something concerning the County Buildings — Notable criminal Trials 
— Ashland Township Erected — The Supervisors of the County since 1850 — Cit- 
izens of the County who have Represented the District in Congress — Hon. H. 
Boardman Smith — Archibald Robertson, esq. — The Fassett Family — Hon. J. 
Sloat Fassett — Citizens of the County who have been State Senators — Senator 

George B. Guinnip — Members of Asseml)!) Hon. Robert P. Bush — County 

Judges, District Attorneys, and other Officers of the County. 

THERE was much changing and re-arranging of the civil divisions 
of the county during the early part of the period under consider- 
ation, and matters were settled that have not been very considerably 
altered since. Horseheads had grown large enough to set up for a 
township by itself, and on February 7, 1854, it was authorized by the leg- 
islature so to do. The act provided that Charles Hulett, Elijah Car- 
penter, Hiram S. Bentley, George Bennett, or any two of them should 
have charge of the first town meeting. This was held on the 14th of 
February, making Horseheads something of a St. Valentine's day town- 
ship, and its history since has more or less borne out the character 
thereby suggested, everything being fair and lovely there and there- 
abouts. The meeting was held at the house of Waterman Davis and 
Samuel H. Maxwell was elected supervisor. He served three terms in 
that capacity and the third time was the chairman of the board. That 
spring of 1854 was one of considerable importance to Chemung County, 
for at that time it was just about cut in two. The northern portion of 
it, being the towns of Catherine, Di.\, and some of Cayuta, was taken 
away to help with a slice from Steuben and another slice from Tomp- 
kins to form Schuyler County. It was an act that was not demanded 



L OCA r/XG /■///: CO I ^V T V SEA T. 347 

for any reason except the ambition of one man, and that was the causci 
but no reason. Chemung was a snug, compact little county as it was, 
rcacliing from the lake to the Pennsylvania line, and all portions of it 
were bound together by ties of memory, tradition, and interest that 
should have kept it together as it was originally formed in 1788, when 
Chemung township was organized. 

The action caused considerable excitement and met with great oppo- 
sition. The people of the proposed county were opposed to it and the 
people of the old county protested against it, but those who had the 
matter in hand were too strong politically to be thwarted in their de- 
signs. There was clearly something wrong somewhere in the transac- 
tion, for the new county did not have the requisite population. The 
matter got into the courts, where it was decided that the act creating the 
new county was unconstitutional; then immediately thereafter after the 
manner of courts there came another decision reversing the original 
one, and the county stood. 

The most exciting dispute was as to the location of the county seat. 
The legislature designated Havana as the spot and county buildings 
were erected there. But the county officers elected by the people re- 
fused to occupy them and the county judge refused to hold court there. 
The contest lasted for nearly fifteen years and was carried on during the 
Civil war, almost making that in the locality a secondary affair. In 1867, 
Watkins agreeing to pay for the county buildings, they were erected 
there and those at Havana were sold and abandoned. The whole mat- 
ter is a portion of the county's history that can hardly be remembered 
with satisfaction. 

In the litigated matters on the side of Havana was one who arose 
afterward to considerable political and wide professional distinction, the 
Hon. Jeremiah McGuire. He was an Irish lad born in Dublin in 1825, 
and came to this country when young, poor, and friendless. In 1849 
he was admitted to the bar and settled in Havana. He served as mem- 
ber of Assembly from Schuyler County in 1 873, and made his mark there 
by a speech which attacked very sharply Ezra Cornell and the meth- 
ods adopted in founding the university in Ithaca that bears that gentle- 
man's name. The same year Mr. McGuire removed to Elmira and in 
1874 was elected to the legislature from Chemung County. He was 



348 OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

made speaker of tlie Assembly that began its sessions on January i, 
1875. His political career extended no further, although he was nom- 
inated for member of Congress in 1888, when he could not be elected. 
He occupied a very high position at the bar with a reputation that ex- 
tended throughout the State. He died in 1889. His wife was Miss 
Electa VVatkins, of Havana, their marriage having been celebrated in 
1851. Their only child is Miss Kate McGuire, who with her voice has 
won a pleasant place in the annals of the valley as a ])articularly sweet 
singer. 

When Schuyler County was formed a little of the township of Cayuta 
was saved to Chemung County, and that with a portion from Erin town- 
ship was erected into the township of Van Etten. All of this was done 
on the same date, April 17, 1854. The new township got its name from 
James B. Van Etten. The first town meeting was held on May 9, 1854, 
and George B. Hall was the first supervisor chosen. The village of 
Van Ettenville in the township is one of the briskest in the county. 
Within its borders run the lines of two railroads, the Geneva, Ithaca, and 
Sayre and the Elmira, Cortland, and Northern. A third line is to be 
added to these in an extension of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. A post- 
office was early established here, it being on the post-road that connected 
Ithaca by stages with the west and southwest. The first postmaster 
was James Van Etten and his commission is dated May 5, 1836. Those 
following him in this honorable position with the dates of their appoint- 
ments are : Joseph Giles, July 29, 1841 ; Daniel C. Van Etten, July 7, 
1842; Albert Van Etten, June 25, 1846; Charles Patchin, Novem- 
ber 14, 1848; Daniel C. Van Etten, December 12, 1849; Guy I'urd)-, 
June 18, 1853 ; Daniel B. Clark, December 10, 1861 ; Will H. Van Et- 
ten, March 18, 1873 ; Daniel B. Clark, September 19, 1873; Albert S. 
Ward, April 21, 1881 ; Orville P. Dimon, January 21, 1886; Albert S. 
Ward, May 31, 1889. 

Once more and soon after there was another division and another 
new township. This was the township of Baldwin, made up from the 
northern part of Chemung " up Wynkoop Creek," as it might be termed 
in that locality. The name the new township received is familiar to the 
readers of this record as being that of a family who very early in the 
history of the county settled in that neighborhood. The new township 



ELMIRA IXCORPORA TED AS A CITY. 349 

was well named. It was organized by an act of the Iei:;islature passed 
April 7, 1856, and the first town meeting was held on May 6th follow- 
ing at the inn of Daniel R. Harris. William H. Little was the first su- 
pervisor chosen. There are two postoffices in this township, Hicks and 
North Chemung, although the latter is better known locally as " Ham- 
mond's Corners." Hicks is of somewhat recent establishment, its first 
postmaster iiaving been Benjamin B. Barnes and his appointment is 
tlated March 31, 1S71. His successors with the dates of their appoint- 
ments are: Frank Sayre, June 17, 1873; William H. Blauvelt, April 16, 
1877; Arthur D. Bandfield, December 6, 1881 ; Jacob Bandfield, Feb- 
ruary 26, 1S86; William H. Blauvelt, November 3, 1888; Jacob Band- 
field, December 17, 1888; Calvin H. Blauvelt, February 7, 1891. 

North Chemung was much earlier established as a postoffice, the first 
postmaster having been Anthony CoUson and the date of his appoint- 
ment June 29, 1843. His successors have been Jacob Tice, February 22, 
1849; Gilbert Salnave, June 5, 1851 ; Johnson Little, November 16, 
1852; Elisha Hammond, jr., January 10, 1857; Elisha Hammond, 
July 28, 1858; Hezekiah M. Denton, May 14, 1862; William Colson, 
February 5, 1863; Jonathan W. Jones, March 27, 1866; Paul Colson, 
July 9, 1867 ; Amasa R. Harrington, August 25, 1885. 

But the greatest and most important ciiange of the period was the 
one that befell the village of Elmira itself. It was incorporated as a city 
on April 7, 1864. In a number of ways it had been growing up to this 
point. In 1850 it was authorized to ha\'c two members to represent it 
in the Board of Supervisors, and in 1854 it was divided into three wards, 
the third ward being on the south side of the river and taken in from 
the town of Southport as a part of the village. For ten years that por- 
tion of the city was known by the name of the "Third ward," and it was 
a long time after the new distribution that the citizens could come to 
speak of or recognize it under its new numerical designation. 

It is well at this time when the village of Elmira put away its rural 
belongings to recall those who served it in an official capacity during the 
period under consideration. During and after the year 1851 the village 
was governed by a board of trustees, of which the supervisors of the 
village formed a part. There was an equal number of trustees and 
supervisors elected, two until 1854, when three wards were formed, and 



350 OUR couyrv and its people. 

so continuing for ten years, when a city charter was granted. The 
names of the supervisors will be found on another page, where the list 
of those officers is given. The otiier portions of the city government 
were as follows : 

1851. — President oC the board, William Maxwell; clerk, H. W. Collins; treasurer, 
William P. Yates ; trustees, William R. Jiulson, John Parmenter. 

1852. — President o£ the board, William Maxwell; clerk, Henry Potter; treasurer, 
William P. Tales : trustees, John L. Shockey, Hervey Luce. 

1853. — President of the board, Tiiomas S. Spaidding; clerk, George A. Brush ; treas- 
urer, William P. Yates ; trustees, William R. Judson, S. B. Hubbell. John Parmenter. 

1854:. — President ot the board, Thomas S. Spaulding; clerk, Octavius Yates ; treas- 
urer, Thomas Perry ; trustees, John L. Sliockey, Uriah Smith, George W. Brown. 

1855. — President of the board. Anson C.Ely; clerk, John Davis Dunn; treasurer, 
Thomas Perry ; trustee.*, William R. Judson, John I. Nicks, Isaac H. Reynolds. 

1856. — President of the board, Anson C. Ely ; clerk, Robert R. R. Dumars ; treas- 
urer, Socrates A3'ers : trustees, Levi J. Cooley, J. Davis Baldwin, John S. Baldwin. 

1857. — President of the board, Anson C. Ely; clerk, Robert R. R. Dumars; treas- 
urer, Socrates Ayres; trustees, John Hill, John I. Nicks, Isaac H. Reynolds. 

1858. — President of the board, Francis Hall; clerk, Robert R. R. Dumars; treasurer, 
Thomas Perry; trustees, Nathan Baker, Nelson W. Gardiner, John S. Baldwin. 

1859. — Pre.-iident of the board, John Arnot, jr.; clerk, Robert R. R. Dumars; treas- 
urer, Thomas Perry; trustees. Ransom Pratt, John I. Nicks, Archibald Robertson. 

1860. — President of the board, John Arnot, jr.; clerk, Lathrop Baldwin, jr.; treasurer, 
Thomas Perry ; trustees, William Ligison, Uriah S. Lowe, Graudison A. Gridley. 

1861. — President of the board, John Arnot,' jr.; clerk, Schuyler C. Reynolds; treas- 
urer, Frederick C. Steele ; trustees, Levi J. Cooley, William G. Rutter, Comfort S. Brown. 

1862. — President of the board, Schuyler C. Reynolds; clerk. Wilbur F. Tuttle; treas- 
urer, F. C. Steele; trustees, Thaddeus C. Cowen, Lasky S. Post. William R. Loomi.s. 

1863. — President of the Ijoard, Thomas S. Spaulding ; clerk, Andrew B. Galatian ; 
treasurer, F. C. Steele; trustees, Joseph W. Giles, Virgil B. Read, Samuel G. Stryker. 

1864. — President of the board, John I. Nicks; clerk, Seymour B. Fairman ; treas- 
urer, Riggs Watrous: trustees, Henry S. Brooks, Lasky S. Post, Solomon B. Tomlinson. 

Among other enterprises looking cityward was a gas companj' that 
began operations in Elmira in 1849. ^' ^^'^s an undertaking in the 
hands of the Pumpellys who were in a similar business in Albany. The 
company was re-organized in 1852 and came into the control of the 
Arnot family, by whom the interest is still held. 

The Elmira Water Company was organized on April 14, 1859, the 
incorporators being Elijah P. Brooks, William T. Post, William Beach, 
John T. Rathbun, G. L. Smith, Arcalous Wyckoff, and Eli Wheeler. 
Isaac E. Hobbie was the manager of the concerns of the company. It 



ELMIRA'S CHIEF EXECUTIVES. 351 

worked along under many disadvantages in the way of securing a suffi- 
cient and reliable supply of water, and in 1869 the company was re- 
organized and called the Eimira Water Works Companj', at whose head 
was Gen. A. S. Diveii. A large sum of money running into a number 
of hundreds of thousands of dollars has been expended in giving Eimira 
an aKva\'s sufficient water supply. There is a large storing reservoir on 
West Hill, and a receiving and distributing reservoir farther down which 
has a fountain for purifying the water that in the size of the main stream 
thrown into the air and the height to which it flies has only one equal 
in the whole world. Should the storing reservoir ever fail the Che- 
mung River, by means of powerful pumps located in the western part 
of the city, furnishes an abundance that has never yet given any evi- 
dence of failing. The company is still in the control of the Diven 
family. 

John Arnot, jr., was the first mayor of the city of Ehiiira. He had 
previously served as president of tlie Board of Trustees of the village. 
His successors were in 1865 John I. Nicks; 1867, Eaton N. Frisbie ; 
1868, Stephen McDonald; 1870, John Arnot, jr., again; 1871, Patrick 
H. Flood ; 1873, Luther Caldwell ; 1874, John Arnot, jr., again ; 1875, 
Howard I\I. Smith. Then the term of service was changed to two 
years. Robert T. Turner, elected in 1876, was the first mayor under the 
new order and following him were: In 1S78, Granville D. Parsons; 
1880, Alexander Diven ; 1882, David B. Hill. Mayor Hill was elected 
lieutenant-governor of the State and his unexpired term was filled by 
Stephen T. Arnot. In 1884 came Henrj' Flood; 1 886, John B. Stanch- 
field ; 1888, Charles S. Davison, who was re-elected in 1890. 

The city of Eimira has always been fortunate in the choice of its chief 
executive officer. Much of its prominence and its progressive charac- 
ter it has caught from or been abundantly fostered by them. In other 
lines in this record more extended notices of some of them may be 
found, for they were noted in other fields of local or general interest. 
Stephen McDonald, the fourth mayor of the city, was one of the old- 
time merchants thereof. He came into the village of Eimira from Or- 
ange Count)' and established a leather business, the firm name being 
McDonald & Palmer and their location on the south side of Water 
street but a little way west from the end of the bridge. Mr. McDonald 



352 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

was always active in the business and political matters of the county, and 
in the latter was a power in the councils of his party, rather as an adviser 
and manager than as a holder of office. He was elected county treas- 
urer in 1857, but the position of mayor was the only public one of any 
importance that he ever held. His administration of that, however, was 
of such a character that it is held up to this day as one that in no respect 
has ever been surpassed if equalled in purity, economy, watchfulness, 
or benefit to the city. He was a man of the most unquestioned probity 
and one to whose judgment all willingly deferred. He died June 20, 
1885, leaving no descendants bearing his family name. His eldest 
daughter, Mary, became the wife of Gordon Baldwin, a member of the 
family of which so much has been said in this record, and his other 
child, Sarah, married Dr. Mills of the county from which Mr. McDonald 
emigrated. 

The mayoralty of Elmira acquired a new luster, however, from the fact 
that one who occupied that position has reached a higher eminence and 
a wider reputation than that ever yet attained by a citizen of the county. 
This is Gov. David B. Hill. He was born in Chemung County, for at 
the time of his birth, August 29, 1844, the village of Havana where he 
was born was still within its limits. He comes of humble but rugged 
parents, his father, Caleb Hill, having been a carpenter, and he was the 
youngest of five children. His mother's name was Eunice, meaning 
" good victory," name of excellent omen. Governor Hill's youth was 
passed in his native place and his education was obtained there in 
a. school-house still standing. He was a favorite of Charles Cook, the 
most conspicuous and wealthiest man of his locality, by whom his father 
was almost constantly employed. Very early in life he manifested the 
possession of those qualities that have since made him so conspicuous. 
He was earnest, studious, and much given to oratory. In the campaign 
of i860, when only sixteen years of age, he filled very acceptably the 
place of speaker at a Democratic mass meeting in Watkins, where the 
person announced for some reason failed to put in an appearance. And 
as a boy he was as eager and sincere a partisan as he has been since he 
became a man. He began the study of law in the office of Marcus 
Crawford in the village of Havana, but in 1864 came to Palmira to the 
office of Thurston & Hart. On his admission to the bar a year later he 



FIRS T CITY OFFICERS. 353 

formed a partnership with the Hon. G. L. Smith, wliich continued for a 
number of years. He acquired a position at the bar, not only of the 
county, but of the State, that gave him rank with the best men in the 
profession. From the first he was a pohtical power in the city and 
county whose influence was paramount- He was the member of As- 
sembly from Cliemung in 1871 and 1872, easily took rank with tlie 
best men in the body where he sat, and served on some of the most im- 
portant committees of the legislature. Subsequently he was in the 
common council of the cit\-, representing the Third ward thereof and in 
1882 was chosen mayor. In 1883 he was nominated for lieutenant- 
governor on the ticket headed by Grover Cleveland and was elected by 
a majority larger than that ever before given a public officer in the 
State. On January i, 1885, he became governor of the State b)- the res- 
ignation of Mr. Cleveland, who had been elected President of the United 
States. In 1885 and in 1888 Governor Hill was re-elected, and has 
served as executive of the State for a longer consecutive period, with 
one exception, than any otiier man. In 1891 he was chosen by the 
legislature to represent the State in the Senate of the United States. 
Governor Hill is unmarried. 

The first common council of the city of Elmira met in the city hall 
on April 19, 1864. Its composition was as follows : Mayor, John Ar- 
not, jr.; clerk, Michael Feency. He died while in office, and in Au- 
gust, 1864, Jesse L. Cooley was elected to fill his place. Aldermen: 
First ward, William P. Yates, George Congdon ; Second ward, Lasky 
S Post, Ira B. Guernsey; Third ward, Samuel Hall, Henry S. Gilbert; 
Fourth ward, Henry C. Covell, Adam Berner ; Fifth ward, Samuel G. 
Stryker, William R. Loomis. 

The other officers who first served Elmira as a city were: Re- 
corder, Rufus King ; cit\- attorney, Robert Stephens ; city marshal, 
U. B. Brown ; special constables, John S. Knapp and Frank E. Cleve- 
land ; police constables, James W. Hill and John S. Wright ; night 
watchmen, Michael Dalton, Andrew Middaugh, B. A. Smith, and Will- 
iam H. Wisner ; cemetery commissioner, William L. Gibson ; street 
commissioner, Timothy Gallagher; city sealer, L. W. Bryant; fire war- 
dens: First ward, Guy H. Gray; Second ward, H. M. Badger; Third 
ward, Washington Marsh; Fourth ward, S. Fancher ; k'ifth ward, J. S. 
45 



354 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Baker; Board of Health: William C. \\ ey, M.D., health physician; 
Squire Newton, Lyman Co\'ell, Aaron Rice, M.D.; city inspector, Guy 
H.Gray; superintendent Woodlavvn Cemetery, John W. Jones; pound- 
master, Peter Dickson. 

The common councils who have had charge of the affairs of the cit)' 
since and up to the present time are as follows : 

18G5-fiO. — Mayor, John I. Nicks ; clerk, Wright P. Sherman. Aldermen : First 
ward, George Congdon, Isaac P. Briggs; Second ward, Ira B. Guernsey, Edwin A. 
Scott; Third ward, Henry S. Gilbert, Thomas Gerity; Fourth ward, Henry C. Covell, 
William Brown ; Fifth ward, Samuel G. Stryker, A. Wyckofl'. 

lSG(i-G7. — Mayor, John I. Nicks; clerk, Wright P. Sherman, ilr. Sherman resigned 
and was succeeded by Robert R. R. Dumars. Aldermen : First ward, Isaac P. Briggs. 
Henry T. Palmer; Second ward, Edwin A. Scott, De Bruce Goodell , Third ward, 
Thomas Gerity, Henry S. Gilbert; Fourth ward, WilHam Brown, David D. Reynolds; 
Fifth ward, A. Wyckoff, Joseph H. Barney. 

l8()7-68. — Mayor, Eaton N. Frisbie; clerk, Howard M. Smith. Aldermen: First 
ward, Henr}' T. Palmer, Charles G. Fairp.ian; Second ward, De Bruce Goodell, Solo- 
mon B. Tomlinsoa ; Third ward, Henry S. Gilbert, John M. Robinson ; Fourth ward, 
David D. Reynolds, Frank H. Atkinson ; Fifth ward, Joseph H. Barney. John F. Laid- 
law ; Sixth ward, William J. Dounce, Edwin A. Scott. 

1868-69. — Mayor, Stephen McDonald; clerk, Howard M. Smith. Aldermen: First 
ward, Charles G. Fairman, Sutherland Dewitt ; Second ward, Solomon B. Tonilinson, 

A. F. Norton : Third ward, John M. Robinson, William J. Lormore ; Fourth ward, Frank 
H. Atkinson, Patrick Ronan ; Fifth ward, John F. Laidlaw, Grandison A. Gridl^ ; Sixth 
ward, Edwin A. Scott, De Bruce Goodell. 

1869-70. — Mayor, Stephen McDonald ; clerk, William B. Kress. Aldermen : First 
ward, Charles G. Fairman, Sutherland Dewitt; Second ward, James Moonan, Solomon 

B. Tomlinson ; Third ward, Wilham J. Lormore, Stephen T. Arnot; Fourth ward, Pat- 
rick Ronan, Henry C. Covell; Fifth ward, Grandison A. Giidley, C. Eckenberger ; Sixth 
ward, De Bruce Goodell, Purinton B. Call. 

1870-71. — Mayor, John Arnot, jr.; clerk, William B. Kress. Aldermen: First ward, 
Charles G. Fairman, Sutherland Dewitt; Second ward, James Moonan, Solomon B. 
Tomliuson: Third ward, Stephen S. Arnot, Sanford Klock; Fourth ward, Henry C. 
Covell, Patrick Ronan ; Fifth ward, C. Eckenberger, Richard Baker ; Sixth ward, Pur- 
inton B. Call, George W. Hoffman. 

1871-72.— Mayor, Patrick H. Flood ; clerk, William E, Straight. Aldermen ; First 
ward, Sutherland Dewitt, Luther Caldwell ; Second ward, Solomon B. Tomlinson, 
James Moonan ; Third ward, Sanford Klock, Gardiner G. Reynolds; Fourth ward, Pat- 
rick Ronan, Robert T. Turner ; Fifth ward, Richard Baker, Charles H. Spaulding ; 
.Sixth Wiird, George W. Hoffman, William A. Ward. 

1872-7:'..— Mayor, Patrick H. Flood; clerk, William K. Straight. Aldermen: First 
ward, Luther Caldwell, Hector L. Miller; Second ward, James Moonan, John I.Nicks; 
Third ward, Gardiner G. Reynolds, Peter Briggs; Fourth ward, Robert T. Turner, Elias 



COMMON COUNCILS. 355 

H. Dormaul : Fiftli ward, Charles II. Spaulding, Archibald Robertson : Sixth ward. 
Geor^re W. Hoflmaii, William A. Ward : Seventli ward. Robert T. Smith, William R. 
Cooper. 

187o-74. — Mayor. Luther Caldwell: clerk, Wiliiaiii E. Straight. Aldermen: First 
ward, Hector L. Miller, Howard M. Smitii; Second ward, .John I. Nicks, Patrick J. 
Lee; Third ward, Peter Briggs, James S. Thurston ; Fomth ward, Elias H. Dormaul. 
Stephen T. Arnot; Fifth ward, Archibald Robertson, Jeremiah Liddy ; Sixth ward, 
George W. HolTman, William A. Ward; Seventh ward, Robert T. Smith, William R. 
Cooper. 

1874-7-'). — Mayor, John Aniot, jr.: clerk, Uriah S. Lowe. Aldermen : Fir.<t ward, 
Howard M. Smith. Hector L. Miller ; Second ward, Patrick J. Lee. Solomon B. Tom- 
linson ; Third ward, James S. Thurston, Adam Mander; Foiirth ward, Stephen T. Ar- 
not, Wilham Sullivan; Fittli ward, Jeremiah Liddy, Harvey Smith; Si.\th ward, Will- 
iam A. Ward, Granville D. Parsons ; Seventh ward, William R. Cooper, George Peters. 

lS7o-7t>. — Mayor, Howard M. Smith ; clerk, Uriah S. Lowe. Aldermen : First ward. 
Hector L. Miller, William Pageti ; Second ward, Solomon B. Tomlinson, Charles J. 
Langdon ; Third ward. Adam Mander, George Worrall ; Fourtli ward, William Sidhvan, 
Stephen T. Arnot; Fifth ward, Harvey Smith, Charles Tidd; Sixth ward, Granville D. 
Parsons, De Bruce Goodell ; Seventh ward, George Peters, Jesse L. Cooler. 

1870-77. — Mayor, Robert T. Turner; clerk, Uriah S. Lowe. Aldermen: First w.nrd, 
William Pagett, Alva C. Kingsliury ; Second ward, Charles J. Langdon, Levi Davis; 
Third ward, George Worrall, William Jell'ers : Fourth ward, Stephen T, Arnot, William 
Sullivan; Fifth ward, Charles Tidd, John Laidlaw : Sixth ward, De Bruce Goodell, 
Granville D. Parsons: Seventh ward, Jesse L. Cooley, George Peters. 

1877-78. — Mayor, Robert T. Turner; clerk, Maurice S. Decker. Aldermen: First 
ward, 0. C. Kingsbury, William Pagett; Second ward, Levi Davis, Patrick J. Lee; 
Third ward, William Jellers. James S. Thurston; Fourth ward, William Sullivan, Ste- 
phen T. Arnot; Fifth ward. Johc Laidlaw, Valentine Miller: Sixth ward, Granville D. 
Parsons, Edward Wiseman : Seventh ward, George Peters, George R. C. Holbert. 

1878-79. — Mayor, Granville D. Parsons; clerk, Maurice S. Decker. Aldermen: First 
ward, William Pagett, Robert R. R. Dumars ; Second ward, Patrick J. Lee, John Clark ; 
Third ward, James S. Thurston, Wilbur F. Wentz ; Fourth ward, Stephen T. Arnot, 
Lawrence Hogan ; Fifth ward. Valentine Miller, John Laiillaw ; Sixth ward, Edward 
Wiseman, Jacob Mortimer: Seventh ward, George R. C. Holbert, James E. Lockwood. 

KS79->!1». — Mayor, Granville D. Parsons: clerk, Thomas Spence. Aldermen: First 
ward, Robert R. R. Dumars, William MofTatt; Second ward, John Clark, John Mat- 
thews: Third ward, Wilbur F. Wentz, Alonzo D. Symonds; Fourth ward, Lawrence 
Hogan, Stephen T. Arnot: Fifth ward, John Laidlaw, Justus H. Harris; Sixth ward, 
Jacob Mortimer, Edward Wiseman : Seventh ward, James E. Lockwood, Bertram 
Venger. 

188(J-81. — Mayor, Alexander Diver ; clerk, Thomas Spence. Aldermen: First ward, 
William Mofl'att, Robert R. R. Dumars; Second ward, John Matthews, William Walsh; 
Third ward, Alonzo D. Symonds, David B. Hill; Fourth ward, Stephen T. Arnot, John 
Haupt; Fifth ward, Justus H. Harris, C. Eustace; Sixtli ward, Edward Wiseman, Ed- 
ward Hughes; Seventh ward, Bertram Yenger, George Oliver. 



350 OUR COUA'TY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

1881-S2, — Maj'or, Alexander Diven ; clerk, Tlioiiins Spence. Aldeiineii : First -vvaii!. 
Robert R. K. Dumars, George R. Hannon; Stcond ward. William WaWi. Alfred F. 
Norton: Third ward, David B. Hill, George Worrall ; Fonrtli ward, John llaupt, Ste- 
phen T. Arnot; Fifth ward, C. Eustace, Jnstus H. Harris; Sixth ward, Edward 
Hughes, John \V. Hillabrant; Seventh ward, George Oliver, Bertram Yenger. 

1882-83.— Mayor, David B. Hill; clerk, Thomas Spenee. December 28, 1882, Mayor 
Hill resigned to become lieutenant-governor of the State and was succeeded by Ste- 
phen T. Arnot. Aldermen: First ward, George R. Hannon, William R. Rathbun. Mr. 
Hannon resigned and was succeeded hy A. B. Austin. Second ward, Alfred F. Nor- 
ton, William Walsh ; Third ward, George Worrall, S. H. Laney ; Fourth ward, Ste- 
phen T. Arnot, Thomas S. Flood; Fifth ward, Justus H. Harris, James Walker; Sixth 
ward, J. W. Plillabrant, Benjamin Williams; Seventh wai'il, Bertram Venger, Solon H. 
Brooks. 

1883-84. — Mayor, Stp|>heri T. Arnot : clerk, Thomas Spence. Aldermen: F'irstward, 
William R. Rathbun, Irving D. Booth; Second ward, William Walsh, Patrick J. Lee; 
Third ward, S. H. Laney, Thomas Gorman; Fourth ward, Thomas S. Flood, John 
Haupt; Fifth ward, James Walker, Valentine Miller ; Sixth ward, Benjamin Williams, 
Charles S. Davison ; Seventh ward, Solon H. Brooks, William H. Peters. 

1884-85. — Mayor, Henry Flood; clerk, Thomas Spence. Aldermen: First ward, 
Irving D. Booth, William R. Rathbun ; Second ward, Patrick J. Lee, William Walsh ; 
Third ward, Thomas Gorman, Fred Schornstheimer; Fourth ward, John Haupt, Clay- 
ton R. Gerity ; Fifth ward, Valentine Miller. Gardiner C. Hibbard ; Sixth ward, Charles 
S. Davison, Err Stone; Seventh ward, William H. Peters, Louis Duhl, 

1885-86. — Mayor, Henry Flood ; clerk, Thomas Spence. Aldeimen : First ward, 
Theodore L. Minier, Clay W. Holmes; Second ward, William Walsh, Willard N. Pratt; 
Third ward, Fred Schornstheimer, Louis G. Rathbun ; Fourth ward, Clayton R. Gerity, 
L. M. Millspaugh ; Fifth ward, Gardiner C. Hibbard, John Brand ; Sixth ward. James 
Powell, Charles S. Davison ; Seventh ward, Louis Duhl, Sam J. Hall. 

1S8G-87. — Mayor, John B. Stanchfield ; clerk. Burton S. Chamberlin. Aldermen: 
First ward, Theodore L. Minier, Clay W. Holmes; Second ward, Willard N. Pratt, John 
T. Gorman: Third ward, Louis G. Rathbim, Thomas Gorman; Fourth ward, L. M. 
Mill.spaugh, James H. Costello; Fifth ward, John Brand, Valentine Miller; Sixth ward, 
Charles S. Davison, Addison D. Blair ; Seventh ward, Sam J. Hall, Roe Reilly. 

1887-88. — Mayor, John B. Stanchfield; clerk, Btn-ton S. Chamberlin. Aldermen: 
First ward, Clay W. Holmes, Theodore L. Minier; Second ward, John L. Gorman, 
Martin F"ord ; Third ward, Thomas Gorman, Samuel H. Laney; Fourth ward, James 
H. Costello, Morris J. Gladke; Fifth ward, Valentine Miller, Dennis Bevier; Sixth 
ward, Addison D. Blair, Charles S. Davison; Seventh ward, Roe Reilly, James E. 
Lockwood. March 28, 1888, Alderman Charles S. Davison, of the Sixth ward, resigned, 
having been elected mayor. He was succeeded as alderman by Cornelius Sullivan. 

1888-89. — Mayor, Charles S. Davison; clerk, IJnrton S. Chamberlin. Aldermen: 
First ward, Theodore L. Minier, Charles L. Elmendorf; Second ward, Martin Ford, 
John T. Gorman ; Third ward, Samuel H. Laney, Tiioraas Gorman ; Fourth ward, Mor- 
ris J. Gladke, Florence Sullivan; Fifth ward, Dennis Bovicr, Daniel Sheehan ; Sixth 



THE MUMCIPAL OFFICERS. 357 

ward, Cornelius Sullivan, Daniel Sniidi; Seveiilh ward, James E. Lockwood, Roe 
Heilly. Alderman John T. Gorman, of the Second ward, resigned and was succeeded 
t>y John I. Nicks. 

18S9-1I0. — Mayor, Charles S. Davison; clerk, Thomas S. Smith. Aldermen: First 
wanl, Charles L. Elniendorf, Theodore L. Minier; Second ward, John I. Nicks, James 
H. llo-ian; Third ward, Thomas Gorman, .Sanniel \\. Laney ; Fourth ward, Florence 
Sullivan. Leander M. Millsjiaugh; Fiftli ward, Daniel Sheehan, George H. Cotton, jr.; 
Sixth ward, Daniel Smith, William Ijonegran ; Seventh ward, Roe Reilly, Thomas 
Milan. 

1890-91. — Mayor, Charles S. Davison; clerk, Thomas S. Smith. Aldermen: First 
ward, Theodore L. Minier, Thomas A. Pagett ; Second ward, James H. Ilogan, Patrick 
Murray : Third ward, Samuel H. Laney, Thomas Gorman ; Fourth ward, Leander M. 
MiUspaugh, Florence Sullivan; Fifth ward, George H. Cotton, jr., Daniel Sheehan; 
Sixth ward. William Lonegran ; Seventh ward, Thomas Milan, Roe Reilly. 

1891-92. — Mayor, Charles S. Davison ; clerk, John J. Malonej'. Aldermen : First 
ward, Thomas A. Pagett, Ford R. Knapp; Second ward, Patrick Murray, James 11. Ilo- 
gan ; Third ward, Thomas Gorman, John Daily ; Fourth ward, Florence Sullivan, Adam 
Mander. jr.; Fifth ward, Daniel Sheehan, David C. Robinson ; Sixth ward, Daniel 
Smith, Fraid< P. Robinson; Seventh ward, Roe Reilly, Thomas Jlilan. 

Among the most important officers under the new city government 
was the chief of the police, or as it was at first called the city marshal, 
and it was not very long before just the man was found for the position 
in Joiin Stewart Knapp. He was appointed by the second of the may- 
ors, Hon. John I. Nicks, whose judgment of men seldom goes astray. 
Chief Knapp was born in 1826 near Towanda, Bradford County, Pa., 
and when he was about twenty- five years of age was living on a farm 
near Springfield, Pa. It was a period of very uncomfortable doings. 
There was a well organized gang of thieves and counterfeiters whose 
operations extended over a wide territory, reaching many of the 
counties of Pennsylvania and as far west as Indiana. Elmira was 
oneoftiieir prominent places of rendezvous. Although they diil not 
disdain other or smaller game their chief occu])ation was in stealing 
horses, and the connections were so close that the animals could easily 
be whisked off to far distant points and disposed of without suspicion. 
Some persons of a reputation above reproach and prominent in their 
localities were ultimately ascertained to have been members of the 
gang. It was nearly forty years ago, and the memory of those daj's 
in the county is something like that we now read of occasionally con- 
cerning the partially settled Western country. It was a lawlessness that 



358 OUR COUyrV A.\D ITS PEOPLE. 

it seemed impossible to crush out and tliat aroused a constant appre- 
liension in the minds of the honest and well-meaning citizens and 
farmers. 

In the breaking up of this gang of marauders John S. Knapp very 
materially assisted and had his first experience as a detective. He was 
a man of unusual physical powers and was utterly fearless. He came 
to Elmira in 1853 and two years afterward was made the Erie police- 
man at the railroad station. Since that time for nearly thirty years he 
was either in the service of the Erie as policeman, or detective along the 
line, or chief of police of the city of Elmira. Some of his work would 
be the record of some of the most exciting incidents in the criminal an- 
nals of the locality. He died August 18, 1884, on a farm near Troy, 
Pa., that he owned. 

Among other public institutions that rapidly improved with the 
growth of the village was the fire department. It had its vicissitudes 
and troubles ; it had its trials and triumphs ; it had its times of great de- 
pression and neglect; but it also had its times when it was fully appreci- 
ated and its members were almost heroes. Withal it constantly improved 
in efficiency and strength, and when it was eventually deemed best to 
change the system from volunteer to paid it was no reflection on the 
old as to the work of which it was capable. It was simply thought best 
for the interest of the city to have a compact, organized body of men 
thoroughly trained to the work and always on dut}'. 

Taking up the history of the department at the time when we dropped 
it in a foregoing chapter the chief engineers were Silas Haight to 1853; 
in 1853, John I. Nicks; 1854, George Pattinson ; 1855, John Cass; 
1856-57, D. D. Kniffen ; 1858-59, Robert S. Wines ; i860. Hector M. 
Stocum ; 1861—63, Washington Marsh; 1864, Burr Hendricks; 1864 
Patrick Ronan ; 1865, Robert A. Hall ; 1866-68, Ambrose Wise ; 1869- 
70, Wright P. Sherman ; 1 870, Maurice S. Decker ; 1871-72, Ambrose 
Wise; 1873-74, George M. Robinson ; 1874, Joseph A. Campbell ; 1S75, 
Robert H.JWalker ; 1 876, Charles A. Landy ; 1877, Joseph A. Campbell ; 
1878, Miles Trout. In this year, 1878, the change was made to a paid 
system and Miles Trout was the first chief engineer thereunder. Up to 
that year there had been numerous changes in the companies, new ones 
formed and old ones disbanded. 



HISTORY OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. 359 

"Young America" Company, No. 4, was organized in September, 
1854. It was composed of lads and youths of the village. Thej' used 
an old-fashioned engine, but were so enthusiastic in their duty and so 
elTective in the management of their machine that they received the com- 
mendation of the citizens and the official compliments of the Board of Trus- 
tees of the village. Their machine laid in a house on the east side of 
Main about half way between Church and Gray streets. The company 
continued its existence until May, i860, when it was disbanded. Lads 
and youths of the village at this period seemed to be impressed with a 
desire to emulate their elders in organizations of a public nature. There 
was a military company organized about this same time by Stephen 
Covell, a son of Lyman Covell. No one member of the organization 
was more than eighteen years of age. It was uniformed and properly 
equipped and drilled to nearly perfect proficiency. When it paraded 
through the streets its appearance and well executed maneuvers were 
highly applauded. It went by the name of the " Elmira Infantry," much 
to the delight of many who thought they saw a joke in the appellation. 
Many of the lads in the ranks in seven or eight years thereafter saw serv- 
ice in sterner fields. 

In 1854, also, and in December of that year a compan}' called 
"Eureka Compan}-, No. 5," was organized on the south side of the 
river. It was nearly a year, however, before they had a machine of 
their own. Its house was near the end of the Lake street bridge. The 
company was disbanded in 1858, but was immediately succeeded by a 
new organization called "Citizen Engine Company, No. 5." 

The first steam fire engine used by the department was bought the 
same year that Llmira became a city, and arrived in June, 1864. The 
common council assigned it to Engine Company, No. i. In December, 
1865, a little more than a year after it came, it showed its power and 
usefulness at a fire that threatened "Union" block on Water street. 
Another steamer was immediately ordered and on its arrival was placed 
in charge of "Neptune Company, No. 2." There had been in 1850 two 
brick engine-houses built, which were occupied by companies 1 , 2, and 3. 
In 1867 the house on Market street was erected and the steamers 
were located there. The new building was put up in the same place in 
1 890-9 1 . 



360 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

A new hose company named "Independent Hose Company, No. 3," 
was organized in the spring of 1866. They were located at the south 
end of the Lake street bridge. Their beautiful and expensive carriage 
was the pride of the members and incited them to the highest efficiency. 

In 1868 "Ours 4 Hose Compan\' " was organized, its membership 
being composed of young gentlemen of the best social standing in the 
city. Their house was on the north side of Church street just east of 
Railroad avenue. They introduced into the department some new feat- 
ures in making their headquarters veritable parlors, handsomely fur- 
nished, and partaking somewhat of the nature of club rooms. At first the 
organization excited some ridicule among the firemen, but it was very 
soon found, as has often heretofore been demonstrated, that there may 
be "an iron hand under a velvet glove." The service of the company 
became of the best possible character, equalling in efficiency any of the 
other companies if not surpassing it, and largely through the company's 
influence and example the houses of the other companies put on an ap- 
pearance of elegance, cleanliness, and refinement which they had here- 
tofore lacked. It may be added that these things did not interfere at all 
with the work of the companies at their duties. The original members 
of "Ours 4 Hose Company," whose names follow, show those, youths 
then, who are the men of the present generation bearing in large 
measure their share of the honors and responsibilities of life: Benjamin 
Andrews, Howard E. Baker, Roger S. Battell, Bently J. Bunnell, Henry 
S. Brooks, Ross P. Cole, Thomas B. Covell, Abram J. Decker, James 
H. Dumars, Alonzo Farnham, Albert B. Fitch, Albert M. Fitch, Ed- 
ward D. Graves, Thomas M. Grant, Charles H. Gridley, John A. Hob- 
ble, John T. Hill, Henry C. Hamilton, William C. Loomis, C. Edward 
Morell, Frank Matthews, Frank Maxwell, Henry C. Morse, Roscius 
Morse, T. W. Newcomb, Frank W. Nichols, Charles L. Nichols, Frank 
S. Rice, Lucius D. Robinson, George M. Robinson, Don F. Steele, Henry 
M. Wells, Andrew B. Wolcott. 

No more appreciable change or one more felt in Elmira, brought 
about by the coming of the railroad during this period, was there than 
the change in futl. Wood was the sole and only means hy which 
houses, stores, and halls were heated or food cooked. The railroad 
brought coal and soon brought it in abundance. The first coalyard 



A REM/XrSCEA'CE OF TOM TALLIDAV. 3G1 

was establislied in Elmira by the Hon. William T. Post and J. Davis 
Raldvvin on the premises at Market street and Railroad avenue, where 
the son of the latter continues in the business which has been in exist- 
ence now nearly forty years. 

The sawbuck and the bucksaw, at one time as familiar and more fre- 
quent on the streets of Elmira than are now the grimy coal carts, are as 
much a part of the far past as ordinary household implements, as are the 
spinning jennies and carding machines of our grandmothers. Wood in 
those days was almost as much of a circulating medium and as necessary 
as are greenbacks now. Most of the runaway negroes who stopped in 
Elmira on their way North found employment constant and more or less 
profitable in "cutting" wood in the village. There was a poor, pitiful 
creature, exceedingly prominent in the village days of Elmira, named 
"Tom Talliday," whose occupation was mostly that of wood sawyer. 
Like the little Japanese boy in the first troupe that came to this coun- 
try from Japan Tom's vocabulary rarely extended beyond the exclama- 
tion "All right!" only in Tom's case it was all wrong. Tom was not 
right in his head, — not insane, nor idiotic, but something was wanting. 
He never harmed any one and loved to drink whisky. He had the dis- 
tinction, something that no other Elmiran has so far ever achieved, of 
once having been illustrated in Scrihner's Monthly, his figure, and a 
perfect likeness it is, appearing in the number for June, 1872. Away 
back before the railroads or even the canals is the time of an incident 
related in which Tom bore a prominent part. It gives one a queer 
notion of the kind of men who were active in those days or the kind of 
actions that were deemed fun and sport. Indeed there are many inci- 
dents of those daj's that would hardly bear repeating now, indicating 
that those who preceded us in Elmira were very rude and rough men, 
getting amusement out of the distress and ignorance of those who were 
unable to protect themselves. Perhaps it is so in all new communities, 
where men get coarse and inhumane in their struggle with nature that 
they find it difficult to subdue. 

This about Tom Tallida)' was a mock wedding in which Tom figured 
as the groom. Some one lent him a long-tailed blue coat with brass 
buttons, much too small for him, which was held about the waist by a 
thick red sash. Some one else provided a brilliant military-cocked hat 

4G 



362 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and the barber shaved only one side of his face. The ceremony was 
performed at 6 o'clock in the evening at the old Mansion House on 
Water street, on the river side, about half way between Lake and Bald- 
win streets. The couple were pronounced man and woman, and then 
the row began, all (and apparently pretty much the whole village was 
present) eager to give the bride the usual snUitation. Somehow or 
other the few tallow candles that hardly illuminated the room expired at 
this point and down upon the heads of all came a barrel of ashes. It 
would be hardly necessary to add, as the chronicle does, that " whisky 
flowed freely." Any one would be up to that part of it before it began. 
And the revelry lasted all night. It may all have been the most uproar- 
ous kind of fun, but in these days it is very likely that some of Chief Little's 
men would have been on the scene long before the ashes appeared and 
would have been inquiring, as I think many would now: " Where does 
the laugh come in?" Poor Tom Talliday, always rather an object of 
pity than a subject for jokes and amusement, passed his last da)-s in the 
county house at Breesport. 

There was somewhat after this time also a shoemaker named Berry, 
who was a good enough cobbler, and worked for Noah Robinson. He 
was about of the same caliber mentall\' as are many of tlie labor agita- 
tors of the present day, and had he lived until now might have been at 
the front in those matters. He was considerable of a student, possessed 
some intelligence, had what in an ordinary person is called " a gift of 
gab," and in an extraordinary person "eloquence" or "a very exten- 
sive vocabulary." He aimed a little higher than his powder would 
carry, aspiring to be called perhaps the "learned shoemaker" as Elihu 
Burritt had earned the title of the " learned blacksmith." Some of the 
then young gentlemen of the village, now grown to be sober, gray- 
haired, and practical citizens, became aware of Berry's aspirations, and 
with a kindness that in its effusiveness should have made it suspicious 
offered him all the assistance in their power. He wrote a lecture, the 
subject of which was never known, and Concert Hall on Lake street 
was hired in which it should be delivered. The lecturer was greeted 
with a packed house, and when he appeared he was received with ap- 
plause that was with difficulty hushed. Every sentence he uttered 
had an immediate effect, being followed by a shower of missiles of all 



RECOLLECTIONS OF THE YOUNG CITY. 3G3 

kinds from tlie audience. He kept on, however, undismayed until, the 
baiting growing a little tedious, tlie curtain was lowered with what the 
theater people call a " quick drop," and so arranged that the little table 
on which the manuscript lay was left outside and the lecturer within. 
A similar question as to "where the laugh comes in " might be asked 
relative to this incident as to the one about Tom Talliday. They are 
both given simply as illustrations of the manner in which the elder Elmi- 
rans amused themselves before the railroad made it possible for them to 
enjoy entertainments of a somewhat higher and more commendable 
character. 

Berry was not much heard of afterward. He retired to the com- 
panionship of his awl and lapstone and made no more public appear- 
ances, although doubtless cherishing in his breast the notion that he 
was only one more unappreciated genius added to the long roll that al- 
most any village or city can supply. 

There were other changes in the city of Elmira as the population in- 
creased. When the charter was first obtained there were five wards. 
In 1867 the northwestern portion of the city was constituted the Si.xth 
ward and in 1872 the northern part of the Third ward was made into 
the Seventh ward, and twice the limits of the city have been extended, 
once in 1872 and again in 1890. 

In 1862 the city bought the old wooden court house standing on 
Lake street for $350, and moved it to Market street, where it is used 
as the city hall for the meetings of the common council, the officers of 
the recorder, and police headquarters, and the basement for a " lock- up." 
The court-house was built in 1862 ; the stone jail and sheriff's resi- 
dence in the rear in 1850. In 1877 the present Sheriff's residence and 
jail on William street were erected, the year 1875 seeing the completion 
of the office of the county clerk, the old county clerk's office being turned 
over to the uses of the sherift" and the district attorney. 

The neighborhood is suggestive of the several somewhat famous trials 
that have been held either in the old court-house or the new one. 
The.se have been mostly of a criminal nature, for it is a very rare civil 
suit that attracts much public attention. Millions of money may be in 
dispute, but it concerns only those interested in its disposition unless 
connected with it is some scandal, impropriety, or outrage. 



3G4 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The trial of some incendiaries at a time when Ehnira was just emerging 
from its rural obscurity attracted great attention and caused much feeling 
and excitement. At the fire in 1850, when Haight's Hotel at Market 
and Lake streets was burned, the origin of the conflagration was traced 
to the great stables at the rear of the building, and three young men 
were arrested accused of the crime of arson. Two of them were sons of 
citizens of the most unexceptionable character; the third was one who 
gave his name as Christopher Franciscus, and he had been eniploj'ed 
by the Erie in charge of the switch engine at the railroad station. 
There were always some doubts as to whether or not the name he gave 
was really his own. He alone of the three was convicted of the offence 
and sentenced to prison. Becoming a victim to consumption he was 
pardoned, but lived only a short time after regaining his liberty. 

Henry Gardner, a soldier of the Twelfth United States Infantry, was 
convicted in 1865 of the murder of Amasa Mullock, and hanged there- 
for in the jailyard on March i, 1867. It was the first execution for a 
capital oft'ence in the county since 1730 or thereabouts, when the Indian 
chief had his head cut off and stuck upon a pole. 

Elmira suffered for a little while the presence and influence of one of 
the most notorious thieves of the country — Dan Nobles. He came to 
the city fresh and flush from a famous bond robbery in New York, and 
as long as his evillj'-gotten gains lasted in certain quarters was received 
without protest. He was tried in the count}', but the jury failed to agree, 
and the venue was changed to secure for him the justice to which his 
deeds entitled him. His further career in this country and in Europe 
demonstrated a capacity for wrong doing that was colossal in its de- 
praved character. 

Peter H. Penwell, a man more than si.xty years of age accused of the 
murder of his wife, of whom he claimed that he was jealous, was tried 
in 1876 for the crime, convicted thereof, and hanged on July 20, 1877. 
There was much division of public opinion as to this case, not as to the 
fact of the killing, but as to the nature of the punishment that should 
have followed. 

In 1880 Principal Keeper George McKelway at the reformatory was 
killed by one of the inmates named Edward Simmons. Simmons was 
tried in January. 1881, the verdict being " guilty of murder in the second 



SOME NOTORIOUS CRIMINALS. 365 

degree." He was sentenced to prison for life. After serving a few 
years he escaped and lias never been heard of since. A year later 
the reformatory furnished another capital crime for the county. Joseph 
Abbott, an inmate there, killed a fellow inmate named George Reed by 
striking him with an iron bar. Abbott's trial resulted in his conviction 
and he was hanged in the jailyard in l^lmira on January 6, 1882. 

There was a trial surrounded with many melancholy and saddening 
features in Elmira in 1890. Herbert Warren, a lad of but sixteen years 
of age, shot and killed his father, who was engaged in an altercation with 
his mother. The boy was tried and the jury acquitted him. The con- 
clusion seemed to meet with the general approval and approbation of 
the community. The same year there was another trial for a capital 
crime that attracted wide comment. Mrs. Eilenberg was accused of 
having shot and killed William Edwards, a farmer and local politician, 
better known as " Bill " Edwards. She was acquitted. In March, 1891, 
William Decker was tried for the shooting and killing of his alleged 
mistress, Mrs. Ella Foster. He was convicted of murder in the second 
degree and sentenced to prison for life. 

Ruloff, the Binghamton murderer, received his final sentence of death 
in the Elmira court-house in 1876, and was subsequently hanged in the 
Broome County jailyard. 

In 1884 another one who had been an inmate of the reformatory, and 
successfully traced because of having been such an inmate, William Men- 
ken, furnished another capital crime for the county. He lured a con- 
fiding German girl, Mary Bradhoft, to the vicinity of the place where 
he had been imprisoned and cruelly took her life. By mere chance her 
body was discovered in a lonely spot half frozen in under a low high- 
way bridge. The rapidity of the investigation that followed and the 
quick capture of the criminal makes a story such as the imagination 
would hesitate to invent, and that reflects great credit on the shrewdness 
and quick perception of all those engaged in the pursuit of the wretch 
who did the deed. The venue was changed from Chemung to Broome 
County, where Menken was tried, convicted, and executed. 

There was one more change in the civil divisions of the count)' and 
it will probably be the last one for some time. This occurred on April 
25, 1867, when the town of Ashland was erected, to form which por- 



36G OUR COUNTY A.XD ITS PEOPLE. 

tions were taken from Elmira and Southport townships. The first town 
meeting was held May 14, 1867, at the Wellsburg Exchange and Richard 
C. Lockvvood was the first supervisor chosen. Taking up the hst of 
supervisors of the county during the period we are considering the fol- 
lowing names are shown : 

18.51.— Big Flats, J. M. Park; Catliii, J. N. Beers; Calhenne, H. Van Vecten ; Uay- 
uta, J. B. Van Etten ; Clienning, George W. Buck: Dix, I. J. Tracy; Elmira, Charles 
Ilulett ; Elmira village, G. W. Mason, John I. Nicks; Erin, J. A. McKey ; Southport, 
Richard Baker ; Veteran, D. \V. Bedient. George W. Buck, chairman; J. B. Moore, 
clerk. 

1852.— Big Flats, Paul W. Breed ; Catlin, John N. Beers ; Catherine, A. G. Camphell ; 
Cayuta, John C. Hanson; Chemung, William U. Little; Dix, William Herring; Elmira, 
Charles Hulett; Elmira village, Nathan Bake]-, Richmond Jones ; Erin, John A. McKey ; 
Southport, Charles Evans; Veteran, D. N. Bedient. John N. Beers, chairman; J. B. 
Moore, clerk. 

1863. — Big Flats, Paul Breed; Catlin, John N. Beers; Catherine, A. G. Campbell; 
Cayuta, J. C. Hanson; Chemung, William H. Little; Elmira, Peter C. Young; Elmira 
village, S. H. Maxwell; Erin, Samuel Roberts; Southport, Charles Evans; Veteran, 
Franklin Hulett. John N. Beers, chairman ; J. B. Moore, clerk. 

1854.— Big Flats, John Haggerty ; Chemung, J. B. Clark ; Catlin, J. N. Beers; El- 
mira, Stephen JIcDonald ; Elmira, First ward, W. H. Wisner, Second ward, Theodore 
North, Third ward. Lathrop Baldwin ; Erin, John A. McKey ; Horseheads, S. H. Max- 
well ; Southport, Charles Evans ; Veteran, B. B. Parsons ; Van Etten, George B. Hall. 
John N. Beers, chairman ; J. B. Moore, clerk. 

1855. — Big Flats, Henry Minier ; Chemung, William Colson ; Catlin, Ira Cole; El- 
mira, Erastus L. Hart ; Elmira, First ward, William H. Phillips, Second ward, George A. 
Brush, Third ward, J. S. Baldwin ; Erin, Ardon Austin ; Horseheads, Samuel H. Max- 
well ; Southport, James Griswold ; Veteran, Stoddard C. Westlake ; Van Etten, Will- 
iam V. Atwater. James Griswold, chairman; Lathrop Baldwin, jr., clerk. 

1S5G.— Big Flats, William A. Tuttle ; Baldwin, William H. Little; Chemung, G. W. 
Buck; Catlin, Nelson Colegrove; Elmira, Levi J. Cooley ; Elmira, First ward, W. H. 
Phillips, Second ward, N. P. Fassett, Third ward, L. C. Foster; Erin, Ardon Austin; 
Horseheads, S. H. Maxwell ; Southport, Jud. Smith ; Veteran, Abijah Fiske ; Van Et- 
ten, Guy Purdy. S. H. Maxwell, chairman; J. B. Moo»e, clerk. 

1857. — Big Flats, John Haggerty; Baldwin, William H. Little; Chemung, G. W. 
Buck; Catlin, Henry Backer; Elmira, Levi J. Cooley ; Elmira, First ward. Hector M. 
Seward, Second ward, N. P. Fassett, Third ward, S. B. Fairman ; Erin, Jason P. Wool- 
ever ; Horseheads, John N. Beers ; Southport, Jud Smith ; Veteran, Moses Cole ; ^'an 
Etten, Guy Purdy. Jason P. AVoolever, chairman ; Jesse L. Cooley, clerk. 

1858 — Big Flats, W. A. Tuttle; Baldwin, Robert Cassady; Chemung, George W. 
Buck; Catlin, Edwin Harvey; Elmira, John Hill; Elmira, First ward, S. T. Arnot, 
Second ward, N. P. Fassett, Third ward, C. Preswick ; Erin, Jason P. Woolever; 
Horseheads, Cyrus Barlow; Southport, Edmund Miller; Van Etten, J. Swartwood ; 
Veteran, A. F. Babcock. Jason P. Woolever, chairman ; Jesse L. Cooley, clerk. 



BOARDS OF SUPER VISORS. 367 

1S59.— Bip Flats, William A. Tutlle; UaUhvin, Robert Cassadv ; Cliemiiiip, R. C. 
Wilson ; Catlin, Edwin Harvey ; Klinira, S. G. Hathaway, jr.; Elniira, First ward, W. R. 
Judson ; Second ward, N. P. Fassett ; Tliird ward, G. A. Gridley ; Erin, G. M. Hollen- 
back; Horsehejtds, Cyrns Barlow-; Soutliport, William T. Post; Van Etten, J. Swart- 
wood ; Veteran, A. R. Frost. S. G. Hathaway, jr., chairman ; Jesse L. Cooley, clerk. 

18G(1.— Big Flats, William A. Tuttle; Baldwin, William H. Little; Catlin. Edwin 
Harvey ; Chemung, Robert C. Wilson ; Elmira, Samuel G. Hathaway, jr.; Elmira, First 
ward, William Halliday, Second ward, Newton P. Fassett, Third ward, C. Preswick ; 
Erin, Hiram Tuttle; Horsehcads, Cyrus IJarlow ; Southport, William T. Post; Van Et- 
ten, Edmund Hall: Veteran, Asher R. Frost. S. 6. Hathaway, jr., chairman; .Jesse L. 
Cooley, clerk. 

1861.— Big Flats, William H. Palmer; Baldwin, William K. Little; Catlin, Lewis 
Hornbeck ; Chemung, George W. Buck ; Elmira, Gabriel L. Smith ; Elmira, First ward, 
William Halliday, Second ward, H. C. Holiman, Third ward, William R. Loomis; Erin 
Hiram Tnttle ; Horseheads, Daniel Bennett; Southport, Edmund Miller; Van Etten, 
Edward Hall; Veteran, Asher K. Frost. George W. Buck, chairman; Jesse L. Cooley, 
clerk. 

lS62.-Big Flats, William H. Tuttle: Baldwin, William H. Little; Catlin, Milo P. 
King; Chemung, G. W. Buck; Elmira, Henry Baker; Elmira, First ward, J. M. Till- 
man, Second ward, V. B. Read, Third ward, J. C. Pluston ; Erin, A. H. Park; Hor.«e- 
heads, Daniel Bennett ; Southport, Edmund Miller: Van Etten, John Bandfield, 2d; 
Veteran, Eli Owen. George W. Buck, chairman ; Jesse L. Cooley, clerk. 

18G3.— Big Flats, W. A. Tuttle; Baldwin, R. Cassady; Catlin, W. S. Quigley; Che- 
mung, 6. W. Buck ; Elmira, J. R. Clark ; Elmira, First ward, J. M. Tillman, Second 
ward, II, H. Purdy, Third ward, Leroy A. Baker ; Erin, A. H. Park ; Horseheads, 
Daniel Bennett: Southport, Edmund Miller; Van Etten, J. Swartwood ; Veteran, 
E. A. Owen. G. W. Buck, chairman ; Je.sse L. Cooley, clerk. 

18C4. — Baldwin, Robert Cassady ; Big Flats, John A. Stewart ; Catlin, Milo P. King ; 
Chemung, Robert C. Wilson ; Elmira, John Cass; Elmira, First ward, Isaac P. Briggs, 
Second ward, Henry W. Rathbone, Third ward, George Worrall, Fourth ward, D. D. 
Reynolds, Filth ward, F. H. Atkinson ; Erin, Alexander H. Park ; Horseheads, Israel 
McDanolds; Southport. Henry F. Wells; Van Etten, Jacob Swartwood; Veteran, Eli 
A. Owen. Robert C. Wilson, chairman ; Jesse L. Cooley, clerk. 

18G5. — Baldwin, Joseph Nixon; Big Flats, Henry Minier; Catlin, Joseph Rickey; 
Chemung, George W. Buck; Elmira, James McCann; Elmira city, First ward, J. S. 
Hoffman. Second ward, David Decker, Third ward, Peter Biggs, Fourth ward, Levi Av- 
erill. Fifth ward, E. H. Palmer; Erin, A. H. Park; Horseheads, I. McDanolds; South- 
port, Edmund Miller ; Van Etten, John Bandfield : Veteran, Asher R. Frost. Israel 
McDanolds, chairman ; R. R. R. Dumars, clerk. 

18<JG. — Baldwin, Jo.seph Nixon; Big Flats, L. D. Hughson; Catlin, Joa^eph Rickey; 
Chemung, George W. Buck ; Elmira, James McCann ; Elmira city, First ward, L. Cald- 
well, Second ward, C. W. Gardner, Third ward, W. Dundas, Fourth ward, Henry Ba- 
ker, Fifth ward, E. H. Palmer; Horseheads, Olysses Breese : Erin, Hiram Tuthill ; 
Southport, Edmund Miller; Van Etten, John Bandfield, 2d; Veteran, Asher R. Frost. 
Edmund Miller, chairman; Jesse L. Cooley, clerk. 



3G8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

18G7.— Ashland, R. C. Lockwood : Baldwin, William 11. Little; Big Flats, L. D. 
Hughson ; Catlin, Amos F. Curry ; Chemung, George W. Buck ; Erin, Hiram Tuttle : 
Elmira, James MoCann ; Elmira city. First ward, John S. Hoffman, Second ward. Har- 
den D V. Pratt, Third ward, Henry W. Beadle, Fourth ward, Edward L. Patrick, Fifth 
ward, Edward H. Palmer, Sixth ward, David Decker; Horseheads, Ulysses Breese; 
Southport, Edmund Miller; Van Etten, John Bandfield, 2d; Veteran, Peter A. Miller. 
George W. Buck, chairman ; Samuel C. Taber, clerk. 

18G8.— A,shland, R. C. Lockwood; Baldwin, William H. Little; Big Flats, Samuel 
Minier; Catlin, W. J. Carter; Chemung, George W. Buck; Erin, William Chapman; 
Elmira, George O'Hanlon; Elmira city. First ward, 0. C. Kingsbury, Second ward, 
F. A. Frasier, Third ward, George Worrall, Fourth ward, B. L. Patrick, Fifth ward, 
E. H. Palmer, Sixth ward, David Decker ; Horseheads, Israel McDanolds ; Southport, 
Edmund Miller; Van Etten, Gaylord Wilsey ; Veteran, Alonzo Banks. Edmund Miller, 
chairman ; Jesse L. Cooley, clerk. 

1869.— Ashland, R. C. Lockwood; Big Flats, Samuel Minier: Baldwin, William H. 
Little; Chemung, George W. Buck; Catlin, William H. Northrup ; Elmira, George 
O'Hanlon : Elmira city. First ward, O. C. Kingsbury, Second ward, F. A. Frasier, Third 
ward, William Ogden, Fourth ward, Edward L. Patrick, Fifth ward, Elisha H. Cook, 
Sixth ward, David Decker; Erin, William Chapman; Horseheads, Isaac S. Marshall; 
Southport, Edmund Millec ; Van Etten, Gaylord Wilsey; Veteran, Alonzo Banks. 
Edmund Miller, chairman ; Royal R. Soper, clerk. 

1S70.— Ashland, R. C. Lockwood; Baldwin, Davis Little; Big Flats, Judah Shriver; 
Catlin, Nathaniel Owen ; Chemung, R. C. Wilson ; Elmira, George O'Hanlon: Elmira 
city. First ward, W. H. Kingsbury, Second ward, F. A. Frasier, Third ward, William 
Ogden, Fourth ward, E. L. Patrick, Fifth ward, John Brand, Sixth ward, David 
Decker; Erin, Charles H. Lewis; Horseheads, H. C. Hoffman; Southport, Edmund 
Miller ; Veteran, Elliott Meeker ; Van Etten, Charles A. Murray. Edmund Miller, 
chairman ; Royal R. Soper, clerk. 

1871. — Ashland, R. C. Lockwood ; Baldwin, Davis Little; Big Flats, Samuel Minier; 
Catlin. Nathaniel Owen ; Chemung, Robert C. Wilson; Elmira, George Maby ; Elmira 
city, First ward, William A. Kingsbury, Second ward, F. A. Frasier, Third ward, 
Thomas Young, Fourth ward, George H. Kelly, Fifth ward. Burr Hendricks, Sixth 
ward. David Decker: Erin, C. H. Lewis; Horseheads, H. C. Hoffman; Southport, Ed- 
mund Miller; Veteran, Elliott Meeker; Van Etten, C. A. Murray. Edmund Miller, 
chairman ; Royal R. Soper, clerk. 

1872._Ashland, Jud Smith; Baldwin, Gideon G. Smith; Big Flats, Thomas Cudde- 
back; Catlin, Nathaniel Owen ; Chemung, Gordon Snell : Elmira. George Maby; El- 
mira city. First ward, 0. C. Kingsbury, Second ward, C. W. Gardner, Third ward, Da- 
vid Thomas, Fourth ward, C. H. Rowland, Fifth ward, George W. Wyckoff, Sixth 
ward, Thomas M. Jewett, Seventh ward, Erastus A. Swan; Erin, Charles Baker; 
Horseheads, M. V. B. Bachman ; Southport, Edmund Miller ; Van Etten, C. A. Mur- 
ray ; Veteran, H. K. Thomas. Thomas Cuddeback, chairman ; Royal R. Soper, clerk. 

1873. — Ashland, Jud Smith; Baldwin, Allen Cooper; Big Flats, Thomas Cuddeback ; 
Catlin, Dennis H. Sweet; Chemung, John Lowman ; Elmira, Joseph Hoffman; Elmira 



nOA/WS OF SLTER]-!SORS. 3Ci) 

city. First ward, 0. C. Kingsbury, Second ward, U. \V. Gardner, Tliird ward, William 
II. Ferguson, Fourth ward, John M. Tillman, Fifth ward, C. FFarnilton Baker, Si.xtli 
wanl, N. P. Fassett. Seventh ward, Samuel .1. Hall : Krin, Garrett M. Hol!enl)ack ; 
Ilorseheads, A. C. McCumber; Southport. ililler McIIenry; Van Etten, Daniel B. 
Clark: Veteran, Lorenzo Bailey. Thomas Cuddeback, chairman; Royal R. Soper, 
clerk. 

1874.— Ashland. .Tnd Smith; Baldwin, J. S. Little; Big Flats, Cepha.s Breed ; Catlin, 
Dennis Sweet ; Cliemung, John G. Lowman ; Elmira, George S. McCann ; Elmira city, 
First ward. O. C. Kingsbury, Second ward, Patrick Murray, Third ward. W. L. Gib- 
son, Fourth ward, S. T. Reynolds, Fifth ward. W. E. Murphy, Sixth ward, M. B. Wil- 
km. Seventh ward, George Banks; Erin, A. IL McDowell; Horseheads. \V. H. Van 
Duzer; Southport, Miller McHenry ; Van Etten, D B. Clark; Veteran, L \V. Bailey. 
Jud Smith, chairman ; Royal R. Soper, clerk. 

1875. — Ashland, Jud Smith; Baldwin, Thomas Baudfield; Big Flats, Stephen T. 
' Iwen ; Catlin, Dennis IT. Sweet ; Chemung. John G. Lowman ; Elmira, George S. Mc- 
Cann ; Elmira city, First ward, John S. HolVman, Second ward, Jacob Kolb, Third 
ward, John D. Williams, Fourth ward, S. T. Reynolds, Fifth ward, Seymour Dexter. 
Sixth ward, David Decker, Seventh ward. George Banks; Erin, A. H. McDowell; 
Ilorseheads. J. K. Marshall; Southport, Miller McHenry; Van Etten, 0. P. Dimon ; 
\'eteran, A. W. McKey. Dennis H. Sweet, chairman; Hiram B. Berry, clerk. 

187'). — Ashland. K. C. Lockwood ; Baldwin. Thomas Bandfield; Big Flats, Cephas 
Breed; Catlin, Dennis H. Sweet; Chemung, JohnG. Lowman ; Elmira, George S. Mc- 
Cann; Elmira city. First ward. J. S. Hoffman, Second ward, A. B. Chamberlin, Third 
ward, John D. Williams. Fourth ward, S. T. Reynolds, Fifth ward, J. F. A twill. Sixth 
ward, M. B. Wilkin, Seventh ward, J. W. Giles: Erin, S. Jack.son Park; Hor.^eheads, 
J. H. Marshall; Southport, Miller McHenry ; Van Etten, O. P. Dimon ; Veteran. Charles 
Brown. U. P. Dimon, chairman ; Hiram B. Berry, clerk. 

1877. — Ashland, Jud Smith; Baldwin, Jonathan Collson ; Big Flats, Jolm K. Miuier; 
Catlin, Dennis H. Sweet: Chemung, U. W. Dewitt; Elmira, Milton Newkirk; Elmira 
city, First ward, J. S Iloflman, Second ward. Samuel Hotchkin, Third ward, Jolm D. 
Williams, Fourtli ward, Fabian Swartz, Fifth ward. Burr Hendricks, Sixth ward, Mor- 
gan L. Wood, Seventh ward, J. W. Giles; Erin, J. Jackson Park; Horseheads, A. C. 
McCumlier; Southport, John Brown ; Van Etten, O. P. Dimon; V'eteraii, Lorenzo W. 
Bailey. 0. P. Dimon, chairman ; H. B. Berry, clerk. 

1878. — A.shland, R. C. Lockwood ; Baldwin, Jonathan Collson, jr.; Big li'lats, James 
E. Farr; Catlin, Dennis H. Sweet; Chemung, U. W. Dewitt; Elmira, Milton New- 
kirk; Elmira city. First ward, John S. Iloflnian, Second ward, C. C.Sullivan, Third 
ward, John D. Williams, Fourth ward, Abraham Krowl, Fifth ward, W. H. Godfrey, 
Sixth ward. Evert Green, Seventh ward, W . \l. S.Scott; Erin, John G. Cowan; 
Horseheads, John Roblyer ; Southport, John Brown ; Van Etten, John Bandfield ; Vet- 
eran, S. R. Page. John Brown, chairman ; F. A. Stowell, clerk. 

1870. — Ashland, R. C. Lockwood ; Baldwin, Jacob Bandfield ; Big Flats. James E. 
Farr; Catlin, Dennis U. Sweet ; Chemung, U. W. Dewitt; Elmira, Milton Newkirk; 
Elmira cily, First ward, C. S, Decker, Second ward, C. C. Sullivan, Third ward, R. B. 
47 



nro OUR COU.XTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Siowell, Fourth waul, .lolm Voun?, Fiftli waid, Grifi" D. Palmer, Sixlli ward, E. B. 
Smith, Seventh ward, W. II. S. Scott; Erin. Giles Ilollenbeek: IIorsehead.<, John Roh- 
lyer; Soiithport, John Rrown ; Van Etten, 0. P. I'inion ; Veteran, S. R. Page. John 
Brown, chairman : F. A. Stowell, clerk. 

1880.— Ashland. R. C. Lockwood: Baldwin, J. Smith Little; Big Flats, James E. 
Farr; Catlin, Alonzo Banks ; Chemung. U. W. Dewitt; Elmira, Milton Newkirk; El- 
miracity, First ward, H. T. Palmer, Second ward, A. B. Chamberlin, Third ward, J. D. 
Williams, Fourth ward, C. d'Autermont, Fifth ward. Grift" D. Palmer, Sixth ward. E. B. 
Smith, Seventh ward, Joseph Giles : Erin, (iiles HoUenbeck ; Horseheads, James Mc- 
Queen ; Southport, Andrew Fitzsimmons ; Van Etten, O. P. Dimon : A'eteran, S. R. 
Page. 0. P. Dimon, chairman ; F. A. Stowell, clerk. 

■ 1881.— Ashland, Israel 0. Scudder ; Baldwin, J. Smith Little; Big Flats, William II. 
Farr; Catlin, Dennis H. Sweet ; Chennmg, Martin Wood; Elmira, Tames Craig; El- 
mira city, First ward, Irving D. Booth, Second ward, Cornelius C. Sullivan, Third ward, 
John D. Williams, Fourth ward, Florence Sullivan, Fifth ward, Charles Pulford, Sixth 
ward, E. B. Smith, Seventh ward. E. C. Seymour ; Erin, Giles HoUenbeck ; Horse- 
heads, James McQueen; Southport, W. J. Cole; Tan Etten, Carmi Lattin ; Veteran. 
F. G. Miller. Dennis H. Sweet, chairman ; F. A. Stowell, clerk. 

1882.— Ashland, Israel O. Scudder; Baldwin, Charles Fox; Big Flat.-;, William H. 
Farr; Catlin, Dennis II. Sweet; Chemung, Martin Wood; Elmira, George S. McCanu; 
Elmira city, First ward. Irving D. Booth, Second ward, W. W. Bush, Third ward, P. J. 
Green, Fourth ward, Florence Sullivan, Fifth ward, John A. Taynton, Sixth ward, J. L. 
Brown, Seventh ward, R. T. Smith; Erin, Alexander H. Park; Horseheads, Thomas 
J. Wintermute; Southport, Webster J.Cole; Van Etten, Owen S.Clark; Veteran, 
Frank G. iliiler. George S. McCann, chairman ; F. A. Stowell, clerk. 

1883.— Ashland. Israel O. Scudder; Baldwin, Charles Fox; Big Flats, William H. 
Lovell ; Catlin, Edward H. Cumraings; Chemung, Morgan S. Manning; Elmira, George 
S. McCann; Elmira city, First ward, Henry T. Palmer, Second ward. Patrick Hassett, 
Third ward, P. J. Green, Fourth ward, John J. Wagner, Fifth ward, John A. Taynton, 
Sixth ward, J. L. Brown. Seventh ward, William L. Holbert ; Erin, Alexander H. Park ; 
Horseheads, Augustus McConnell; Southport, Miles T. Cassada ; Van Etten, Owen S. 
Clark; Veteran, Sanford N. Fiske. Alexander H. Park, chairman; F. A. Slowell, 
clerk. 

1884.— Ashland, I. 0. Scudder; Baldwin, Oscar Hicks; Big Flats, W. H. Lovell; 
Catlin, E. E. Ciimmings; Chemung, M. S. Manning; Elmira, Oscar F. Band6eld; El- 
mira city. First ward, Henry T. Palmer, Second ward, Patrick Hassett, Third ward, 
John D. Williams, Fourth ward, John J. Wagner, Fifth ward, Charles W. Voung, Sixth 
ward. Dr. C. W. Brown, Seventh ward, Eugene Delemarter ; Erin, Giles HoUenbeck ; 
Horseheads, L. A. Harding; Southport, Miles T. Ca,ssada; Van Etten, George Band- 
field ; Veteran, Lewis Hawkins. Miles T. Cassada, chairman ; F. A. Stowell, clerk. 

1885.— Ashland, 1. 0. Scudder; Baldwin, C. R. Woodhouse; Big Flats, William H. 
Lovell ; Catlin, Thaddeus S. Sweet; Chemung, M. S. Manning ; Elmira, Henry B. Jen- 
kins; Elmira city. First ward, C. Sr Decker. Second ward, Timothy Hurle.v, Third 
ward. John D. Williams, Fourth ward, F. Ilaase, Fifth ward, D. Richardson, Sixth 



BOAR/'S or SUPERl'JSORS. 371 

wanl. n. Smith, Seventh waiil. K. Deleinarter; Erin, Giles Hollenbeck ; Horseheadp. 
I,. A. Harding: Soutliport. Miles T. Ciussada ; Van Etten. G. \V. liandlield ; Veteian, 
U. S. Adaniy. Miles T. Cassada, chairman; John Murray, clerk. 

ISsSG. — Ashland, Addison P. Roberts; Baldwin, C. R. Woodhouse ; Big Flal.«, .lanu'S 
E. Farr ; Catlin, T. J. Sweet ; Chemung, if. S. Manning; Elmira, Oscar Bandfield ; El- 
mira city. First ward, R. R. R. Dumars. Second ward. Timothy Hurley, Third ward. 
John D. Williams, Fourth ward, Jo.^eph Sittenfield, Fifth ward, Fred L. Woodrulf, Sixth 
ward, George Stanley, Seventh ward, Frederick Coke: Erin, Sidney I.. Dibble; Hor.«e- 
hea<ls, Silas Breese; Southport, Miles T. Ciissada ; Van Etten, Daniel B.Clark; Vet- 
eran, Charles W. Sleeper. Miles T. Cas.^ada, chairman ; John Murray, clerk. 

1887. — Ashland, Abner C. Wright; Big Flats, James E. Farr; Baldwin, J. Smith 
Little; Catlin, Horace B. Owen; Chemung. John S. Huffman; Erin, Sidney L. Dibble; 
Elmira, Henry B. Jenkins; Elmira city, Fir-^it ward, R. R. R. Dutnar.^J, Second ward, 
John M. I.ynch. Third w;ud,'John S. Clark, Fourth ward, Daniel Dempsey, Fifth ward, 
Fred L. Woodruff, Sixth ward, Michael Fitzmartin, Seventh ward. Will H. Hart; Horse- 
heads. Thomas Hibbard ; Southport, Miles T. Cassada; Van Etten, Enos Canfield ; Vet- 
eran. Charles W. Sleeper. F"red L. Woodruff, chairman; John Murray, clerk. 

1SS8.— Ashland, J. H. Wood; Baldwin, J. Smith Little; Big F'lats, Jo.seph R. Lowe; 
Catlin, Horace B. Owen : Chemung, John S. Ifuffinaii ; Elmira, Henry B. Jenkins ; El- 
mira city, First ward, R. R. R. Dumars idled and Charles H. Palmer appointed to fill his 
place), Second ward, John J. McMahon, Third ward, John D. Williams, Fourth ward, 
Daniel Demp.sey, Fifth .ward, Fred L. Woodruff, Sixth ward, Michael Fitzmartin 
Seventh ward. Will H. Hart; Erin, Sidney L. Dibble; Horseheads, Thoiras Hibbard; 
Southport. G. Henry Roberts; A'eteran, Charles W. Sleeper; Van Etten, Enos Can- 
field. Fred L. Woodnitl', chairman; Jolin Murray, clerk. 

1880.— Ashland. J. H. Wood; Baldwin, J. Smith Little; Big Flats, Joseph R. Lowe; 
Catlin, Edward Kingsley : Chemung, John S. Huffman ; Elmira, James Birmingham ; 
Elmira city. First ward, Charles U. Palmer (resigned and Isaac Marshall appointed to 
till vacancy), Second ward. John J. McMalion, Third ward, John Dolan, Fourth ward, 
Daniel Dempsej', Fifth ward, James Gallavan, Sixth ward, O. D. Goodrich, Seventh 
ward. James A. Kmhoff; Erin. Sidney L. Dibble; Horseheads, Thomas Hibbard ; South- 
port, G. Henry Roberts; Van Etten, Enos Canfield; Veteran, Henry H. Worden. 
John S. Huffman, chairman; John Murray, clerk. 

1890.— Ashland, J. H. Wood; Baldwin, John T. Smith; Big Flats, J. R. Lowe; Cat- 
lin, Edward Kingsley; Chemung, Wilson Ruggles; Elmira city. First ward, Lsaao Mar- 
shall, Second ward, John J. McMahon, Third ward, Elijah Lazaru.s Fourth ward, Daniel 
Demp.sey, Fifth ward, Jacob Miller, Sixth ward, 0. D. Goodrich, Seventh ward, W. H. 
Hart; Elmira, James Birmingham; Erin, B. B. McDowell ; Horseheads, L. A. Harding; 
Southport. G. Henry Roberts; Van Ett*n, J. J. Goldsmith ; Veteran, 11. H. Wmden. 
James Birmingham, chairman; William H. Ronan, clerk. 

1S9I.— A.shland, J. H. Wood; Baldwin, G. G. Smith; Big Blats, Simeon Hughsoii ; 
Catlin, T. S. Sweet ; Chemung, Wilson Ruggles ; Elmira, First ward. William II. Blight, 
."second ward, Harvey W. Loughry, Third ward, George Baker, F'ourlh ward, Morri.-; 
J. Gladke, Fifth ward. W. J. Daniels, Sixth ward. O. M. Wixon Seventh ward. William 



372 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

TI. Hart ; Elinira. Luther Jenkins ; Erin, B. B. McDowell ; Hor?eliea(l.c, C. L. Hatha- 
way ; Southport, Jud Griswold ; Veteran, H. H. VVorilen ; Van Etten, J. Goldsnjith. 

It will be observed that many of these sui)ervisors gave such satisfac- 
tion to tlieir constituents that they were returned again and again. 
Those whose years of service were more than five were : J. Smith Lit- 
tle, of Baldwin, Alexander H. Park, of Erin, N. P. Fassett, of the Sixth 
ward of Elmira, and Jason P. VVoolever, of Erin, each six years; R. C- 
Lockwood, of Ashland, John S. Hoffman, of the First ward, David 
Decker, of the Sixth ward, and John N. Beers, of Horseheads, seven 
years; Dennis H. Sweet, ofCatlin, and W. A. Tuttle, of Big Flats, nine 
years; John D. Williams, of the Third ward, and William H. Little, of 
Baldwin, ten years ; Edmund Miller, of Southport, twelve years ; and 
George W. Buck, of Chemung, leading them all with his fifteen years of 
service in the board and six times its chairman. Some of the clerks 
served well and long ; one of the earliest, J. B. Moore, another a little 
later, Albert F. Babcock, and a more recent one. Royal R. Soper, each 
six years; Francis A. Stowell, seven years; and Jesse L. Cooley leading 
with his ten years of service. 

Chemung County until very recent years has not furnished the rep- 
resentative to Congress from the district. It has been its fortune to be 
connected with much larger counties and its "turn " did n't come very 
often. It was not until 1861 that a Chemung County man was elected 
congressman, twenty years having elapsed since another one had filled 
that position. It was a twenty j'ears' jump from Capt. Samuel Partridge 
in 1841 to Gen. A. S. Diven in 1861. Then there was a ten years' in- 
terregnum to the Hon. H. Boardman Smith in 1S71. Of these ten 
years the Hon. Hamilton Ward, of Allegany County, had served six, 
the longest time that any man had served the district in the capacity of 
member of Congress. 

The Hon. Horace Boardman Smith was during his life-time a nota- 
ble man in the professional, political, social, and Christian annals of El- 
mira. He was a Vermont lad, having been born in Whitingham, Vt, 
August 18, 1826. His father was Dr. Nathaniel Smith, a physician 
who subsequently removed with his family to Columbia Cross Roads just 
over the border of the Pennsylvania line south of Elmira. His mother 
was one of the Connecticut Boardinans. It was splendid blood that he 



//a\'. //. BOARDMAN SMITH. 373 

inherited. He was graduated at Williams College in 1847 wi'li distin- 
guished honors, began liis legal studies with Governor Robinson, of Ver- 
mont, and completed tliem in the office of Judge Aaron Konkle in I^l- 
mira. He was admitted to the bar in 1850. His immediate entering 
into business in company with John Murdoch, esq., has already been 
noted and the standing the firm of Smith & Murdoch enjoyed while it 
was in existence. In 1859, on tlie death of Judge Theodore North, 
Judge Smith was appointed to fill the position, to which he was elected 
tile next month, but held it only until May of the following year. There 
was then formed the law firm of Smith, Robertson & Fassett, which 
for ahiiost twenty years held a conspicuous if not the foremost place 
in tlie roll of the bar of Chemung County. The other members of 
the firm besides Mr. Smith were Archibald Robertson and Newton P. 
Fassett. 

Few men in the local. State, or national aimals could equal Judge 
Boardman Smith as a speaker. He used the same words that we all 
use, but his manner of putting them together, the gracefulness and har- 
mony of his periods, his well modulated voice, and his sincerity of 
manner tliat was never disturbed gave him rank as a speaker that few 
men reach. Judge Smith was for two terms member of Congress, be- 
ing elected in 1871 and re-elected in 1873. He served with honor and 
distinction. In 1882 he was elected one of the justices of the Supreme 
Court of the Si.xth District of New York State. F"or more than a quar- 
ter of a century since the retirement in 1859 of Judge Gray, until 
Judge Smith's election, the largest place in the district, whose business 
was far greater than that from any other section, much to the incon- 
venience of the bar and to the increase of expense to suitors, had had 
no representative upon the bench. It was a rather anomalous state of 
affairs that would be difficult to explain. Judge Smith, who had always 
been frail physically, was unable to bear the strain of the hard and con- 
tinuous work of the position and he resigned in 1885. He died in J888. 
His son, Walter Lloyd Smith, was appointed to the position on the 
bench that his father held, and was elected thereto in the fall following. 
Another son, Wilton Merle Smith, is a clergyman of position and influ- 
ence in New York city. 

Archibald Robertson, the second member of the law firm of which 



374 OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Judge Smith was the senior member, was worthy of the association that 
the partnership made. He cametoCliemung County in 1838 from Wash- 
ington County, N. Y., where he was born October i, 18 16. His first 
occupation was that of school teacher, at first in the town of Chemung 
and then in the school-house that stood in the Fifth ward on the point 
made by the junction of Pennsylvania avenue and Sly street. He 
studied law in the office of Andrew K. Gregg and was admitted to the 
bar in 1848. For two years he was in the practice of his profession 
alone, in 1850 forming a partnership with NexV'ton P. Fassett, which 
continued until 1861, when Judge Smith was added to the firm. In 
1S55 he served one year as district attorney, appointed to fill the place 
made vacant b}' the sickness and death of Edward Quinn, esq. Mr. 
Robertson's own experience was subsequent!}' somewhat similar. In 
1877 he was himself elected district attorney, but his health failed him, 
and in 1878 the Hon. J. Sloat Fassett, the son of his partner, was ap- 
pointed to fill his place, serving out the unexpired term. Mr. Robert- 
son served a number of terms in the common council as alderman from 
the Fifth ward, and was also a member of the Board 'of Education. He 
died in June, 1880. His memory well deser\es to be preserved in any 
record that has to do with Elmira. 

Newton P. Fassett, the third member of this old-time and highly re- 
garded firm, has an origin from which can readily be traced the 
sterling qualities that have always made him so good and valuable a 
citizen of Elmira. There was a Jonathan Fassett living in Vermont 
during the Revolutionary war, having been born there May 18, 1745. 
He was of sturay Scotch descent, it being a tradition that the family 
name was originally McFawcett, wliich cannot however be traced to any- 
thing but tradition. Jonathan Fassett was a well-to-do farmer and was 
the adjutant-general of Vermont. He gave freely of his means to help 
feed and clothe the Vermont troops during the Revolution, forwhich he 
held a large claim against the State. Such claims, almost imperceptibly 
accumulating, are very difficult of final settlement, but this one was 
eventually recognized by the State and was on the point of adjustment 
and payment when, in 1825. Jonathan Fassett died and nothing was 
realized from it. In the latter part of the last century he had removed 
to Monroe County in this State, where he had purchased what is now 



THE FASSEI T F.IMJL ) '. 375 

known as the township of Penfield. But lie met with two enemies there, 
and it is difficult at this distance to tell which one bothered him the 
most, Indians or the ague and fe\'er. At any rate he went back to Ver- 
mont. That State offered him three fine farms in settlement of iiis 
claim, but he refused the offer, and at an advanced age he came to live 
with his youngest son, where he died at the age of eighty. Jonathan 
Fassett and his wife Mary were the parents of eleven children. The 
youngest of all of these. Philo, born March 8, 1787, on arriving at man- 
hood in 1808 shouldered an axe, and with a little bundle of clothing 
tied around the handle started on foot from Vermont and walked all 
the way to Troy, Bradford County, Pa. It was nothing but a wilder- 
ness there then. He began building himself a home at once, and not long 
after to perfect the home he had started married Miriam Wheeler, a 
daughter of Isaac Wheeler, also a Vermontcr. In i<S30 he removed 
from Troy to South Creek, only a few miles from Elmira, where he gave 
his name to a little settlement now a station on the Northern Central 
Railroad. He kept a tavern there for many years and owned and man- 
aged a large farm. 

Philo Fassett's children in emulation of his father also numbered 
eleven, all with the exception of the joungest being born at Troy, Pa. 
Truman, the eldest, was an old-time business man in Elmira and a most 
worthy, exemplary citizen, his given name most accurately describing 
him and his character. In 1840 he purchased the old Cooley & Max- 
well barns located on Market street just west of the city hall. He held 
the contract with the government for carrying the mails between Elmira 
and Williamsport for many years, and was engaged in the livery busi- 
ness. Just after the war he sold his property in IClmira and bought a 
large farm near Canton, Bradford County, Pa., where he resided until his 
death in September, 1890, at the age of seventy-eight. Philo Fassett's 
)'Oungest son, Lewis Henry, born December 10, r83i, served three full 
years in the Civil war and rose from the ranks to the position of lieu- 
tenant-colonel. He was a brave, cool soldier and participated in twenty- 
one battles. 

.\ewton Pomeroy Fassett was the fourtii son and seventh child of 
Philo Fassett and was born November 26, 1822. He worked his own 
way to an education in the old Baldwin Street Academy in a manner 



37G OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

that would astonish bo3's nowadays, when education comes so easy, 
earning his money to live on as he went along, working on the farm in 
the summer to provide for his schooling in the winter. He studied law 
in Aaron Konkle's office and also with Judge E. P. Brooks, finishing his 
preparation for the bar at the then celebrated law school in Cherry Val- 
ley, Otsego County, kept by Prof. John W. Prowler. Returning in the 
spring of 1849 from the school Mr. Fassett was admitted to the bar at 
Norwich, Chenango County. The next year, as has already been said, 
a partnership was formed with Archibald Robertson, who had spent the 
winter also at the Cherry Valley Law School. Mr. Fassett on October 
20, 1852, married Martha Ellen Sloat, of Sloatsburg, N.Y., a daughter of 
Maj. Jacob Sloat, a man of great mechanical genius, an inventor, and a 
manufacturer. Six children have been born from this union, the eldest 
child being the Hon. J. Sloat Fassett, one of the most distinguished 
citizens that Elmira can boast. He was born November 13, 1853, and 
was graduated from the Elmira Free Academy in 1870. Thence he 
went to the Rochester University, where he graduated with honor in the 
class of 1875. Something after the manner of his father he earned the 
education that he desired. P"or the last two years at the university he 
supported himself, the newspaper furnishing the means for the exercise 
of the talents he possessed in winning his way. He studied law in the 
office of his father and was admitted to the bar in 1879. He was ap- 
pointed district attorney immediately on his admission to fill the unex- 
pired term of Archibald Robertson, esq. Young as he was his admin- 
istration of the office was marked for its carefulness and accuracy. He 
never had an indictment quashed for any informality or imperfection. 
His ability met the quick adknowledgment of the elder and experienced 
members of the bar of the county. Three of the best of them offered 
him an equal partnership. One of them, curt of speech and somewhat 
rough in demeanor, an acknowledged head of the profession while he 
lived, and who not liking young lawyers called them "young typos," 
meaning " tyros," said of Mr. Fassett in these early days : " When I 
come down in the morning, no matter how early, I see ' Sloat ' at work, 
and when I go home at night, no matter how late, I see the light at 
Sloat's window and Sloat working there. I want some young man with 
me who don't study law with his feet out of the window." 




-' V ■'' &/i <'■"«"•"'■ 



HOX. J. SLOAT FASSETT. 377 

In 1883 Mr. F;issett was elected State senator and was re-elected in 
1885, 1887, and in 18S9, soon securing and holding the Republican 
leadership of that body. In the presidential campaign of 1888 he was 
chosen secretary of the Republican National Committee, winning in the 
position a national reputation, aiding vastly by his labors in securing the 
success of his party in tlie contest. He was appointed in .August, 1891, 
by President llarrison the collector of the port of New York to suc- 
ceed Joel 11 ICrhardt, and assumed the duties of that office on August 
13th of the year named. At the Republican convention in Roch- 
ester he was, on September 9, 1891, nominated for governor of the State 
with an enthusiasm and unanimity seldom displayed in bodies of that 
character. 

Mr. Fassett is engaged in numberless business operations, any one of 
which would seem to be sufficient to occupy an ordinary man's time and 
exertions. He owns and controls the I'Jmira Ad^wrtiser ; is vice-presi- 
dent of the Second National ]5ank of Elmira ; is president of the old 
New Mexico Ranch and Cattle Company, whose property he visits every 
two years ; is trustee of Rochester University, of the Baptist Churcli of 
Elmira, and of tlie Elmira Silver Mining Company that owns a profit- 
able mine. He is a member of numerous New York clubs, the Union 
League, University, and New York among others. Mr. P'assett on Feb- 
ruary 13, 1879, married, in Sacramento City, Cal, Miss Jennie C.Crocker, 
daughter of Judge lidwin H. Crocker. There are five children livingof 
this marriage, the latest one, a son, having been born on the anniversary 
of his father's thirty-sixth birthday. 

Chemung County waited ten years again before it had the honoi- of 
furnisiiing another congressman for the district. After the Hon. W. 
Boardman Smith came Charles C. B. Walker, John N. Hungerford, and 
D. P. Richardson, the latter for two terms. Tlien came John Arnot, jr., 
in 1883 for two terms; Thomas S. I'~lood in 1887 for two terms; and in 
, 1 891 Hosea H. Rockwell. 

As to State senators tliere was a similar disregard as to Chemung 
County in selecting or, perhaps better, in electing them ; as tlie list will 
show it has furnished but three for the district in about forty years : 
Gen. A. S. Diven, Hon. John I. Nicks, and Hon. J. S. Fassett. In 1850 
the senator was George B. Guinnip ; in 185 i, William J. Gilbert ; 1852, 

48 



378 OUR COUXTV AA'D ITS PEOPLE. 

Francis R. E. Cornell; 1854, Andrew B. Dickinson; 1856, John K. 
Hale; 1858, Alexander S. Diven ; i860, Samuel H. Hammond ; 1862, 
Charles Cook ; 1864, Stephen T. Hayt, two terms ; 1868, John I. Nicks ; 
1870, Theodore L. Minier; 1872, Gabriel T. Harrower ; 1874, George 
B. Bradley, two terms; 1878, Ira Davenport; 1881, Sumner Baldwin ; 
1S83 and since, J. Sloat I""assett. 

The term of State senator is and has been two years. It will be ob- 
served that there was one senator in 1S50 and another in 185 i. Of 
course this might occur from death or resignation. But this time it was 
very peculiar in its cause and concerns one in whom there is much local 
interest. In 1S49 George B. Guinnip was living in Watkins, then one 
of the lively villages of Chemung County. He came originally from 
Middlesex County, N. J., wlierc he was born September 12, 1794. 
When twenty-three years of age he removed to Dryden, Tompkins 
County, N. Y., where he married Miss Sarah Hart, originally also of 
New Jerse}', having been born in Hopewell in that State in Jul}', 1798- 
In this little village of Dryden three children were born to this couple: 
A daughter who died at the age of five years ; Ransom Hart Guinnip, 
born December 29, 1819; and Augustus Morgan Guinnip, born August 
26, 1 82 1. George B. Guinnip was twice member of Assembly from 
Tompkins County, and was one of those sturdy, old-fashioned, Andrew 
Jackson Democrats who helped make the political history of their times. 
In 1840 he came into Chemung County to the village of Havana, but 
three years thereafter took up his residence in Watkins, then called Jeff- 
erson, where he continued to reside until the time of his death, in 1869, 
at the age of seventy-five 3'ears. As has been said he was elected 
State senator in 1849, and for the twenty remaining years of his life no 
man was more widely known in the region than "Senator" Guinnip. 
During the succeeding session of the Senate a question arose about a 
bill, and the only way the Democrats could defeat it was to resign, 
which some of them did, to prevent a quorum, and among the number 
so resigning was Senator Guinnip. There was a special election held on 
May 27, 1850, to fill the position, and the very unusual result came 
about that each of the candidates. Senator Guinnip on the Democratic 
side and William J. Gilbert, of Painted Post, on the Whig ticket, re- 
received precisely the same number of votes, 4,480. The State can- 



THE ASSEMBL ) MEX. 370 

vassers decided that tliere was no choice and the district was unrepre- 
sented in the Senate at the session that followed. Rut there was a 
special session called in June, 185 i, and Senator Guinnip's opponent was 
seated, serving nine days. What rarely happens these times, the golden 
wedding of Senator and Mrs. Guinnip was celebrated April 29, 1867. 
Mrs. Guinnip survived her husband fifteen j'cars, attaining the great age 
of eighty-six, her death occurring May 9, 1884. 

The members of Asscinbly from the county for the period we have 
under consideration have been : In 185 i, Samuel Minier; 1852, James B. 
VanEtten; 1853, II. W. Jackson; 1854, John M. Randall; 1855, Or- 
rin Robinson; 1856, Jefferson B. Clark; 1857, William T. Hastings; 
1S58, John Haggerty ; 1859, Peter Wintermute ; i860, Lucius Robin- 
son, two terms; 1862, Tracy Beadle; 1863, Charles Hulett ; 1864, 
William T. Post, two terms; 1866, Henry C. Hoffman; 1867, George 
W. Buck ; 1868, P'.dmund Miller; 1869, Edward L. Patrick, two terms; 
1 87 1, David H. Hill, two terms ; 1873, Seymour Dexter ; 1874, Edmund 
Miller; 1875, Jeremiah McGuire ; 1876, Edmund Miller ; 1877, Hosea 
H. Rockwell; 1878, George M. Baird ; 1879, John Bandfield ; 1880, 
Henry C. Hoffman ; 1881, O. P. Dimon ; 1882, J. J. O'Connor ; 1883, 
Jonas S. Van Duzer, two terms ; 1885 and since, Robert P. Bush. 

Dr. Robert P. Bush, who has achieved the honor of having so many 
times consecutively represented hiscounty in the Assembl}', a rather un- 
usual proceeding in the western part of the State, was born in Branch- 
port, Vates Count)', X. Y., March 31, 1842. He is of Dutch descent, 
the family coming originally from Holland to Dutchess County, N. Y., 
the name being then " Terboss." Dr. Bush's education was obtained at 
the academies in Prattsburgh, Steuben County, and Homer, Cortland 
County. He was in attendance at the latter named institution when tiie 
war broke out, and he enlisted in the Twelfth Regiment, N. V. V., serv- 
ing two years in the ranks. He again went to the field in 1864 as cap- 
tain of Company E, One Hundred and Eighty-fifth \. Y. V., very 
soon becoming major of the regiment. After the war he had charge of 
tiie Penn Yan Academy and pursued the study of medicine, in 1868 
lie took a course of lectures at the Bellevue Medical Hospital College, 
New York city, and began the practice of his piofession with his father 
in Branchport. In 1870 he was the principal of the Horseheads Union 



380 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

Free School, which position he occupied for three years, leaving it to at- 
tend a course of lectures at tlie Buflalo Medical College, where he grad- 
uated ill 1874 He returned to Horseheads and in 1875 he was elected 
school commissioner of the county. He was elected member of As- 
sembly in 1885 and has been re-elected every year since. In the po- 
sition he has proved himself to be an exceptionally valuable man for the 
count)'. His interest in military affairs has not abated since the war. 
He was the captain of a Horseheads company of the National Guard 
organized in 1876 and was the major of the One Hundred and Tenth 
Battalion two years later. He is now the commanding officer of the 
Twenty-sixth Separate Company of Elmira. 

The judges of the county serving up to the present time in the period 
of our record were : 1851 to 1855, Ariel S. Thurston ; 1855 to October, 
1859, Theodore North; October, 1859, to June, i860, Horace Board- 
man Smith; June 7, i860, to 1864, Fllijah P.Brooks; 1864 to 1868, 
Gab-iel L. Smith; 1868 to 1878, Thomas S. Spaulding ; 1878 to Sep- 
tember, 1889, Seymour De.xter. In September, 1889, Judge Dexter 
resigned his position to become president of the Second National Bank 
and Sylvester S. Taylor was appointed to succeed him. Judge Taylor 
was elected to the position in November, 1890. 

Judge Thomas S. Spaulding served as county judge for a period of 
ten years with unmistakable ability and judicial acumen. He was born 
in Summer Hill, Cayuga County, N. Y., was educated at the academy 
in Homer, Cortland Count)-, and completed his legal studies with the old 
firm of Gray & Hathawa)' in Elmira, to which village he came in 185Q. 
He was admitted to the bar in 1S51 and began the practice of his pro- 
fession in Elmira. He was from the start prominent and active in pol- 
itics and was closely identified with the city of Elmira in -official posi- 
tions for many years. He served as president of the Board of Trustees 
of the village, was justice of the peate for twelve years, and for two 
terms was a member of the l^oard of Education, being its president in 
1871-72. 

Judge Sylvester S. Taylor is one of the only three judges of the 
county who can claim that county as his birthplace. He was born in 
Veteran township and has won his way to the eminent position he holds 
by the e.xercise of abilities that are unquestioned. He served as district 
attorney of the county from 1874 to 1877. 



THE COiWTV OFl'ICERS AXn THE LAST CENSUS. 381 

Contiiuiing with other officers of the county tlie position of district 
attorney has been filled by the following named: 1850 to 1855, Ed- 
ward Ouiim ; 1856, Archibald Robertson; 1856-59, Solomon B. Tom- 
linson ; iSjQto 1865, John Murdoch; 1865 to May 16, 1868, Erastus 
F. Babcock ; May 16, 1868, to November, 1868, John T. Davidson; 
1868 to 1 87 1, Robert Stephens; 1 871, Walter L. Dailey ; 1874, Syl- 
vester S. Taylor ; 1877, Archibald Robertson; 1879, J. Sloat Fassett ; 
18S0, John B. Stanchfield ; 1886 and since, Edgar Denton. 

The following is the list of the sherift's of the county with the dates 
of their election : 1852, Daniel F. Pickering; 1855, William M. Gregg; 
1858, Henry Baker ; 1861, William Halliday ; 1864, Edwin W. Howell ; 
1867, Jud Smith ; 1870, George O'Hanlon ; 1873, Allen Cooper ; 1876, 
Edmund O. Beers ; 1879, Levi D. Little ; 1882, George Stanley ; 1885, 
Allen Cooper ; 1888, Frank Cassada. 

The county clerks were: 1855, Richard Baker; 1858, Uriah S. 
Lowe; 1861, Solomon B. Tomlinson ; 1S64, George Bennett; 1867, 
Robert F. Stewart; 1870, John G. Copley; 1876, C. Hamilton Baker; 
April 26, 1878, Alexander C. Eustace, appointed to fill the unexpired 
term of Hamilton Baker, who died in office ; 1878, Theodore G. Smith ; 

1 88 1, Alexander C. Eustace; 1884, Archie Baxter; 1887, R. H. Ran- 
som ; 1890, Arthur S. Fitch. 

Treasurers of the county: 1S51, Nelson W. Gardiner ; 1854. John N. 
Elmore; 1857, Stephen McDonald; i860, William T. Post; 1863, 
Samuel B. Strang, who qualified, but died before entering upon the 
duties of the office ; (James H. Loring was appointed by the Board of 
Supervisors to fill the position until another election ;) 1864, lilisha H. 
Cook; 1867 to 1879, Jesse L. Cooley ; 1879, William J. Lormore ; 

1882, J. Lowman McDowell, two terms; 1888, Patrick J. Neagle. 

As a comparison of the present with the times past it should be ob- 
served that the population of the county by the census of 1890 was 
48,265. The detail of this census by towns was as follows : Ashland, 
including the village of Wellsburg, 983 ; Baldwin, 733 ; Big I'lats, 
1,687; Catlin, 1,180; Chemung, 1,610; Elmira, S90 ; Erin, 1,289; 
Horscheads, including the village of Horseheads, 3,482; the village of 
Horseheads itself, 1,716; Southport, 2,044; V^" Etten, including the 
village of Van Ettenville, 1,658; \'an h'ttenville, 567; \''eteran, 1,816. 



3S2 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

The city of Elmira, First ward, 2,240 ; Second ward, 3,349 ; Third 
ward, 3,946 ; Fourth ward, 4,079 ; Fifth ward, 7,622 ; Sixth ward, 
4,449; Seventh ward, 3,340; not in wards, 1,868; total of the citj', 
30,893. By a comparison with the census of 1880 the pecuhar situa- 
tion of affairs is shown that during the decade every town in the county, 
with the exception of Horseheads, decreased in population. This is 
well accounted for in Elmira and Southport, for portions of those towns 
were added to the city of Elmira. But in Ashland there was a decrease 
of 166 ; in Baldwin, 235 ; Big Flats, 302 ; Catlin, 270 ; Chemung, 488 ; 
Elmira, 1,096; Erin, 273; Southport, 1,575; Van Etten, 233 ; Vet- 
eran, 447 ; making a total decrease in the towns of 5,200. In Horse- 
heads the increase was 33 and in the city of Elmira 10,352, making the 
total increase in the county 5,200, the population in 1880 having been 
43,065. These figures might furnish food for the statistician or the 
pessimist that would lead to peculiar conclusions. The total acres of 
land assessed in 1890 was 246,345 ; assessed valuation of real estate, 
$19,827,171 ; assessed value of personal property, $1,852,748 ; corrected 
aggregate valuations, $21,689,919. 



PLACES OF PUBLIC AMUSEMENT. 383 



CHAPTER V. 

Amusements of the \'illage and City of Elmira — The new Opera House — Mr. and 
Mrs. D. W. Waller — Old-time Dramas and Actors — Circuses — Where their 
Tents were Spread — Horse-racing — Old-time Tracks — "Flora Temple" — 
"American Girl " — The Maple Avenue Driving Park — State Fairs in Elmira — 
The Elmira Farmers Club — William A.Armstrong — The Husbandman — Res- 
taurants — The first one m Elmira — George Jones — The Street Railway — Cel- 
ebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Battle of Newtown — Ex-Governor 
Lucius Robinson — Militia organizations of the County — The One Hundred and 
Tenth Battalion — The Thirtieth and Twenty-sixth Separate Companies — A new 
Armory — The State Reformatory — Supt. Z. R. Brockway — Newspapers of the 
City and County — Some that have Been, but are Not — The Elmira Gazette — 
The Elmira Advertiser — Col. Luther Caldwell — The great llood of June, 1889 
— The Elmira Telegram — Charles Hazard — H. S. Brooks — James Hill — The 
terrible Railroad disaster on the Erie at Tioga — The Evening Star. 

ELMIRA grew very easily and rapidly into the ways of a city. In 
no other matter did it show its changed and changing character 
more clearly than in its amusements and in the places provided to cn- 
j'oy them. Its old Odd Fellows Hall on Lake street, its successors, Pat- 
tinson Hall and Concert Hall, also on Lake street, and Holdcn Hall at 
Baldwin and Water streets had given place to Ely Hall at Baldwin and 
Carroll streets. But even this was not fully up to the demands of the 
times, large and commodious as it was. In a little while after Elmira 
became a city the block known as the opera house on Lake street 
was begun and took its name from the principal use to which it w'as put. 
It was finished and opened in 1867. Few interior towns possessed as 
complete and con\'enient a theater as was this building at the time when 
it was first thrown open to the use of the public. The house was taken 
for a season of three months by D. \V. Waller, an actor himself of con- 
siderable eminence in the profession, but not as well known as his wife, 
Mrs. luiima Waller. It was a risky thing to attempt a three months' 
engagement with a stock company in so small a place as Elmira then 
was, as the event proved. Only once before in the history of the town 
had such an enterprise been attempted. 

During the winter of 1863-64 a showman by the name of Frank 



384 OUR COUXTY A.\D ITS PEOPLE. 

Phelps, a citizen of Elmira well known, hired ]",ly Hall for the season, 
put up a stage, and provided the scenery. He conducted the business 
for more than three months, giving a new bill every night. The pres- 
ence of the large transient population brought to town by the war made 
the enterprise not one of great profit, but saved it from being an abso- 
lute pecuniary failure. Among those whom Mr. Phelps introduced to 
the Elmira public was Mrs. Page, a fair actress and a beautiful woman, 
the wife of Page the artist who drew attention to himself and to the 
much better work he could do by the figure of a Venus, which capt- 
ured the attention of the people of New York city. The model of the 
figure was the Mrs. Page spoken of 

Elmira then was hardly up to more than a "one-night stand," and 
it is not much beyond that yet. Some organizations before this had 
braved out a week or a fortnight's tarry without a loss. In the time of 
Pattinson Hall and Concert Hall Garry Hough came yearly for a week's 
or a two weeks' stay. But his company was small and his expenses 
were light. 

One organization came frequently in the early days of Ely Hall, mak- 
ing friends socially as well as admirers professionally. This was the 
Holman Opera Company, the memory of which must still be fragrant to 
many of the elder citizens of Elmira. It was not a very populous com- 
pany, being barely more than the family by whose name it was known. 
The orchestra was a piano played by Mrs. Holman. Mr. Holman was 
the tenor, Sallie the prijiia doiiiia, and Julia a good second. The basso 
was the same William H. Crane who has of late years won such a dis- 
tinctive place in his profession. 

The opera house at its opening was called on the bills the " New 
Opera House " ; the first pieces played were " Married Life " and 
" Sketches in India." The people in the company were all good in their 
several lines, but none of them ever attained great eminence in their 
profession. One of tl.em, Ben Porter, emphasized his life by the man- 
ner of his leaving it. He was shot in a railroad restaurant in Marshall, 
Tex., in a most cowardly and unprovoked manner, the wretch commit- 
ting the crime escaping the punishment he so richly deserved. John 
Webster was another member of the company. He has been heard of 
more or less in late years. The audiences in the opera house during its 



THE OPERA HOUSE AXD TT< yfAXAGER^^. 385 

first season grew less and less each succeeding night, although the riches 
of the drama from Shakespeare to Buhver were spread out profusely. 
The season was saved by " Uncle Tom's Cabin." It was "put on by re- 
quest " and ran to the " best of business" for a week. A benefit was 
given Mr. and Mrs. Waller on the evening of Januar\' 27, 1868, when 
the season closed, that resulted so greatly to their financial profit that 
they and their company went away from Elmira with the kindest re- 
membrance of the city. A dramatic company for a season has never 
since been tried in Elmira. 

Capt. Kli Wheeler for some time had charge of the opera house 
and after him W. Charles Smith, under whose management there were 
presented many entertainments of merit. Mr. Smith with his three 
brothers, Daniel, Thomas, and Ezekiel Smith, came to Elmira from 
Albany and have made worthy and prominent citizens of their new 
home. W. Charles Smith has always been active in politics and has 
served as one of the police commissioners of the city. He has always 
from youth been connected with the drama and theatrical matters, 
commencing as a lad with the old Green street theater in Albany. He 
was with the famous Meech's museum at the foot of State street in the 
same cit\-. He came to Elmira with Mr. Waller in 1867. He enlisted 
during the early part of the war, in 1861, in the Nineteenth N. Y. Vols. 
under Col. John S. Clark and served five months. His wife was Mary 
Louise Vail, daughter of Benjamin Vail, who was the first cabinetmaker 
in Elmira, sixty years ago. Mr. Smith has three children, Benjamin, 
Rose, and Charles. His brother Daniel has represented his ward in the 
common council and Ezekiel has been connected in a responsible way 
with the fire department. Thomas, the other brother, is employed in 
the capitol at Albany. 

W. E. Bardwell, one of the employees of the Second National Bank, 
managed the opera house several seasons until it was leased outright in 
the summer of i88g to the present managers, Wagner & Kies, of Brad- 
ford, Pa., with W. Charles Smith again in charge as their local represen- 
tative. From his long services in connection with the house Matt 
Lockwood is not unworthy of some attention. Almost from the first 
he has had to do with the |>roperties of the stage, and has stored 
away in a convenient apartment in the upper part of the building a col- 

4'J 



38G OUR CO U A' TV AND ITS PEOPLE. 

lection of objects that are all in themselves curious, and to some are 
attached associations that are pleasant and recall times and events that 
are not easily forgotten. 

In this connection it is as well not unworthy of remark that there is 
liardly a lot of any size within the limits of the old village that has not 
had upon it one of those old-time tent shows with which our ancestors 
and forerunners had to content themselves. These were either circuses, 
pure and simple, or menageries, or " caravans " that exhibited only 
animals. It is only of recent years that the two kinds ha\'e been com- 
bined into immense caravansaries, following one of the strongest ap- 
parent tendencies of the times to consolidate, centralize, and control. 
One " center-pole " used to do ; now they are so numerous that when 
the tents are all up and the flags flying the scene has the appearance of 
a harbor with the masts of a fleet lying at anchor. 

Circus tents have been stretched where one these days would hardly 
believe they had ever stood. The)' have been on the eastern end of the 
island, whose banks then were as high as those of the mainland on either 
shore; on the lot where now stands the Industrial School ; where the 
gas works are now located ; on West Church street ; on the square 
bounded by College avenue and Gray and Columbia streets, " Roe's four- 
acre lot " ; in the Fifth ward near Sly's Pond ; on the lot just back of the 
German Evangelical Church on East Church street ; and on what was 
the bleak, lonesome moor like expanse of uncultivated land north of 
Second street, west of State street, east of Main street, and reaching 
away up to Washington avenue, now so thickly laid over with railroad 
tracks and railroad buildings. Their places of location were a moveable 
quantity until they settled down to one spot, which for more than a 
quarter of a century was used for such purposes. This was the " Gregg 
lot," the square bounded by Madison avenue, Market, Dewitt, and John 
streets. Large as it was it was too small for the modern combinations 
and they go elsewhere. The lot in 1878 was turned over to the roller- 
rink usages, and the next year there was built upon it what was changed 
from its original purpose to what is now the Madison avenue theater. 

Exhibitions of liorses and trials of speed have always had marked 
interest in the valley, and there has been no time since its first settle- 
ment that there was not a well recognized if not accurately laid out 



HORSE-RAC/.\G ./A/) h\!(/:-TA\lCKS. 387 

" track." The first one has been clearly sliown to be the mile that ex- 
tends almost in a straight line up Lake street from the north end of the 
bridge. Then the mile reaching straight as a bee would fly, and as 
level as a dining-room table, east from Southport Corners to the river 
road, was long a favorite track for racing. This was before the era of 
the trotting horse, a race meaning a running trial of speed. A well- 
thought-of track was on the Conklin farm just as you get into Horse- 
heads coming from Elmira ; then another popular one at Carpenter's 
back of the Half-way House ; then another up Water street just west 
of where the prison camp was located. This place was immortalized in 
the horse annals of the county by the appearance upon it in i860 at a 
liorse fair of " Flora Temple." She was matched against " Patchen " and 
" Lancet " and beat them both easily. Following this in 1865 was the 
Wilcox Driving Park in the Fifth ward. The sport, always more or less 
under a ban, was lifted into respectability in 1874, when the Elmira 
Driving Park Association was incorporated, the company being com- 
posed of some of the most highl}' thought of citizens of Elmira, the 
directors being Frank H. Atkinson, Samuel T. Reynolds, Ephraim W. 
Howes, Lorenzo Howes, Charles J. Langdon, iMyron H. Foster, Charles 
W. Skinner, Henry H. Purdy, Uri Bartholomew, and Frederick A. 
Frasier. 

A half mile track in a favorable locality, a little east of Eldridge Park, 
was laid out with all of the appointments of a character that compared 
favorably with any similar enterprise in the country. The inaugural 
meeting was held in the fall of 1S75. Among the horses entered was 
the noted "American Girl," who had a record of 2: i6^<. On the last 
day of the meeting, October 2d, during a race she plunged forward near 
the three-quarter post and fell dead on the track. A slight rain was 
falling and the vvestern sun had formed a very clear and distinct rain- 
bow. Looking from the grandstand hundreds saw that the eastern end 
of it seemed to be touching the dying mare's head ! The association 
had a bronze statue of the horse cast, and it adorned the entrance to the 
grounds. The building of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western 
Railroad so cut up the land in near pro.ximity to the track tliat its uses 
for the purposes for which it was intended have become impossible. 

In July, 1886, the Maple Avenue Athletic Association was organ- 



388 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ized, its officers being: John R. Stanchfield, president; S. \V. Clark, 
secretary ; H. B. Berry, treasurer. Its <^rounds, located in the Fifth ward, 
favorably situated, carry on besides athletic matters the interest in the 
speed and training of horses that promises never to abate in the val- 
ley. Its present officers are : J. M. Shoemaker, president ; Fred Col- 
lin, secretary; Dr. 11. D. \'. Pratt, treasurer. 

Nearly allied to these exhibitions, but of wider scope, are the State 
fairs, the officers of the association verj' soon after the completion of 
the several railroads opening Elmira to the outer world discovering 
what a favorable locality it was for their annual shows. The first State 
fair in Elmira was held in the fall of 1855, and the grounds chosen for 
it were on the north side of East W'ater street about half way between 
Sullivan street and Newtown Creek. Its general character was the same 
as that of all fairs, but it had two features that were dropped in subse- 
quent exhibitions. There was a formal address and a ball. The ad- 
dress was delivered by Governor Grimes, of Iowa, a stately Daniel 
Webster style of man of the old school of oratory. The ball was in 
Floral Hall and was one of the social events of the country side that 
had never before been equalled in the \alley, and has never since been 
very much surpassed either as regards the number in attendance, the 
music, the decorations, or the display of tasteful and beautiful dresses. 
F"ollowing fairs were held, one at the extreme west end of the city and 
another in the northwestern section. 

Ill 1853 there had been a county agricultural society organized, of 
which Charles Hulett, of Horseheads, was president and A. I. Wyn- 
koop, of Chemung, was secretary. A number of annual fairs were held 
with some success, but public interest in the matter languished. In 
1 87 1 the State and county organizations joined together with their in- 
fluence to secure grounds suitable for giving their exhibitions, and the 
county bought for such a purpose 400 acres lying about midway be- 
tween lilmira and Horseheads. There was much bitterness of feeling 
aroused at the time of the purchase of the land, excited by the differ- 
ence of opinion as to the most suitable location, but it was not long 
before whatever animosities had been kindled were subdued. The State 
Association every three years had their exhibition and on the other 
3^ears the County Association had theirs. Some of the finest e.xhibitions 



/■///• EI }TIRA FARMERS CLUB. 389 

ever given by the State Society were tliose given in Elmiia, and always 
with considerable financial profit, while in other places the\' experienced 
losses. 

Dissatisfaction arose, however, and increased regarding the manage- 
ment by the State organization, and in 18S3 it held probablj' its last ex- 
hibition on the grounds in the county. Very much of what success had 
attended the exhibitions given by the State Society was due to the ef- 
forts and influence of the Elmira Farmers Club, a society that was the 
original and forerunner of the numerous and similar organizations all 
over the country. And this society owes its prominence to the labors 
of one man, William A. Armstrong. Its first meeting was held in De- 
cember, 1869, in a wagon shop at Carr's Corners around a wood stove, 
and its deliberations were lighted with a single tallow candle. Its first 
members were George W. Hoffman, William A. Armstrong, James 
McCann, Charles Heller, Lewis Fitch, Samuel A. Chapman, Seely P. 
Chapman, John Bridgman, Samuel Carr, and Daniel E. Howell. 
George W. Hoft'man was elected president, an office he continues to hold, 
and William A. Armstrong was elected secretary, an office he held as 
long as he lived. 

Toward the close of 1869 Mr. Armstrong took to \.\\e: Advertiser a re- 
port of the proceedings of a meeting of the club. The manuscript was 
looked over and was printed the next morning. It at once attracted 
attention, being the utterances put into attractive shape of men 
who knew what they were talking about, not theories, opinions, and sup- 
positions, but facts. For five years, until the club started a newspaper 
of its own, these reports of the F21mira Farmers Club were a distin- 
guishing feature of the Advertiser and were carried by it into every cor- 
ner of the country. In 1S73 the club built its hall ver)- near the scene 
where its first meeting was held, and in 1874 it issued the first number 
of its newspaper, the Hnsbandviaii. Of the newspaper William A. 
Armstrong continued to be the editor as long as he lived, and among 
others who assisted him in the duties of the position was Jonas Sayre 
Van Duzer. Mr. Armstrong became very prominent in the agricultural 
matters of the State and countj', having served as master of the New 
York State Grange. George W. Hoffman, the president of the club, 
has also served as the president of the State Agricultural Society. 



390 OUR couyrv and i is people. 

Joseph Armstrong, an uncle of William A. Armstrong, was for many 
years a notable citizen of Elmira, known of all men. With his father 
he came from Peach Orchard, Schuyler County, settling on West Hill 
above Carr's Corners. When the Erie road was finished to Elmira he was 
engaged in the freight office there at first, but in 185 i he was put in 
charge of the baggage room at the station and occupied that position 
for thirty years. He resigned in Februar)-, 1881, and died in June of 
that same year in the seventy-fourth year of his age. His wife was a 
sister of J. Russell Thompson. They had no children. 

A corporation known as the Interstate Fair Association has taken the 
place of these earlier enterprises. It was originated and organized in 
June, 1889, by Col. D. C. Robinson, George M. Robinson, and George 
Brand, its officers being : Judson H. Clark, president ; George M. Rob- 
inson, secretary ; Col. D. C. Robinson, treasurer ; George Brand, gen- 
eral superintendent. It has given three exhibitions, the first one in 1889, 
and contemplates having them annually. It occupies the Maple Avenue 
Athletic Association grounds in the Fifth ward, and so far has appealed 
very successfully in its various departments to the public, introducing in 
its exhibitions numerous novel and attractive features. 

Referring to entertainments or amusements of the town without some 
reference to what has been dignified as the national game — base-ball — 
would be inexcusable. Elmira has always favored the sport among its 
chief delights in the summer-time, as well in years gone by when the 
ball was soft and " a tick and a catch is out" as in these later days when 
the ball is hard and the diamond in a game becomes ground almost as 
scientific as a chess-board. Some of the citizens of Elmira who have 
become distinguished in the learned professions were adepts at the game 
in their college da\'s and would find it hard to pass b)' a field where a 
well contested game was in progress. Elmira has not furnished many 
" teams " that greatly distinguished themselves if we may except the 
one controlled in 18S0 by the Telegram. It won considerable credit 
for its managers, and supplied one player for the National League who 
has gained a wide reputation for himself and his town. This is Daniel, 
familiarly and lovingly called by the crowd "Danny" Richardson. He 
was the pitcher of the Telegram nine, and graduated from there to the 
position of second baseman on the famous New York cit}^ nine, the 



P/O.XEER RESTAURAXTS. 301 

" Giants." a place he lias held for a number of Seasons to tlie distress of 
whatever nine he plays against. 

Something has already been said in relation to the houses of " public 
entertainment" of Elmira. They have from the earliest been numer- 
ous and sufficient. Those coming under the head of eating houses or 
restaurants in an\- commendable character belong to the period of 
which we speak. In early times, as in every rural community, there 
were places where one could be provided with oysters or a very slight 
refection of cheese and crackers and perhaps a red herring. But these 
places depended for their precarious existence rather on the sale of 
liquid than solid refreshment, and they were not very inviting places at 
the best. Oysters came up to Elmira in the earliest times in small 
wooden kegs, and it is well known that these bivalves do not take kindly 
to long journeys. They suffer in health. 

In the winter-time and as early as 1830 oysters began to be plenty 
in the village. John Perry was in the business and spent the season in 
Perth Amboy to attend to forwarding them. They came up in sleigh- 
loads and were carried still farther west than Elmira. A good many 
fresh codfish came up in the same way. The sleighs took back to New 
York city on their return journeys quantities of venison, as deer were 
then plenty in Tioga and Potter Counties, Pa., with even an occasional 
elk. There were quite a number of places in the village where oysters 
were sold by the stew, theirlocality being indicated to the passer-by by 
transparencies lit with a tallow candle that were as grotesque and 
pointed in their character as are now some of those' borne in politi- 
cal processions. 

Along with the railroads came the first restaurant deserving the name. 
It was opened by George Jones on the bank of the river nearly opposite 
the Chemung Canal Bank in 1852. Mr. Jones was a protege of E. R. 
Brainard, and came with that gentleman from P'ranklin, Delaware 
Count}', N. Y. When Mr. Brainard died Mr. Jones went into business 
for himself The next year when the first Concert Hall on Lake street 
was built a place was fitted up for him in a most attractive manner. It 
might have been styled elegant for its time, although it would bear small 
comparison with establishments of the present day, finished as they are 
in polished hardwoods, brass, nickel, mirrors, and glass. This pioneer 



392 OUR COUNTY A.XD ITS PEOPLE. 

restaurant was called the " Arbour," and under various proprietors, 
George Jones, his brothers Henry B. and Joshua, Silas Hai<;ht, Max 
Haight, and Lavuence Murraj-, has continued to be so called now for 
almost forty years. George Jones removed eventually to Cheyenne, 
Wyoming, where he became a prominent and wealthy man and where 
he died. Henry B. Jones, his brother, continued and continues to bean 
estimable and well considered citizen of Elmira, a great fisherman, and 
a lover of out-door sports generally. Their mother, Mrs. Annie Jones, a 
delicate and sweet-tempered old lady, was cared for by Henry Jones 
and lived to a very advanced age, at the time of her death being the 
oldest resident of Elmira. She died in December, 1889, ninet}-four 
years of age. 

Another city institution was a long time in coming, but eventuallj' 
arrived — the inevitable street railwaj'. Through the efforts of George M. 
Diven,esq., in 1872 an organization was perfected called the Elmira and 
Horseheads Street Railway Company, and its tracks were laid in that 
and the following year, the contract being in the hands of l^dward C. 
Colwell. They extended from Horseheads down through Lake street, 
up Water to Main, up Main and through Third to the railroad station, 
and up Clinton to the western boundary of the city with a line up Park 
Place to the college. In 1886 the original company sold out to inter- 
ests represented by Col. D. C. Robinson, and in the year or two follow- 
ing the tracks were extended up Water street into the First ward, 
through Maple avenue, and toward the Northern Central shops, and the 
service was improved by the introduction of electricity as a motive 
power. Electric lighting was introduced into Elmira in 1883, the mov- 
ing spirit in the enterprise having been an active and energetic business 
man, A. S. Turner. His successor in providing this species of light for 
the city is the Elmira Illuminating Compaii}'. 

About these years there were two more posts of the G. A. R. estab- 
lished in Elmira. The first one was the L. Edgar Fitch Post, No. 165, 
the soldier in whose memory and honor it was named having had some 
reference heretofore. It was organized December 26, 1882, with the 
following named as officers: Commander, P^rank Hemmenway; S. \\ 
commander, C. C. Spaulding; J. V. commander, Allen Cooper; adju- 
tant, D. ]5ush ; quartermaster, J. Mackavoy ; chaplain, S. Maride ; 




c^^^^-^y^^tr^^-t^ y^^^^ 



Gfi.lXn ARMY POSTS. 393 

officer of the day, J. Maloiiey ; officer of tlie guard, A. D. Symonds. The 
past commanders liave been as follows: 1S83, Frank Hemmenway; 
1884, Allen Cooper; 1885-87, C. C. Spaulding ; 1888, Newlove \\"\]\\- 
-;on ; 1889, George Hamilton; 1890-91, Gardiner C. Hibbard. The 
present officers of the post are: Commander, Gardiner C. Hibbard; 
S V. commander, G. C. Moore; J. V. commander, A. Shell; adjutant, 
L. M. Andrus; quartermaster, Frank J. Beger ; chaplain, Charles N. 
Potter; officer of the daj', Joel E. I'Vye ; sergeant-major, Delancey 
Dubois; quartermaster-sergeant, Newlove Willison. The muster roll 
shows a present membership of 100. 

The other post, the Col. H. C. Hoffman, is named for the command- 
ing officer of the old Twenty-third N. Y. V. It was organized Febru- 
ary 21, 1887, with the following named among others as the charter 
members : Johnson Beers, George Trout, John Van Gorder, Harry Van 
Ciorder, Thomas Ross, and Robert N. Hill. Tiie first officers of the 
]30st were: Commander, John Van Gorder ; S. V. commander, Thomas 
Ross; J. V. commander, George \V. Trout; adjutant, Joseph Tierney, 
who died and Johnson Beers was chosen to fill his place ; quartermas- 
ter, J. C McElroy; chaplain, John S. Ware; officer of the day, James 
Maloney ; officer of the guard, N. K. Smith ; sergeant-major, H. B. Van 
Gorder. The following named are the past commanders of the post : 
Thomas Ross, J. C. McElroy, George VV. Trout, James Maloney. The 
muster roll shows a membership of 75. 

Not perhaps in the way of amusements, but as an observance of an 
event of great interest to the valley, was the centennial anniversary of 
the battle of Newtown, celebrated on the spot where the conflict waged. 
It took place on August 29, 1879, and was attended by many distin- 
guished gentlemen and a greater throng of people than had ever before 
been gathered together at one spot and at one time in the valley. 
I'reparations for the event had been begun a long time before and a 
monument had been erected on the summit of the hill overlooking the 
scene of the battle. The material used in the construction was not of a 
character that would insure much permanency to the memorial, and it 
would seem that there have been no efforts to p'reserve it. Eleven years 
after it was erected it had so crumbled and decayed that its upright po- 
sition could not be insured for a twelve month, and the marble slabs on 

50 



394 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

which were carved tlie inscriptions had disappeared. If interest in the 
locah'ty is allowed to lay dormant for another hundred years, as it did 
for the first hundred years, when the second centennial comes around to 
be observed there will not remain on the desolate but sightly spot one 
vestige of the monument. 

The organization having the celebration in charge was called the 
Newtown Monument Association. Hon. Hiram Gray was president 
thereof, and among those interested and associated with him were Ariel 
S. Thurston, R. C. Lockwood, Stephen T. Arnot, Francis Hall, Alex- 
ander S. Diven, Miles C. Baldwin, Daniel ¥. Pickering, Charles J. Lang- 
don, Henry C. Hoftman, and Uriah S. Lowe. The exercises were first 
of a Masonic and then of a public nature, Chauncey N. Shipman rep- 
resenting the grand master of the Grand Lodge of the State in the 
dedication ceremoniesand delivering an address. Judge Thurston wrote 
an ode which was sung on the occasion. At the public exercises some 
verses of welcome were read by Ausburn Towner; a poem was recitetl 
b}' the Hon. Guy H. McMasters, of Bath, N. Y.; and the principal ad- 
dresses were delivered by the Hon. Erastus Brooks and the Hon. Ellis 
H. Roberts, who came in lieu of ex-Gov. Horatio Seymour. The his- 
torical address was delivered by the Rev. David Craft, of Wyalusing, 
Pa. Gen. William T. Sherman was present with his staff, adding great 
distinction to the occasion. He spoke twice during the day, much to 
the gratification of his enthusiastic hearers. There were also present 
Gov. Henry P. Hoyt, of Pennsylvania, and his staff and Gov. Natt 
Head, of New Hampshire, and his staff. The governor of New York, 
Lucius Robinson, was also present with his staft". The whole affair was 
one of the most brilliant and memorable that has ever been vouchsafed 
to the valley. None of the throng was more honored or seemed to be 
more gratified than the governor of the State, whose distinction and 
history belong to the county. 

Among others present at the Newtown celebration were Gen. H. W. 
Slocum, Dr. Sullivan, of New Hampshire, a descendant of the general 
who fought the battle whose anniversary was being observed, and the 
Hon. George W. Clinton, of Buffalo, of the celebrated family of that 
name so conspicuous in the early political annals of the State, one of 
whom was himself in the battle. On the evening of the day of the cele- 



LOCAL MILITARY ORGAXI/.ATIOXS. 395 

bration the city of Eliiiira was brilliantly illuminated, there was a fine 
display of fireworks, and the festivities of tiie occasion were concluded 
with a bail in the new and stately Masonic Temple. 

Tiie military character of this centennial is suggestive of the military 
annals of the county since the war. The State laws in regard to tlie 
militia have undergone repeated changes in the last thirty years. 
Just after the war the county was included within a regimental dis- 
trict, the chief officer in command being Col. Stephen T. Arnot, but 
there was not much interest felt in the matter and it was difficult 
to maintain in any completeness any of the organizations. It was 
not until 1874 that there seemed to be a re awakening of the military 
spirit in the county. In that year the One Hundred and Tenth Battal- 
ion was authorized with Lutlier Caldwell as the commanding officer 
with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Three companies were organized 
in KImira: A Company, under Capt. John Laidlaw ; H Company, Capt. 
Florence Sullivan; and D Company, Capt. Edmund O. Beers. There 
was another company in Wellsburg under Capt. Maurice V. Decker and 
another one in Horseheads under Capt. R. P. Bush. 

There was also at this time a battery of artillery organized under the 
command of Capt Emmet Walker. But these organizations were tem- 
porary and the whole system was changed in 1878. All the companies 
were mustered out with the exception of D Company, which became 
under the law the Thirtieth Separate Company. Companies A and B 
were consolidated antl numbered the Twenty-eighth .Separate Com- 
pany under Capt. luigene Root. This latter named company was sub- 
sequently also mustered out, but it kept up its organization, and on 
April 4, 1883, it was again placed on acti\e duty as the rwenty-si.xtii 
Separate Company. The Thirtieth Separate Company or its predeces- 
sor first had their headquarters in the old Advertiser building at Lake 
and Market streets, the dining room of the old hotel affording a some- 
wliat cramped but altogether convenient drill room. They went next 
to the Holden Hall at Water and Baldwin streets and subsequently to 
the large building on Carroll street that had been arranged especially 
for their use. The Twenty-sixth Company were fortunate in securing 
for their quarters the large hall known at different times as Ely Hall, 
StanclilT Hall, and the Academy of Music. 



39C OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

In 1 886 the armor)' on Cluirch street was erected, and tliitlier the 
two organizations went to take up their permanent quarters. Whatever 
may be said of the exterior of this large structure the arrangement of 
the interior for the accommodation of the two military companies is 
complete with every object necessary or convenient for their use, the 
large drill-room being especially to be considered. 

In December, 1884, the Thirtieth Separate Company was compli- 
mented by having had selected from it the brigadier-general command- 
ing in this section of the State. This was Capt. (thenceforth to be known 
as Gen.) E. O. Beers. He chose most of his staff from his compan\-, these 
being : Asst. Adjt.-Gen. and Col. Edward M. Hoffman, Maj. John T. 
Sadler, Maj. Arthur McKinney, Maj. R. P. Bush, Maj. J. S. Denton, Maj. 
James Bacon, Maj. Hosea H. Rockwell, Maj. Edson J. Stearns, Capt. David 
\V. Munson, Capt. Charles Hart. On the retirement of General Beers 
from the command of the company Roscius Morse was elected to fill 
the position left vacant. He served until Edward M. Hoffman, wlio now 
commands the conipan)', was chosen. The Thirtieth Company has a 
very high standing in the records of the N. G. S. N. Y. The command- 
ing officer of the Tvventysi.xth Separate Company is Capt. R. P. Bush. 

It may be observed, and perhaps with some concern, that neither the 
State nor the national governments have been very generous toward the 
county as regards any permanent investments therein. This armory 
is one of the only two buildings in the locality that are not of purely 
local foundations. The other one is the reformatory. This institution 
occupies one of the most commanding and sightly spots in the valley 
on the hills west of the city of Elmira, and is an imposing and striking 
edifice. It is the embodiment of the idea of one man, and has passed 
from an experimental stage up to a high plane of usefulness and excel- 
lence. 

The idea existed a good many years antl first took practical shape 
before the legislature of the State in 1S69. In March of the following 
year a portion of the land occupied by the institution was purchased, 
and again in the year following that an additional amount was bought, 
making the total about 280 acres. The building commissioners ap- 
pointed were Charles C. B. Walker, of Corning ; Stephen T. Arnot and 
Frank H. Atkinson, of Elmira; A. II. Miller, of Owego; and Amos 



THE ELM IRA REEORMA TOR ) '. 397 

I'illsbur)', of Albany. The latter named gentleman, however, resigned 
and Joseph Warren, of Buffalo, was appointed in his place. Operations 
were at once begun and the building was ready for occupancy in 1876. 
Up to that date the appropriations for the institution had amounted to 
the sum of $875,000. Z. R. Brockway was appointed general superin- 
tendent of the institution in May, 1876, and has held the position since. 
The system which governs is his and he has perfected it to the minutest 
detail. Generally stated it aims to ascertain if there is anything good 
in the person sent to tarry within its walls, and if there is to develop 
and strengthen it, while tendencies that are bad are to be eradicated or, 
if not tliat, suppressed. Much is to be considered to reach these ends : 
heredity and environment must be known, and these given each inmate 
is a study by himself. It is an unusual case that the system is unable 
to reach, although the reform is not always possible. Sufficient is defi- 
nitely ascertained, however, to mark the effort as successful. Up to 
September 30, 1890, there had been received since the opening of the 
institution 4,550 persons. Of these 3,485 had been discharged and 
1,065 were in the institution on the date named. Of these 3,485 14 
were absolutely released witliout parole and 2,611 were paroled. 

On entrance an inmate is placed in a grade from which he can rise 
or descend according to his conduct. Six months decides his direction 
for him. If advanced six months more of proper conduct releases him 
on parole, and si.x months of good conduct on parole releases him en- 
tirely from the oversight of the institution. Trades of all kinds are 
taught in the institution, and there are schools attendant upon wliich 
and progress therein enter into the marks of the inmate, going toward 
his ultimate release or his degradation. On Thanksgiving day, 1883, 
there was issued in the reformatory the first number of a news])aper 
called the Sniiunary. It is edited by the inmates, and all of the me- 
ciianical work upon it is also performed by them. It is much more 
than a creditable production in matter and manner, and the interest in 
it has spread so far that its circulation is by no means confined within 
the wails of the institution. Its mail list is large and goes all over tlie 
country. 

The annual report to the legislature of the managers of the institution 
is printed by the inmates, and is a piece of work of which no job office 



398 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

would be inclined to feel ashamed. The report for 1890 has an appendix 
full of illustrations, all the work of the inmates, drawn from photographs 
made by inmates. 

Those suitable for the purpose have been formed into a military or- 
ganization, which is well drilled and proficient in the manual of arms. 
The institution also furnishes its own brass band to head the battalion 
on its parades or to enliven its practice. There are also gymnasium 
facilities, and all means are taken to care for the physical as well as 
mental health of the inmates. 

Z. R. Brockway, the head and originator of this humane and provi- 
dent system, has made it the stud\- of his life. He has spent forty years 
in perfecting it. He began as the clerk of the Wethersfield (Conn.) 
prison, going thence after two years to assist Amos Pillsbury at the 
Albany (N. Y.) penitentiary ; thence after three years to Rochester, 
N. Y., where he remained seven years. While there he assisted in 
drawing the plans of the Detroit (Mich.) House of Correction that is 
conducted on a plan somewhat similar to the Elmira Reformatory, and 
when it was opened he acted as its superintendent for thirteen years. 
From Detroit he came to Elmira. It is seldom that a man is permitted 
to see with his own eyes the practical carrying out, on so extensive a 
scale, of ideas and theories that reach so far and touch humanity so 
deeply and to such an extent, not only in the present, but in the future. 

There are about 1,200 inmates confined in the institution at tlie pres- 
ent time. The Board of Managers is composed of the following named : 
President, William C. Wej^ ; secretary, James B. Rathbone ; treasurer, 
Matthias H. Arnot ; and William H. Peters and Benjamin Swartuood. 

No locality has been more favored than Elmira with newspapers that 
have always been read\' to sound its praises abroad and let the wide world 
know of its advantages. Some reference has already been made to some 
of these, and those v.-hich have been and are not are recalled with pleas- 
ant recollections of their excellencies or their peculiarities. Those which 
are speak for themselves. There was the Saturday Review started but 
not established by Wheeler & Watts in 1869. It was an idea of Robert 
Watts, the junior member of the firm named, who infused into job print- 
ing a dainty delicacy and taste never surpassed in that line in Elmira. 
His newspaper, the Review, was like him, the best of book paper, the 



liJUEF youRXALisrrc exterpkises. 309 

cleanest cut and clearest of type. It was too beautiful to last. The 
writer tenderly touches the memory of this enterprise, for in its columns 
his first efforts in a newspaper way found an appreciative if limited au- 
dience. There was the Midday Sun. Have you forgotten it ? It ran 
for a little time in 1879 in the interest of the Greenbackers. It was pub- 
lished, as its name indicated, at noon and its editor was Thomas Jeffer- 
son Taylor, a character in the newspaper annals of the county whose 
memory Horseheads will not willingly let die. The Midday Sun was 
eager for a greenback currency, but got not enough of it in its own pos- 
session to keep it afloat. It was followed the next year in the same inter- 
est by the little daily called the Bazoo, started by Hugh Coyle. A daily 
of the same name had had a brief e.xistence in 1877 under the manage- 
ment of E. C. George, a son of Elder George of the Methodist Church. 
Its name was changed after a time to the Evening Herald, but under 
neither name was it able to gain a foothold. The name Bazoo was a 
puzzler to eastern ears and eyes, suggesting a buzz-saw, with which it 
is not always safe to dally. Whether this suggestion had its effect or 
not few ventured to touch the Bazoo and it died. 

Horace Iv Purdy, an editor of wide experience and a man of un- 
doubted ability, in 1873 started the Weekly Free Press in Horseheads. 
In 1878 he removed it to Elmira, and in 1880 there was added to it a 
daily edition in the interest of a faction of the Democratic party. This 
newspaper was an exceedingly bright sheet, its chief editor at one time 
having been Isaac M. Gregory, who had been connected with the Roch- 
ester Democrat a?id Chronicle and Buffalo Express. He became after- 
ward the editor of one of the humorous journals of New York city, 
Judge. He was assisted on the Free Press by Ausburn Towner and 
William II. Perry, the latter a grandson of that Thomas M. Perry who 
was one of the earliest settlers of the valley. Mr. Perry was an exceed- 
ingly entertaining writer and one of the best of newspaper men that 
Elmira has known. But his chief distinction and impulse lay in the 
direction of music. He was thoroughly proficient in that both in theory 
and practice, and was the possessor of a bass voice of which one seldom 
hears an equal in quality or tone. Under the control of one less modest 
and a little more assuming than he this alone might have made of him 
one whose memory the county would have honored and held in recol- 



400 OUR COUNTY A.XD ITS PEOPLE. 

lection for many j'ears. In 1884 the Free Press was consolidated with 
the Gazette and makes the second name of that paper now. 

There was the Southern Tier Leader, first issued in 1874 b)' Col. 
James S. Thurston and Horace A. Brooks. It was a weekly publica- 
tion and was continued with varying success for three years. 

The Chemung County Republican was issued in Horseheads in 1856 
by William I. Hastings. Its editor was Florus B. Plimpton, who had 
been connected with the Elmira Daily Press. The chief motive for its 
establishment was to answer, so far as it was able, the attacks of the 
Philo.w/'hernewspaper that was loaded and primed for the hot canvass of 
1856 by Samuel C. Taber. The Republican was discontinued in 1858 
and consolidated with the Elmira Weekly Advertiser. Mr. Plimpton 
subsequently became connected with Murat Halstead's newspaper in 
Cincinnati, and it is said that much of his work was attributed to the 
more distinguished man. 

The Horseheads Philosopher named above was established by Sam- 
uel C. Taber in 1856. It had no politics to speak of, but seemed to have a 
leaning toward the pre\'alent Know- Nothing interest. But it supported 
Buchanan and the next year was consolidated with the Elmira Gazette, 
to which journal Mr. Taber transferred his services. Mr. Taber came 
to Elmira from Herkimer County in 1847, ^r"^ ^^'^^ engaged at first on 
the Chemung County Democrat. His father-in-law, George Bennett, 
having been elected county clerk in 1864 Mr. Taber acted during his 
term as his deputy. From this office he went to the Elmira Advertiser. 
For some time during its early existence he was connected with the Re- 
formatory Building Commission. He afterward entered the legal profes- 
sion and for a number of years was the law partner of the Hon. Jeremiah 
Maguire. He is still a member of the Chemung County Bar, although 
occupying a responsible official position in the Interior Department at 
Washington, D. C. His wife is the granddaughter of Comfort Bennett. 

The Horseheads Journal \\s.s first printed on April 16, i85S,by W. E. 
& H. A. Giles, and was continued by them for a little over a year. It 
lay dormant until April, 1866, when it was resurrected by S. C. Clisbe 
and Charles Hinton. Mr. Clisbe speedily retired and Mr. Hinton con- 
tinued it irregularly for three years, when it came into the possession of 
Thomas Jefferson Taylor. Until 1877 it was Republican in its leanings, 



OTHER \EWSPAPER VEX TV RES. 401 

but that year it espoused the Greenback theories and in 1878 it was 
removed to Hiniira, its name bein<T clianged to the Chemung County 
Grccnhackcr. It was removed back to Horseheads and on April 14, 
1887, its name again changed to the Cheiuuug ]'alley Reporter, under 
which designation it is now published by a company, its editor, Leroy 
Nixon, making it one of the brightest and most sparkling of country 
newspapers. 

The lilmira Enterprise was a nionthly venture in newspaperdom, 
started in 1S74 by a young miss of fifteen. Miss Libbie Adams, who her- 
self performed all the work upon the journal even to its distribution 
among its subscribers. It bore very favorable comparison with its con- 
temporaries and was continued for several years. Miss Adams became 
the wife of a son of the enterprising lumberman and business man, 
A. S. Turner. During "Know-Nothing" times in 1856 there was 
publisiied a few weeks a newspaper devoted to that interest called the 
American s Oivn. It did not flourish. A paper published in the Ger- 
man language called the Chemung County Journal was issued in 1S75 
by Frederick Wagner, and was continued with varying success for about 
three years, when it was discontinued. 

A number of eflorts were made in the field of Sunday journalism in 
Elmira before the bed-rock of success was struck. The Sunday Times 
was begun by D. T. Daly in 1878, but was discontinued before the ex- 
piration of the year. The Sunday Tidings, started by John Briggs and 
Seymour Copeland, ran a career for several j'ears and was finally trans- 
ferred to Buffalo. Tiie Sunday Republican, an efl'ort in the same direc- 
tion in 1S82 steered by Luther Caldwell, and Samuel C. Taber, was 
issued a few times and tiien disappeared. 

Many industries and interests find a value in publications issued peri- 
odically, and Elmira has not been and is not without them. For some 
time in 1850 there was a monthly magazine published in Elmira called 
the Temf<erancc Gem. It was not very successful. For a number of 
years the montiih- journal or magazine issued in the interest of the Con- 
ductors' Brotherhood, while under the editorship of Calvin S. Wiieaton, 
was printed in Elmira. The First Methodist Church has a Quarterly 
Register edited by the competent hands of Prof. J. R. Monks, A.M., 
now in its fifth year. Trinity Church has its Record, which periodically 

51 



40-J OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

gives news and other matter of interest and value to tlie parish. The 
Young Men's Christian Association has a monthly Young Mat s Journal 
in its eighth volume, a very handsome publication devoted to the inter- 
ests of the organization and entertaining generally. Jhe I'^lmira Col- 
lege has its quarterly Sibyl, which is in no wise inferior to the publica- 
tions that make known the doings and opinions of the institutions of 
learning where there are only men. 

Elmira is fortunate also in its selection as one point for the local pub- 
lication of the bright weekly Echoes. It was first issued on Saturday, 
November 9, 1889, its editor being Edwin Wildman and its publisher 
John B. Wentworth. Full of illustrations of a humorous and some- 
times satirical character, its letter-press being of the most intelligent and 
sprightly nature, it is a feature of Elmira newspaperdom of which it is 
the only example that it is pleasant to contemplate and that must grow 
in popularity and profit. 

The Elmira Gazette is the oldest newspaper in the locality and one of 
the oldest in the western part of the State. Some account has already 
been given of its early career. In 1S53 it was owned and published by 
George W. Mason and William C. Rhodes. Mr. Mason died in the 
spring of 1856. There was a struggle between the old-fashioned Dem- 
ocrats who had become Republicans to purchase it as an advocate of 
the new party. Ikit the eftbrt failed. It remained true at least to the 
name under which it had fought so many battles. It was edited by 
William C. Rhodes, who in 1856 issued a daily edition which was con- 
tinued for a year. In 1857, when Mr. Rhodes was elected State prison 
inspector, it came under the. control of Samuel C. Taber and Philo B. 
Dailey. In 1858 Col. Frederick A. Devoe purchased Mr. Taber's in- 
terest. On the 30th of April, i860, the daily edition was resumed and 
has never since been discontinued. Archibald N. Devoe became inter- 
ested with his father in the paper and in the same year Charles Haz- 
ard became its editor. In July, 1866, Colonel Devoe retired altogether 
from the enterprise and it became vested in L. A. & C. Hazard, and 
so continued until September, 1870, when a stock company was formed, 
of which David B. Hill was president; Royal R. Soper, business mana- 
ger and treasurer; H. S. Brooks, secretary; and Louis A. and Charles 
Hazard, editors. The company remains, but there have been many 



CAREER OF THE ADVERTISER. 403 

clian.c;es all through except in the business management. Among oth- 
ers Ilorton Tidd, Jay S. Butler, and Isaac M. Gregory have been at the 
head of the editorial force, and Charles P. Bacon, who early in life 
reaped professional success in his connection with the famous suit be- 
tween Prof. Willard F"iske and the Cornell University. James R. 
Monks and Samuel C. Taber have also at times labored more or less at 
the Gazette editorial oar. \V. C. Peebles in the editorial chair is making 
the Gazette one of the most entertaining ami reliable newspapers in the 
State. 

The Advertiser, now grown to such huge and influential proportions, 
was first issued November 3, 1853, as a little sheet not much larger than 
an old-fashioned window pane to advertise the job printing of the Fair- 
man Brothers, Seymour B. and Charles G. It was distributed free in 
the wagons of the farmers that lined Water street on both sides from 
the bridge to Baldwin street, and in the houses throughout the village. 
It was called Fairnians' Daily Advertiser. On February 8, 1854, the 
name was changed to the Klmira Daily Advertiser ; it was enlarged and 
was sold by subscription. It was in both forms a very attractive little 
publication, neatly printed, and on it Mr. Fairman did some of the very 
best editorial work that ever came from his pen. The Daily ran only 
until December, 1854, when the simple advertising sheet was resumed 
and there was a Weekly Advertiser at $1 a year. On February 19, 
1855. however, the /^rt/7j' was again issued and has been so issued with- 
out cessation to this day. Col. Frederick A. Devoe was interested in 
the publication of the newspaper from 1855 to 1864. In the latter 
named year there was a new influence introduced, not only into the 
Advertiser, but into the political life of the county. When Colonel Devoe 
went out of the Advertiser Col. Luther Caldwell went in. 

Colonel Caldwell was born in Ipswich, Mass., of a family that traces 
its descent to the Pilgrim fathers, but has for so long a time been a citi- 
zen of New York State that he seems to be a native to that manor born. 
He has held very intimate relations with the most noted politicians, 
especial!)' with Thurlow Weed. He was deputy clerk of the New York 
Assembly in 1857, 1859, and i860, and at that time became acquainted 
with Charles G. F'airman, who held a similar official position with him, 
an acquaintanceshi[) that resulted in his connection with the I^lmira 



40-J OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

Advertiser. He was a dclejjate representing the State of \^irginia at 
tlie Republican convention in i860 that nominated Abialunii I.incohi. 
During the war he was largely instrumental in raising the Seventeenth 
New York Volunteer Infantry that was recruited in the neighborhood 
of Piermont on the Hudson (where Colonel Caldwell then lived) and 
Nyack. He served with his regiment for the full time of its enlistment. 
He was clerk of the New York Assembly in 1867 and the secretary of 
the Constitutional Convention of that )'ear, being at the same period, 
1867—68, the secretary of the New York State Republican Committee. 
In 1866 he was appointed by Judge Gabriel L. Smith one of the excise 
commissioners of the county. He represented the First ward of Elmira 
in the Board of Supervisors in 1866, was alderman from the same local- 
ity in 1871-72, and was mayor of the city in 1873-74. In the cam- 
paigns of 1884, 1886, 1S87, and 1888 he was the chairman of the Che- 
mung County Republican Committee and his party achieved some of its 
most notable successes under his leadership. Colonel Caldwell became 
very deeply interested in the Murphy temperance movement, and after 
speaking for that cause in this country for a number of months began his 
labors of the same character in England, where, and especially in Wales, 
he achieved great distinction and success. Colonel Caldwell's first wife 
was Almira Flint, whom he married January 27, 1846. She was one 
of the most estimable of women, a sincere Christian, and always ani- 
mated by the loftiest convictions. Her labors in charitable work and 
especially in connection with the Southern Tier Orphans Home of El- 
mira will render her memors' precious for all time. She died in Swan- 
sea, Wales, February 3, 1888. Colonel Caldwell's second wife was 
Maria Newhall, whom he married in December, 1890, a lady of much 
prominence in literature and missionarj' work of the church. In 1889 
Colonel Caldwell was appointed a chief of one of the divisions in the 
Postoffice Department in Washington. He gets his title from his con- 
nection as commanding officer of the One Hundred and Tenth Battalion. 
The next year, after his purchase of Colonel Devoe's interest in the 
Advertiser in 1865, the newspaper became a member of the New York 
State Associated Press, Colonel Caldwell negotiating the matter and 
paying for the initiation thereto the sum of $3,380 in cash. In 1868 
Col. James S. Thurston was admitted to the concern and remained con- 



Em TORS OF THE ELM IRA ADVERTISER. 405 

nected with it uiuil tlie formation of the Advertiser Association in Oc- 
tober, 1870. 

There have been many changes in the association since its first for- 
mation. In April, 1882, Mr. F'airman retired vvliolly from the con- 
cern and it came entirely under the control of State Senator J. Sloat 
Fassett. From first to last there have been in the business management 
Col. Frederick A. Devoe, P. C. Van Gelder, R. R. R. Dumars, John 
Kriggs, J. C. Treadwell, and Clay VV. Holmes. In the editorial rooms 
the changes have been far wider and more sweeping. In the very first 
Judge James Dunn made the columns of the newspaper fairly glow with 
his pointed and oftentimes very sharp periods". M. Ells, rising from an 
attendance in a popular shoe store to the editorial tripod, did most ex- 
cellent service, and in after years on tiie Watk'ins (Schuyler County) 
Jixpress fully established his right to' be called editor and newspaper 
man. Hen H. Pratt also filled the local columns allotted to him in his 
time with matter always timely and attractively presented. He since 
has been the main spoke in the wheels of the Scranton (Pa.) Times. 
Ira F. Hart was for years all there was of the editorial part of the El- 
mira Advertiser, local, news, and leading article. He was in every corner 
of the paper and was one of whom it might be said that in the line of 
his duty where he was expected to be there he was. Reference has 
already been made to Lathrop Baldwin, jr. In the association times 
there were Samuel C. Taber, Ausburn Towner, Seymour Copeland, and 
others until we come to the present force, having at its head Edward L. 
Adams, a graduate of Rochester University whose early newspaper ex- 
perience was gained on the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, and 
there is no better field in which a newspaper man could earn his spurs. 
Mr. Adams takes rank in the editorial world with the best that there arc 
there. His assistant is John B. Guilford, of the steadiest trustworthiness, 
careful, prudent, and sincere, knowing what to say, how to say it, and 
when. And on the city desk is VV. E. Hendrick, a graduate of the El- 
niira Free Academy and a young newspaper man of much promise. 

On the night of p-ebruary 15, i888, the Advertiser huWding at Market 
and Lake streets, a building originally a public house under the names 
of Haight's Hotel and the Hathaway House, standing on a spot that 
had been already twice burned over, was destroyed by fire. Two lives 



400 OUR COUXTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

were lost and a quarter of a million dollars worth of property was de- 
stroyed. New quarters were erected for the newspaper farther west on 
Market street, and were partially occupied by it on June i, 18S9, al- 
tliough the building was not entirely completed until September of that 
year. The occupation was a forced one. It was the time of the re- 
markable flood that is referred to and will likely for many years here- 
after be referred to as the " flood of '89." It far surpassed that of 1865. 
Water street was inundated and skiffs plied freely in front ol the Rath- 
bun Hous;, one person known for his peculiarities and liked for his 
good humor, "Joe" Benjamin, floating in one into the office of the 
hotel up to the clerk's desk as though he was a traveler just arrived by 
water. The water extended up Baldwin almost to Market, and Carroll 
street looked like a Venetian thoroughfare. The Fifth ward was almost 
entirely under water. Of course the cellars in the lower part of the city 
were full. The Advertiser had occupied since the fire the portion of 
the Reynolds block on Carroll street that had before that been occupied 
by the Telegram. The presses, being in the cellar, were useless. The 
new presses in the new building on Market street had to be used else 
there could be no newspaper. And the new presses were used. 

The first Sunday in May, 1879, May 7th, deserves to be a marked 
day in the newspaper annals of Elmira, one might say of all that local- 
ity for a hundred miles in any direction from that cit\-. It is tiie date 
of Vol. I, No. I, of the Elmira Telegram. Three }oung men thought 
they would enter the field of Sunday journalism and see what they 
could find there. They were all well equipped for the experiment 
with one exception. Two of them, Charles Hazard and Henry S. 
Brooks, were thoroughly educated in the printer's art and had gradu- 
ated from that old hive of industry and nursery for good workman, 
the Gazette. Mr. Hazard in the editorial chair of that newspaper 
had developed editorial qualities of a very high order. He was an El- 
mira lad, his education having been obtained at the old Church street 
school-house that stood near where the Hedding Methodist Church 
now stands. His family were among those that came early into the 
Chemung Valley from Orange County, his mother being a sister of the 
Hon. Stephen McDonald who stood foremost in his time in the busi- 
ness and political annals of the village, city, and county. They are a 



FOU.XDERS OF THE ELM IRA TELEGRAM. 407 

hearty, strong race, mentally and ph}sically, the Scotch McDonalds, 
famed in the song and story of their country with the Campbells, the 
Camerons, and the McPhersons. Mr. McDonald's mother, Mr. Hazard's 
grandmother, Mrs. Amy McDonald, attained an age very rarely reached 
by women or men in these daj-s, and was a resident of Elmira for nearly 
forty \-ears. She was a widow for sixt\' \'ears. She li\-ed for a long 
time, more than an ordinary generation, at F-lighland Mills near Chester, 
Orange County, N. V., and came first to Elmira in 1842, when she was 
sixty-one years of age. She returned afterward to Orange County, but 
in 1850 came back to Elmira and made it her home for the rest of her 
life with Mrs. Hazard. She died in March, 1S80, on the eve of her 
ninety-ninth birthday. 

Henry S. Brooks, the second member of this new Sunday newspaper 
venture, was also an Elmira lad from the start, his ancestors as we have 
seen being early in the valley. He was graduated at the Elmira Free 
Academy in the class of 1869 and went immediately into the Gazette 
office to learn the trade of printer. This he accomplished with great 
thoroughness so that his work in the job department was the envy of 
less skillful and tasteful fingers. When the Gazette Association was 
formed he was made the secretary of the company and was engaged in 
the editorial rooms also. It was about the period when it was the fashion 
to have the general news columns introduced with a number of brief 
paragraphs calling attention to what was going on in the world. Mr. 
Hrooks did this work for a time and his little paragraphs, brief though 
they may have been, were short, sharp, and quick, like a Chinese powder 
cracker. They gave great pleasure to the reader, attracted attention, 
and were frequently quoted. But his success in life was not to come 
from that direction. 

The third member of this Telegram triumvirate was James Hill. 
Whether or not he knew anything about the making of newspapers re- 
quired further time to demonstrate, but that he knew how to sell them 
was very clear. From being a newsbo)' for the Union News Company 
he had grown to be the manager of that company at the Elmira Railroad 
station, and he was fully posted in all of the manifold ways of dispatch- 
ing newspapers from Elmira. There are few cities in the country so 
favorably situated as Elmira for the distribution of a morning news- 
paper. 



408 OUR COiWTY A.XD ITS PEOPLE. 

Tliese three I liave said were fully equipped for the new \cnture, 
with one exception, the want of capital, and that was n't much of an ex- 
ception after all. The venture was started on a capital of $75 or really 
$35, for only one of the three paid in his own third of the sum. Two 
of the three each borrowed his $25. It is well to say here that in less 
than three months each of the partners had his original investment paid 
back to him and it was the only cash capital ever advanced by any or 
either of them. Roth Hazard and Brooks for a time remained on the 
Gaceite and for a few numbers the newspaper was printed by the Ga- 
zette, but it was only a few weeks before the venture stood alone. The 
three men made a combination so dovetailing into each other that it 
was like a perfect piece of machinery, and it was all attended by favor- 
ing circumstances of which full advantage was taken. Other newspaper 
men, .or men of other newspapers, complained that great and exciting 
events seemed all to happen at that time on Saturday' so that the Te/c- 
gram could reap the whole field and leave them onh' to rake over the 
stubble. 

Perhaps that is so. Take an instance. The Telegram had been run- 
ning nearly two years when, on January 22, 1881, Saturday evening, 
an a.xle on the engine of train 12 on the Erie, when near Tioga station, 
broke ; the train was thrown from the track and caught fire. Four 
postal clerks and an express messenger were burned to death, one of 
the postal clerks being Joseph H. Reidinger, a \ery popular young man 
of Elmira and a member of Baldwin Post, G. A. R , and the express 
messenger, Henry F. Brewer, also an Elmiran of most excellent reputa- 
tion. The Telegram, able to give the fullest particulars of the harrow- 
ing disaster, could n't print papers enough to supph' the demand and 
ran far into Sunday in the effort. It covered the whole ground, leaving 
nothing more to be said by any one as to the facts in the case except 
to repeat them. 

Another instance. The great calamity of the generation, the shoot- 
ing of President Garfield, was an event of Saturday, July 2, 1881. The 
whole American people shivered with horror and trembled with anxiety 
to know the latest and know it all. I don't know how ntiier communi- 
ties existed in such a state of suspense until the Monday morning papers 
dragged their way in. The community of Elmira and its dependent 





^ /. /U^ /> 



PART v.. 

The Townships. 



They all departed thenceforth willingly to their several patches,, plots, and es- 
tates, that each one was by itself separate and distinct, yet that all together made 
one compact, indivisible whole. — Rahelais. 



What be these.' Well, then, listen ! Our own fields, hills, valleys, and streams, 
set within well known metes and boundaries, iijiheld, strengthened, enveloped, and 
surroimdcd bv our love. — 0/<i Persian Tate. 



PART V. 

The Townships. 

chapter i. 

All Elmira Town as well as an Elmira City — Some interesting and important Locali- 
ties formerly within its Limits — Carr's Corners — The Reformatory — Eldridge 
Lake — Some of its distinguished Citizens — Gen. A. S. Diven, Judge Hiram Gray, 
the Guinnips, Carrs, McCanns. and Others — Dr. Gleason's Water Cure — Mark 
Twain's summer Home — East Elmira Postoffice and its Postmasters — The 
Junction Canal — Early official records of the Town lost or Destroyed. 

T^'HERE is an organization of the town of Elmira .separate and dis- 
tinct from the city of the same name, but the history and records 
of the two are so commingled and imited that up to within a little over 
a quarter of a century they are the same. Most of the inhabitants of 
the town are intimately connected, socially, in a business way, and relig- 
iously, with the city, their separate organization showing only when 
they vote. The town surrotinds the city on all sides except at the 
south, and except in the extreme east has not even a postofifice pecul- 
iarly its own. Until the spring of 1890 it had within its limits some of 
the most important and most attractive features that are now within 
the city limits, and its thickest settled spot which in any other locality 
than in the immediate neighborhood of a large town would have as- 
pired and with justice to the rank of a village. This latter described 
place has long been known as Carr's Corners, and is made somewhat 
memorable from the fact that there the Elmira Farmers Club, whose 
career was extraordinary, originated. In April, 1890, this with El- 



414 OUR CO US TV AM) ITS PEOPLE. 

diidge Park and the State Reformatory were taken out of the jurisdic- 
tion of the town and were comprised within the newly enlarged city 
limits. But little else than broad fields, a few steep hills, an elegant 
home here and there, farm-houses, and barns remain to the tow^nship. 

Yet within its limits live some of the most distinguished men of the 
county, and there also have resided those who have given a widespread 
reputation to the name the town bears. Most of these have already 
received or will hereafter receive the attention that they and their ca- 
reers deserve. Gen. A. S. Diven has had his home in one spot within 
the borders of the town for nearly half a century; the homestead of the 
Hon. Hiram Gray, built of cobblestones gathered from the fields and 
standing invitingly on a slight eminence a little north of the river road 
and west of the city, has enlivened the landscape of the town for almost 
sixty years. Dr. Rulandus Bancroft, one of the favorite phj'sicians of 
the valley, went to the farm lying on the road between the reformatory 
and Carr's Corners half a century ago, where he lived with his family 
to a good old age. W. A. Armstrong, springing to State and national 
prominence through his newspaper, the Husbandman, and the work of 
the Grange, lived for a generation on the hill road running west from 
Carr's Corners. Near his home in what was what might have been 
called a deep and wide ravine is located the great storing reservoir of 
the Water Works Companj'. 

Samuel M. Carr's ancestors came very early to this same neighbor- 
hood and gave their name to the locality. The locality may become 
the Eighth, Ninth, or Tenth ward of Elmira, but it will never lose the 
name it has borne for so many years no more than will Harlem or 
Murray Hill be forgotten in the more general name of New York. 
Samuel M. Carr has always maintained a conspicuous position in his 
town as a farmer and politician. He has repeatedly been a justice of 
the peace and occupied other positions of honor and responsibility. 

There are the McCanns of the same neighborhood, the original one, 
John, having come from Belfast, Ireland, to the town in 1809. Eleven 
years afterward also came his brother, Thomas, who, however, remained 
only a few years, removing to Erin farther north, where he lived to be 
ninety-two years of age. The sons of John McCann, George and 
James, have been among the best of the citizens, not only of the town, 



TOWN OF ELM IRA. 415 

but of the coiintj', both of them serving repeatedly as the member of 
the Board of Supervisors from their locaHty. 

Tiiere are the Guinnips and the Dininny family in the southwestern 
part of the town and the Fosters still farther east on the river road. 

Over on the east side upon the hill lives the Rev. T. K. Beecher, a 
resident of the spot he occupies for many j'ears. Opposite him is the 
water cure standing on one of the most conspicuous sites in the valle)-. 
Seeing its beautiful situation now and the tasteful arrangement of its 
surroundings it would be hard to believe what a bare, bleak field was 
there when the institution was opened just forty years ago next June. 
It was an enterprise then undertaken by Dr. S. O. Gleason and Fox 
Holden at a time when the health-giving properties of water had for 
some reason or other suddenly had such a boom that tliose who prac- 
ticed it had dignified such system or practice into a " pathy." The in- 
stitution has grown and prospered, and has had among its patrons and 
patients some of the best known persons in the country. One lookout 
from the broad porch of the building, taking in a view of the valley and 
tiie city of Elmira on a summer evening, would seem almost enough in 
itself to restore one to health unless he was far gone. Mrs. Dr. Gleason 
is one of the most eminent women in her profession, is known far and 
wide through her books and her successful practice, and has given a 
reputation to the cure that places it almost alongside in reputation if 
not in situation with the leading spas and bads in Europe. The daugh- 
ter, M. Adele Gleason, promises to be to the generation of women to 
which she belongs what her mother was to those who preceded her. 
Just north of the cure is a glen which in the village days of Elmira 
was a favorite picnic place. It was long and deep with cool shadows 
and many romantic nooks. What tales the place could tell if it could 
speak of merry parties gathered within its shadows ! 

Up the steep bank and over the fields from the far end of this glen 
you come upon "Quarry Farm," the summer home of Samuel L. Clem- 
ens, " Mark Twain." It is a rural spot hidden away from the world, 
altliough from a slight rise, on which stands a peculiar bark-constructed, 
arbor- like building, a portion of the busy valley beneath may be seen. 
Mr. Clemens with his family spends the greater part of the summer 
months in this retired place when he is in the countrj-. 



4HJ OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The postofifice I have named is called East Elniira. Charles H. Kil- 
mer, appointed September ii, 1871, was the first postmaster. He was 
succeeded by James H. Cooper, October 6, 1871 ; Charles H. Kilmer, 
May 25, 1877 ; Leroy A. Churchill, March 5, 1880 ; Mrs. Belle Church- 
ill, February 27, 1890. 

In connection with this town there was an enterprise, almost forgot- 
ten now, that had nuich to do with it during its construction and life. 
This was the Junction Canal that flowed largely through the limits of 
the town at the time. The Erie Railroad was not finished to Elmira 
until 1849, and before that the transportation of large volumes of lum- 
ber, salt, and merchandise had been effected by means of the Chemung 
Canal, Seneca Lake, the Erie Canal, and Hudson River. As a remin- 
iscence of this method of communication there may be remembered 
the pioneer " laker " Mary Jane, a boat built and owned by Isaac Rey- 
nolds and sons more than fifty years ago. 

At the time named the feasibility of a canal or slack water navigation 
to connect with the southern terminus of the Chemung Canal and open 
to this section the coal fields of Northern Pennsylvania became vividly 
apparent. The ideas of the several men interested in the project came 
to practical issue in the spring of 1846. On May i ith of that year the 
legislature passed an act incorporating the Junction Canal Company, 
giving it the power to survey, build, construct, and operate a canal or 
slack water navigation, build locks, dams, and sluices, and erect bridges 
over the same, from a point on the north connecting with the Chemung 
Canal to a point on the south at or about the Pennsylvania State line 
connecting with the north branch of the Susquehanna Canal. The first 
ground was broken under the supervision of David Shearer at a point 
about three miles southeast of Palmira in March, 1853. Simultaneously 
work was begun all along the line and toward the fall of the year the 
canal began to assume its form. The main portion of the work was 
completed on January 14, 1854, but the canal was not in j^ractical 
operation until the autumn of that year. The waterway began at a 
place near the site of the present rolling-mill and extended through the 
valley, part of the time in the river, a distance of eighteen miles, to the 
State line about two miles below Johnny Cake. There were eleven locks 
and three dams, the latter used for feeders. 



TOWX 01- EL.\nRA. 417 

Mr. Sliearer, who was tlie superintendent of the canal throughout its 
construction and its twenty years of active operation, is still a resident of 
Elmira and is seventy-six years of age. He is a native of Pennsylvania, 
and had many years of practical experience on the Juniatta and Sus- 
quehanna Canals in that State. He is yet hale and hearty and attends 
daily to active business. To give an idea of the amount of traffic done 
on the canal during its busy days Mr. Shearer asserts that the record 
kept for one day showed that ninety-nine boats passed lock No. 6 dur- 
ing the space of twenty-four hours, all of which were either laden with 
coal or were going down empty to receive fresh cargoes. 

F"or a score of years this artificial waterway served its purpose and its 
owners with unbounded success and gratifying returns. In 1872 its 
usefulness had diminished, railways had usurped the business of its 
patrons, and the canal was gradually abandoned. After the water had 
been drawn off it was found that two nearly new boats were thereby 
grounded at a point near the southern terminus. To allow these boats 
to regain live waters the president of the company consented to filling 
the canal again. This was done and the water allowed to remain long 
enough to enable these boats to float to their destination, when the 
water was drawn off for the last time, and for nearly twenty j'ears no 
boats have traversed the course over which millions of dollars worth of 
coal, plaster, and salt were slowly towed along. 

In 1873 Mr. Shearer, who had been present during the birth, life, 
and death of the canal, was engaged to demolish much of its form and 
shape by filling in roadways, tearing out locks and feeders, and remov- 
ing articles and material of value. Under section 6, chapter 194, laws 
of 1846, is found the following stipulation as to the running of boats on 
the canal : 

■■ It shall be the duty of the master orcommaiuler of any boat, aik, raft, vessel, or in- 
strument, or vehicle for transporlation, passing through said navigation, when he shall 
arrive within one-fourth of a mile from any lock erected in said navigation, to blow a 
trumpet or horn, whereupon the keeper of such lock shall attend for the purpose of 
opening the gate or sluice to let the said boat, ark, raft, or other vessel pass without 
unnecessary delay and in safety; and if, when said canal is in navigable order, any 
l)oat, ark, raft, or other vessel shall lie prevented from passing up or down any of said 
locks or sluices by reason of the lock not being raised or opened for more than thirty 
minutes, on any day except Sunday, the said corporation shall, on conviction thereof 
before any justice of the peace of the proper county, forfeit and pay to the person bin- 
53 



418 OUR COUNTY ASD ITS PEOPLE. 

(leied the sum olone dollar for every thirty minutes l)cvond the said lime that he shall 
be so prevented, and in the same proportion for any longer or shorter time." 

The canal company is still in active existence, although the name was 
changed sometime since by a special act of the legislature to the Junc- 
tion Canal and Railroad Company. This was done to enable the com- 
pany to construct a railway if desirable. Tlie first directors of the 
company were John Arnot, president; William Maxwell, secretary; 
F. F. Fairman, treasurer; William R. Jiidson, John Laporte, Charles F.' 
Welles, jr., and Robert Covell. The present officers are M. H. Arnot, 
president; Piatt V. Bryan, secretary and treasurer; directors, F. C. 
Hewett, Piatt V. Bryan, John C. Greves, S. T. Reynolds, M. H. Arnot, 
A. McClintock, and John H. Arnot; The capital stock is $400,000. 

The records of the town of Elmira from its earliest organization to 
1854 were destroyed or lost. The town clerks, in whose hands such 
property is vested while in office, never had any permanent offices and 
often purchased the books in which they were kept with their own 
funds. It was natural for them to suppose that the books became their 
own personal property, and their sitccessors did n't want to be burthened 
with them anyhow. Their usefulness was ended and their contents 
supposed to be valueless, recording merely matters of the most tempo- 
rary and fleeting nature. I have seen books of this character, interest- 
ing and valuable from their age if for nothing else, used as scrap books 
with leaves torn out here and there, and others the first few pages of 
which were devoted to the proceedings of town meetings and the re- 
mainder used for keeping the accounts of a large farm ! Such thought- 
lessness, for it is only that, throws a cloud of doubt and obscurity over 
the past of any locality, and makes the work of one who would preserve 
the names and careers of those gone before for the future one of un- 
certainty and great labor. We do things much differently these days. 



TO W.\ OF SO U THPOK T. -110 



ciiai>ti:r II. 

The Town of Southport — Early Grants of Lantl — Kirsl Settlers- -The Millers, Gris- 
wolds, McHenrys. ami Smiths — David Griswokl and his Family — Abraham Miller 
— Abner M. Hetfield and his Family — Capt. Samuel Tuthill — The " Connecticut 
Gore" — Farly School-Houses — First Enterprises in the Locality — Organization 
of the Township — Town (3f(icers — Prolific Nature of the Soil of the Town — Its 
large Lumber and Tobacco Interests — The portion of the Township that became 
a part of the City of Elmira — Dr. Nathan Boynton and his Family — Webb's 
Mills — Its Early Settlers — " Southport Corners " — Those who came there First — 
Seeley Creek — '■ Hulkhead " Hotel— Hendy Creek — Wells — The Plank Road. 

THIC townsliip of Southport is located in the southwest corner of the 
county bordering partly upon Chemung River. The surface is 
mostly hilly upland. Along the river are broad, alluvial flats of marked 
fertility, while along the valleys of the smaller streams the soil combines 
the characteristics of hill and river bottoms and yields a generotis re- 
sponse to ctiltivation. Seeley Creek enters the town from the south, 
flows northeaster!}', receiving the waters of .South, Bird, and Mtid Lick 
Creeks, and reaches the Chetnting in the town of Ashland. 

Among the early grants of lands within the limits of this town are 
the following: Patent No. 113, 1,000 acres, to Abrahatn Miller and 
Lebbeus Hammond (issued to James R. Smith), October 27, 1788 ; pat- 
ent N'o. 117 to Christian Minier, October 28, 1788; Cutting tract, pat- 
ent issued to A. Rummerfield and Joseph Edsall, October 31, 1788; 
Seeley tract to Nathaniel Seeley, jr., James Seeley, Aaron Seeley, Abner 
Hetfield, and Samuel I'.dsall, 2,553 acres, November 3, 1788 ; W'ells and 
Holbrook purchase, November 6, 1788, and several patents for smaller 
tracts during 1788; No. 102 to Jc-hnWeir; No. 103 to Thomas King, 
issued to Abraham Hardenburg; No. 105 to Daniel De Witt; No. 107 
to Albert Foster; N'o. 1 1 i to James Garlinghouse ; No. 119 to John 
Harris and N'o. 120 to John Williams; Watson patent (Lawrence 
tract), 19,927 acres, issued .September 16, 1802. Prominent among 
the names of the early settlers appear those of Miller, Griswold 
(originally spelled Grissel), McHenry, and Smith. Who can claim \)\\- 
ority of settlement is a matter of doubt, but it appears that Timothy 



420 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Smith was living on the Seeley tract, 6oo acres of which were granted to 
him in 1791, in 17S7. His sons were Solomon L., Job, Uriah, and 
Archibald, and his daughters Elizabeth, Hannah, Abbey, and Susan. 
Four brothers of Timothy Smith were also early settlers, among whom 
was John, father of J. L. Smith. 

In the spring of 1787 David Griswold with his family, consisting of 
his wife Sally and his children, Mary, Thomas, and David, came up 
the river from Orange Count}', N. Y., and located between Elmira and 
Wellsburg on what is now known as the river road. He built a saw- 
mill and grist-mill in the closing year of the last century. The grist- 
mill was moved away in 1855 and thenceforth used as a barn. It orig- 
inally stood on the present farm of Clayton Griswold. The barn stands 
on land of the John Beckwith estate. Jonas Griswold, another son of 
David, born in Southport nearly a quarter of a century after the family's 
first settlement there, died July 12, 1891, aged eighty-one years. He 
was an elder in the Presbyterian Church of Southport for n)ore than 
fifty years. His son, Alpha D. Griswold, who is now living, has been 
an elder in the same church for nearly twenty-five years. 

Elijah, the father of David Griswold, settled at Chemung near Wells- 
burg. He was of English descent, a native of Connecticut, and a soldier 
of the Revolution. 

Abraham Miller, a veteran of two wars, a private in the French and 
Indian war, and colonel of a Pennsylvania regiment in the war of the 
Revolution, settled in Southport in 1788. He was born of German 
parentage in 1735 and djed in 181 5, a man of great intelligence and 
varied attainments, a wagonmaker, blacksmith, and farmer. He was 
the first judge of Tioga County, appointed February 17, 1791, holding 
the position until March 27, 1798. John Miller, a son of Abraham, 
also held the office from April 3, 1807, until March 31, 18 10. He was 
a prominent politician and an ardent admirer of Aaron Burr. 

No name throughout the county is better known than that of Het- 
field. It is of good old English derivation. He who first brought it 
into the valley came there from Orange County and settled in this town- 
ship in 1788. His full name was Abner M. Hetfield. He built his 
cabin, the first one in the locality, at what is known as " Southport Cor- 
ners," on the spot afterward and for many j'ears occupied by the tavern. 




^tf't^r.CKsrruLn..''- 



^:^^^z:^^7^'?-z^-^^^:^ £^^ c^^-^^^^^e-^^^^n^^^ 



TO \VN OF SOUTH PORT. 42 1 

Mr. Hetfield was born in Orange County, February 6, 1762, and he 
died in 1810. His wife was Elizabeth Seeley and the\' were married 
October 24, 1781. She was born January 14, 1764,, and died in 1843 
at the residence of her son, Richard Hetfield, between Elmira and 
Horseheads. Abner M. Hetfield was the father of twelve children, nine 
of whom were born in the little-cabin at Southport Corners. Most of 
the sons arriving at man's estate, emulating the example of their father, 
piislied farther west into the localities that afterward became the States 
of Michigan and Indiana, where they acquired wealth and prominence. 
The daughter of Moses, one of the sons, became the wife of Charles 
Kline, a son of the John Kline who ran the ferry in Elmira across the 
Chemung in the early part of the century. Mr. Kline was for many 
years an active business man of Horseheads. Mary, one of the daughters 
of Abner Hetfield, married Joseph McCormick, noted in the count)' as a 
horseman and a relative of the Fitzsimmonses. The\' moved to Indi- 
ana. Elizabeth, another daughter of Abner Hetfield, married Abraham 
Miller of the well known family of that name in the township. Her 
son, better known as "Abe" Miller, was a famous horseman of the 
county. Hiram Hetfield married Nancy, a daughter of David Griswold, 
and emigrated to Michigan. Phoebe Hetfield became the wife of Ziba 
McConnell and was the mother of H. H. McConnell, long time a prom- 
inent citizen of Horseheads. Richard Hetfield, better known as " Dick " 
Hetfield, was the best known in the county of ail the children of Abner 
Hetfield. He was a character whose good nature, wit, generosity, and 
eccentricities kept his name before the people of the county pretty 
much all the days of his life. He was born February 16, 1793. His 
first wife, whom he married in 1826, was Sally, the daughter of David 
Griswold and sister of his brother Hiram's wife. They had one daugh- 
ter, Mrs. James W. Tinsley, of Indiana. Mr^. Hetfield died in 1827. 
In 1S37 Richard Hetfield married his second wife, Susan Conkling, 
daughter of Jonathan Stoddard Conkling and sister of Vincent Conkling, 
a family at the time one of the foremost in the county. Mrs. Hetfield 
was the sister of Mrs. Samuel H. Maxwell. Two boys are living, the 
sons of Richard Hetfield. Thomas G. is a farmer in Tioga County, Pa. 
Charles K. Hetfield, the other son, has always occupied a prominent po- 
sition in the county as a man and as a politician. He enlisted in the 



4-22 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Eighty-sixth Regiment during the war and was promoted to a lieuten- 
ancy. He was school commissioner of the county from 1870 to 1873 
and again from iSSi to 1884. He is now connected vvitli one of tlie 
departments in Washington. D. C. 

In 18 14 Richard Hetfield left Soutliport and went to live on a farm 
between Elmira and Horseheads. P"rom 1830 to 1834, during the build- 
ing of the canal, he kept the Summit Level Hotel in Horseheads, a 
business in which he was also engaged in 1848 and 1849, during the 
construction of the Erie Railroad. In 1850 he took the place about half 
way between Elmira and Horseheads that has ever since been associated 
with his name. The house stands back from the highway some dis- 
tance, and is a low rambling structure reminding one somewhat of some 
of those wayside inns that flourished during the stage-coaching times 
in England. The house was originally begun in 1790 as a tannerj', and 
it is the oldest but one frame structure in the county. It was built 
piecemeal. Mr. Hetfield opened the place as a hotel on Januar}- i, 
1850, and it was very successful from the start, becoming a favorite spot 
for parties, especially in the winter-time. There was always a ro\al 
welcome there for all and the best of homely cheer, including " Uncle 
Dick's " famous elderberry wine pressed by himself from the berry 
grown in the swamps between his house and the creek. Richard Het- 
field died April 25, 1870, his wife surviving him until September 12, 
1882. 

Tuthill is another name in this township which, although now held 
by no representative there, deserves a kindly remembrance. Barnabas 
Tuthill was considerable of a man in Orient. Long Island, during the time 
of the Revolutionary war. He was a fighter and did his country good 
service. He had a brother, Henry Tuthill, who is the great-grandfather 
on the maternal side of President Harrison. Barnabas Tuthill with his 
son, Samuel Tuthill, came to Tioga County in 1793, and settled in this 
township on what is now Maple Avenue near the present grounds of the 
Interstate I-'air Association. His wife was Parnell Cantine, of Newburgh, 
Orange County. Capt. Samuel Tuthill was a leading and prominent 
citizen of his locality. He was the commanding officer of a company 
recruited in Chemung County for the War of 1812 and was ordered to 
the frontier. They had proceeded as far as Batavia when they were 



TO IV.\ or so I ■ THPOR T. 423 

ordered back-, the war being ended. Mrs. Tuthill died in 1841 and 
Captain Tuthill in 185 i, he at the age of eighty-five. They were both 
prominently connected with the Presbyterian Church of Elmira and his 
funeral was one of the largest known up to that time in the valley. 
Captain Tuthill was the father of four children, three daughters and one 
son. Cynthia, one daughter, at a very early age became the wife of 
Elijah Jones, a famous hotel-keeper of Elmira. Mary, another daugh- 
ter, married Willis Bennett, one of the old-time merchants and lumber- 
men of the valley whose children, Frances, Ziba, Henry, and Ella, were 
conspicuous in the social world of Elmira. LydiaTuthill became the wife 
of Charles Reynolds and was the mother of S. T. Reynolds, the initials 
standing for the name of the grandfather. Elizabeth Tuthill became 
the wife of Green M. Tuthill, another old-time merchant of Elmira of 
the same name, but of another family. The only son of Capt. Samuel 
Tuthill was named Thomas Jefferson in honor of one whose political 
teachings the father followed out as religiously as he did those of his 
Bible. The name, however, was gradually lost in the common vernac- 
ular of neighbors and friends, as he was known for many years before 
his death and must be remembered now by many as "Uncle Jep." 

There is a curious circumstance connected with this township. In the 
settlement of the claims of Massachusetts and Connecticut against New 
York there was a little three-cornered strip left in this township over 
which there was some dispute. It was located some miles " up the 
plank " from Elmira, where now what is known as " Townsend's or- 
chard " is located. The Connecticut claimants sent up to settle thereon, 
on the strip of land which was called the "Connecticut Gore," an agent 
by the name of John Rockwell. It effected nothing, the position was 
uncomfortable for the agent, and he returned to Connecticut. He subse- 
quently came back to the neighborhood, however, making his perma- 
nent home over the Pennsylvania line in Tioga County. He was the 
grandfather of the Hon. Hosea H. Rockwell, the member of Congress 
from the Palmira district. 

Among others who came into this town about 1790 were John Mc- 
Hcnry and John and William Fitzsimmons. Abraham, son of John Mc- 
Henry, was born on the John D. Miller farm in 1797 and died on the same 
place in 1846. William Fitzsimmons was a soldier under Sullivan in his 



4-J4 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

expedition of 1779. Gen. Seth Mai\in, who was with the surveyors in 
1788, purchased a large tract in the valley of Seeley Creek, a part of the 
Weils and Holbrook patent, and his son, Archibald Marvin, settled near 
Pine Woods in 1802. Seth Marvin and Mrs. Robert Beckwith, son and 
daughter of Archibald, were long time residents of Southport. In the 
same year Dr. A. Gates White and John W. Pedrick located at Webb's 
Mills. John Kelley located near the State line, where he purchased a 
tract of land, in 1800. Daniel Beckwith settled in 1793 upon the farm 
subsequently occupied by the familj' of his son John. Daniel died in 
1844 and John in 1877. Peter Stryker settled about 1795. Charles 
Evans' came from Delaware in 1825 and settled upon the farm afterward 
occupied by Solomon L. Smith. Charles Dense came in 1829 and 
Philetus P. Rathbun in 1831. Philo Jones was a prominent citizen of 
the south part of the town. His sons and daughters have been resi- 
dents of this and adjoining towns for many years. 

The first grinding of wheat was upon an oak stump on the G. A. Goff 
farm. The stump was hollowed at the top and the wheat ground after 
the manner of the Indians. David Griswold's grist-mill, built in 1799, 
was the first one put up in the locality. The water was conveyed from 
Seeley Creek by means of a dam nearly a mile away. These mills were 
located upon land owned by L. B. Smith in more recent years. The first 
saw-mill was built by Col. Abraham Miller on a branch of Seeley Creek 
about 1798, or perhaps prior to that date. The first woolen factory was 
erected in 1821 by Silas Billings and it became the property of Solo- 
mon L. Smith about two years later. The Griswold neighborhood had 
the honor of the first school-house, which was built about 1800. The 
ne.xt school building of which there is any record was erected in 1806 
in the southern part of the town. Solomon L. Smith was the proprietor 
of the first distillery, which was erected by himself about 1820. The 
first church edifice was erected in 18 19 on the river road, the site having 
been donated by Elijaii Griswold. It was called Presbyterian, but was 
also a place of worship for other denominations. The building was de- 
stroyed by fire in 1832. The first store was located at Webb's Mills in 
183s, and was kept by Samuel Gibson. 

There came into this town in 1835, therefore, one among its earlier 
settlers, one who through himself and his children occupied for many 



TOll'.X OF SOUTHPORT. Vlh 

years a conspicuous position among tlie inhabitants of tlic county. This 
was Dr. Nathan Bo\'nton, who was bom in Wendell, Hampshire County, 
Mass., on June 30, i~S8, the same year tiiat the town of Chemung was 
erected. Dr. Ho\'nton's father was a farmer who in 1795, with liis wife 
and children, si.\ sons and two daughters, " went west " to the town of 
Worcester, Otsego County, N.Y. In 18 14 Dr. Boynton began the study 
of medicine in Guilford, Chenango County, with Dr. Colby Knapp, the 
father of Mrs. Daniel .S. Dickinson and Mrs. Giles W. Hotchkiss, of 
Binghamton. After three \ears « ith Dr. Knapp Dr. Boynton completed 
his medical education at the I'aifield Medical School, in that day the 
foremost of the institutions of the kind in the countr\-, since removed to 
Albany, and now the Albany Medical College. Dr. Boynton began the 
practice of his profession in Bainbridge, Chenango County, where he 
married Miss Sepha Stowell. He continued to reside in Bainbridge until 
his removal to Southport, where lie was principally engaged in what 
during his five years' residence there was a profitable enterprise, the 
lumber business. In 1839 he removed to Mlniira, where he followed 
his profession imtil the time of his death in 1859. He had two sons: 
ICdwin X. Boynton, who became like his father a physician, went early 
to California, and died in San Francisco, June 19, 1876, and Austin H. 
l^oynton, who died in August, 1891. Austin H. Boynton was a lawyer 
and business man engaged in the lumber trade in Cameron County, Pa., 
where he was also elected to the official position that ga\e him the title 
of judge. He married in Port Deposit, Md., a sister of the Hon. J. A. J. 
Creswell, Postmaster-General under Abraham Lincoln. Their children 
are residents of Mlmira. Tiie five daughters of Dr. Nathan Boynton 
were noted beauties in their time throughout the >'alley. Kmily mar- 
ried George E. Carpenter, a descendant of one of the earliest settlers of 
tlie town of Ashland ; Maria became the wife of Frederick Leach, a 
business man of Klmira who came there from Owego ; Sarah has re- 
mained unmarried ; Mary wastiie wife of Uriah S. Lowe, whose memory 
is yet fresh and green throughout the boundaries of the count}' and 
wherever his distinctive personality was known ; and Ella was the wife 
of George O. Manchester, originallj- of Utica. now of Boston, and 
connected prominently with the railroad interests in the Western country. 
P'ew of the descendants of Dr. Nathan Boynton are now Chemung 

.'i4 



42C OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

County people. Mrs. Carpenter lives in I^lniira en<jaged in works of 
charity and benevolence, and the children of Judge Hoynton and of 
Mrs. Leach call the same city their home. 

Scuthport was included within the limits of Elmira until April i6, 
1822, when the township was erected. A part of Ashland was taken 
from it on April 25, 1867, and portions of the township were also in- 
cluded in the village and city of Mlmira at several times, reducing the 
original area of Southport from 28,969 to 28,335 acres. 

The first town meeting was held May 14, 1822, when the following 
named officers for the new township were elected : Solomon L. Smith, 
supervisor; William Wells, town clerk ; John W. Knapp, William Jen- 
kins, and Samuel Strong, assessors ; John L. Smith, Piatt Bennett, and 
Samuel Strong, commissioners of highways ; William Benson, James B. 
Goff, and Piatt Bennett, inspectors of common schools ; William Jen- 
kins, William C. Ware, and Jacob Miller, commissioners of common 
scliools; John Fitzsimmons and John L. Smith, overseers of the poor; 
Nathaniel Knapp, collector; Aaron Brown and Nathaniel Knapp, con- 
stables; Samuel Strong and John L. Smith, fence viewers; John Ware, 
pound-keeper ; Samuel Middaugh, John Bovier, John Fitzsimmons, John 
Sly, William K. Knapp, Philo Jones, Thomas Comfort, and Jeremiah 
Coleman, o\erseers of highways. 

I'he following quaint record by a man living on Seeley Creek bears 
date September 23, 1823 : 

• The subscriber has taken up a pare of Stray stars the one a deep Red with a 
hapany out of the right Ear and a wen on nose, the other ahght Brindle with no mark 
on — the oner is Requested to Call and take them away, and Can have them by Paying 
the Damages." 

The supervisors of the town of Southport have been as follows: 

1822, Solomon L. Smith (live years), William WelKs, Solomon L. Smith (fouryears), 
John L. Smith, Solomon L. Smith. Jacob Miller (two years). Albert A. Beckwith (two 
years), Philo Jones (two yeais), David Howell, James Griswold, Lewis Miller, Solo- 
mon L. Smith (three years), Treadwell 0. Sciidder. Solomon L. Smith. Lewis Miller, 
Richard Baker, John Baldwin, jr., Richard Baker, Charles Evans (three years), James 
Griswold, Jud Smith (two years), Edmund Miller, William T. Post (two years), 
Edmund Miller (three years), H. F.Wells, Edmund Miller (eight years), William Brown, 
Miller McHenry (three years), John Brown (two year.*) ; 1880, Andrew Fitzsinnnons; 
1881, Webster J. Cole (two years); 1S8:'., Miles T. Cassada (five years); 1888. G. 
Henry Roberts (three years) ; 1891, Jud Griswold. 



TOIV.y OF SOL'THPOKT. 427 

Tlie justices of the peace of the town since 1830 were as follows : 
James Griswold, Samuel Giles. Aliraliaiii .Stiyker, George W. Miller. William Lowe, 
James GriswoM, William McClure. Daviil Brewer. William T. Knapp. Kdmuiid Miller, 
William McClure, Geort,'c W. Miller, H W. .\lkin?. Sliepard Millei'. John Baldwin. Jr., 
Geori^e W. Miller, H. W. Atkiiif. Warren K. Hopkins, Fe.sln.s A. WeVili, John Bald- 
win, jr.. Timothy T. Brown, Ezra Canfield, Abner Wells, Hiram Roushey, William 
Webb, Andrew Hancock, Abner Well,*. Thomas Maxwell, Hiram Roushey. Wriorht 
Dunham. Mark A. Burt, R. S. Perine, Pliilo Jones. Hiram Roushey, .Andrew Middauf;li, 
Hiram Middaufrli, Thomas Maxwell, Mark A. Burt. James Griswold, William Webb, 
Charles Evans. William K. Sliepard, Geor.ire W. Roberts, Nathan Nichols, Charles 
Evans, D. ^^c\Vhorter, Mark A. Burl, Nathan B. Nichols, Cornelius B. Pu'nam, Charles 
Evans, James ^^. Edsall. Cornelius B. Putnam, H. B. Knapp, William T. Bower, Lewis 
B. Smith, I. V. Mape.s, George W. Cooper, Charles Evans, L V. Mapes, John C. Todd ; 
18S0. Charles Evans; I8S1. Daniel G. Beckwith. John Miller (vacancy); 1882, John 
Miller, William F. Bower (vacancy); LSS:J. Miller McIIeniy ; 1884, Samuel Furmar, 
Nathan Pedrick (vacancy); I88.0. John C. To<ld ; 188G, Horace M. Darling: 1887. 
Nathan Pedrick, Aaron B. Beardsley ; 1888, Samuel W. Form an ; 1889, Aaron B. 
Beardsley ; 181)0, Charles Cooper, George P. Weyer (vacancy); 1891, Nathan Pedrick 
(full term), William F. Bower (vacancy three years). Miller McHenry (vacancy two 
years). Andrew Hughes (vacancy one year). 

Tlie following named have been town clerks since the organization of 
the town : 

William Wells, Henry Baldwin, John L. Smith (eight years), George Hyde, David 
Howell (three year.s), Isaac L. Well.s, David Howell (two years), Nathan Boynton, 
Nathaniel Seeley (two years), John Baldwin, jr. (six years), Hiram T. Smith (four 
years). Miller McHenry (three years), Charles A. Eckensberger, Miller McHeniy 
(three years). Charles A. Eckensberger (two years), Harvey Smith, Charles A. Eck- 
ensberger, John Bryant, Charles A. Eckensberger, Chailes W. Evans (eight years), 
Philetus P. Rathbun, Charles W, Evans (four years), E. C. Pedrick, Daniel G. Beck- 
with (two years), Frank M. Graves, Charles (t. Evans since 1882. 

In an agricultural point of view Southport has been richly endowed 
and ranks foremost with the most fertile regions of the county. No 
fact Ljives more striking evitleiice of this than the splendid condition of 
farm lands and the large number of substantial and commodious farm 
dwellings. .Almost exxry habitation on the route of the plank road 
bears witness to the general comfort and prosperity of the towns-people. 
Following the early settlement for a space of fifty years the abundant 
growths of timber with which the hills and valleys were thickly covered 
furnished ample employment for the woodman's axe, and brought profit 
and plenty to the pioneers. The available water-power of Seeley and 



4-2S OUR COU.XTV .LVD fTS PEOPLE. 

South Creeks were put to tlicir fullest cajiacity, and the hum of the saw- 
mill was heard near and far. I-'rom 1840 to 1844 there were eighteen 
saw-mills in operation within the present limits of the town. Of these 
two were located on Bird Creek, two at Webb's Mills, one at Bulk- 
head, and several in the neighborhood of Pine Woods. Gradually the 
timber was cleared awa_\' and the ground thus denuded of its natural 
product was planted to crops and turned to pasturage. Many of the 
saw- mills disappeared and at the present time onl\- an occasional port- 
able steam mill is to be seen sawing up a few boards where hundreds 
of thousands of logs were sawn into merchantable lumber forty years 
ago. 

But the falling off of timber did not subdue the prosperit)' of the 
farmers. Dairying followed very closely on lumbering and the rich 
grazing lands made this industry j^rofitable. Soon the cultivation of 
tobacco was begun, and to-day constitutes one of the chief and most 
remunerative industries of this section. Hundreds of thousands of 
pounds will be grown and prepared for market in Southport this year. 
Special buildings are erected by tobacco raisers for the purpose of curing 
the product, and these together with almost every barn and shed are hung 
to their fullest capacity. Buckwheat is also a distinctly productive 
cereal in this town, and many fields of this grain return a handsome 
profit to the husbandman. With the growth of the city of Elmira the 
demand for farm and dairy produce increased, and the gardeners 
and farmers of Southport have always found a ready and active market 
for the disposal .of vegetables, fruit, butter, eggs, and milk. 

The population of the town in i860 was 4,733 ; in 1865, 3,412; in 
1870, 2,727; in 1875, 3,283; and in 1880, 3,619. The large decrease 
in 1865 as compared with i860 is due to the acquisition of a part of the 
town territory by the incorporation of Elmira as a city in 1864. Sub- 
sequent additions have also lessened the total population, which in 1890 
was 2,044. There are sixteen school districts with fourteen sclicol- 
houses. A few scholars living on the western line of the town attend 
school in the town of Caton, Steuben County. The total attendance in 
1891 was 41,425 days. 

The name Southport has served its purpose to designate three distinct 
and separate areas. For the larger part of a century it has been used 



TOUW OF SOUTH PORT. 420 

to indicate tlie township first described in this chapter. It has also been 
the popular term for years applied by residents of lilniiia to the settlement 
located immediately opposite them on the south bank of the Chemung 
River. The name has also been applied to the postoffice on the plank 
road located at Southport Corners 

Prominently among the early settlers in what is now the hifth ward 
of l''lmira appear the names of Sly, Maxwell, Reynolds, Robinson, and 
Covell. In the year 1831 there were but five houses on the south side: 
The toll -house, the old ferry house, the Isaac Reynolds house, the 
residence of Albert Heckwith (who was afterward sheriff of the county) 
corner of Ann street and Penns\lvaiiia avenue, antl the residence of 
John Sly. John Sly owned 600 acres of land extending east of the 
Lake street bridge. This he divided among his sons George, John, 
Matthew McR., and Abraham. George- and John both died in South- 
port. 

The old ferry-house, which originallj' stood next door to what is now 
the corner of Sly street and Maple avenue, was a story and a half high 
and about 16x25 feet. It was truly a primitive alTair, constructed of 
six-inch square posts, an old-fashioned frame, the nails throughout be- 
ing hand made and of wrought-iron. It has since been remodeled and 
is now occupied as a dwelling by James A. Gilson. Farther to the west 
on Pennsylvania avenue, on what is now known as Aspen Ridge, Rob- 
ert Covell built a house since known as the Boardman Smith place. 
This house was erected in 1828. Mr. Covell also built a still-house of 
logs and a barn. Henry Wormley came from Big Flats in 1831. He 
was a native of Harrisburg, Pa., where his son John, now living in 
Lafayette, Ind., was born January 4, 1816. Henry was a cooper and 
built that year the first cooper shop in the locality. It stood near a 
big elm tree close to the river. The tree is still standing and is a familiar 
landmark. He afterward built another shop which was bought by his 
son John, who built still another larger one in 1844 and worked in it for 
forty years. It vyas sold to Colonel Robinson about five years ago and- 
was burned in 1889. Henr\' Wormley lived for a number of years in 
the old ferry-house. 

The rate of toll across the bridge in those days was two shillings for 
a horse and wagon and two cents for a foot passenger. In 1833 John 



430 OUR COLWTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

F. Smith built a three-story brick hotel, which is still standing, just east 
of the corner of Maple and Pennsylvania avenues, it was the first and 
only regularly kept tavern on that side of the river. Smith ran it for 
about two years, when it fell into the hands of Capt. Samuel Tuthill, 
who rented it thereaftei'. It is an antiquated structure in appearance 
and has sustained but few changes since its erection. The property was 
bought by McDonald & Palmer about thirty years ago and is now used 
as a tenement house. 

Isaac Reynolds built the first store in 1832, or shortly prior to that 
date. It stood on the site of the two- story brick block now occupied 
by Arthur Leary. It was burned with the bridge in 1850. About the 
year 1839 Mordecai Ogden laid out his farm into a plot of lots. Very 
little building, howe\'er, was done, and the whole tract was purchased 
subsequently by Partridge & 'Beadle. The plot was then remapped, 
the formation of squares changed and the direction of streets altered. 
Even at this time the building of houses was infrequent, and what is at 
present a thickly populated portion of the city of Elmira was then gen- 
erally speaking nothing but farm land. 

In 1838, through the influence of John Wormley and Thomas Max- 
well, a school-house was built on the point, but the site was found to be 
inappropriate and the building was later on remodeled into a dwelling. 
A new site was selected on Henry street, and the building now used as 
a medical institution was erected, for which $1,200 was raised by tax. 

In 1842 there was x'irtually nothing but open land west of the toll- 
bridge. To give an idea of the appearance of the south side of the 
river at that date it is only necessary to say that John Wormley sowed 
a field of ten acres with oats in the spring of 1842, the field extending 
along the river in the neighborhood of what is now the Soutliport ap- 
proach to the Main, street bridge. 

About the year 1839 Jonathan Lawrence and Samuel Richardson 
bought a i)iece of propert)' of Henry Wormley extending fri)m Ann 
street to the river just opposite the old toll-gate. The site is now oc- 
cupied by Palmer & Decker's tannery. On this ground they built a 
grist-miil and also a smaller mill operated as a plaster-mill. A dam 
was constructed across the south or larger channel of the river to obtain 
water-power for the mill. Until within a few years the remnants of 



TO J-FA' OF SO U THPOR T. 43 1 

tliis dam could still be seen just east of the Lake street bridge. The 
grist-mil! was conducted for a number of years and built up an enviable 
reputation for being the best of its kind anywhere in the valley. It 
was destroyed by fire about 1844 or '45. In 1848 McDonald & Palmer 
built the tannery on the same site. It was operated by them until 
1867, when the firm was changed to Palmer & Decker, who are the 
]iresent owners and operators. They tan about 30,000 sides of Union 
Crop sole leather per annum. 

George H Cotton, sr., came to Southport, October 25, 1849, ju.st 
one month after the completion of the Erie Railroad as far as Elmira. 
The settlement on the south side was very meager at that time. Mr. 
Cotton made his residence in wiiat was known as the Isaac Reynolds 
house and has lived in it ever since. The house has undergone many 
changes and stands on the west side of Pennsylvania avenue a few doors 
north of Chemung Place. His son, George H. Cotton, jr., is one of the 
most prominent politicians in the county. He has been chairman of 
the Democratic County Committee, and is an incessant and successful 
worker, one of the live young men of the present generation. 

George Sheive first came to Elmira on the 3d day of March, 1828, 
from near Trumansburg, N. Y. At that time there was nearly abso- 
lutely nothing on the south side of the river. Mr. Sheive did not settle 
permanently in the valley until the year 1852. He then came to South- 
|)Ort and located on the spot where his present house stands, on the 
west side of South Main street. Mr. Sheive describes the appearance of 
Southport when he first saw it in 1828 as mostly covered with timber. 
All above the Boardman Smith place was thickly wooded, and also 
where the car shops now stand. When he returned in 1852 the settle- 
ment was laid out in squares as far as South Elm street, but there 
were comparatively few houses. 

The Dr. Eldridge house, which is still standing directly south of the 
Main street bridge, was built similar to a barn, with perpendicular 
boards and the cracks battened over with strips. 

There were no churches there at that time. The place was simply a 
part of the town of Southport and the settlement was never incorpo- 
rated prior to its becoming a part of Elmira. No postoffice has ever 
been established there and all persons who lived on that side came to 
Elmira for their mail. 



432 OUR COUNTY A.\D ITS PEOPLE. 

Elmira's original organization as a village in 1828 and for twenty- 
five years afterward extended no farther south than the Chemung 
River. A movement was then started, princi|)ally on the part of resi- 
dents of the north side, to include the populated portion h'ing on the 
south side of the river. This movement culminated ui the addition of a 
certain area there by a special act of the legislature passed for that pur- 
pose May 27, 1853. This addition formed what was known as the 
Third District of the village of Elmira. When the city charter was 
granted by the special legislative act of April 7, 1864, all that portion 
above described and included in the newly formed city limits lying 
south of the Chemung River was made into and constituted the l-'ifth 
ward of the city. 

This part of the ancient town of Southport which goes to make up the 
Fifth ward of the city of Elmira might well be termed the garden spot 
of the valley if not of the whole county, especially that part of it upon 
which John Sly settled in 1788. No other ward in the city shows such 
constant and rapid growth. By the census of 1890 the population is 
shown to be 7,622, nearly twice as great as that of any other one ward 
and almost as much as two of tb.e other largest wards. This is due to 
the attractiveness of the land and the ease and quickness of access from 
it to the central portion of the city. It is also due to the character of 
the men who first discovered the advantages of the locality. It was 
most excellent taste and judgment that gave to the main thoroughfares 
of the ward the names of Pennsylvania and Maple avenues, both appel- 
lations that carry with them an inviting significance. Of those in that 
locality deserving of notice and remembrance are John Brand and his 
two sons, John and George, the elder one a solid and substantial citizen 
of German descent, who in his line of trade, that of tobacco, laid the 
foundation of a business that at his death was taken up by the sons and 
developed into an interest that promises to place them among the 
wealthiest men of their generation. Samuel J. Clark is another. He 
came fiom Bradford Count}-, Pa., to Palmira in 1861, and engaging in 
the grain business has a line of trade in that direction of large propor- 
tions. Mr. Clark's father, S. S. Clark, came from Yates County into 
Bradford Count)-, Pa., in 1830, settling just over the border line from 
Chemung township. On the 24th of October, 1891, he celebrated his 



TO WN OF SO U THPOR T. 433 

eighty- first birtlidaj- aiui four generations were present at tiie event. 
He iiad three sons besides Samuel J. Clark. G. M. Clark is a resident 
of Towanda, Pa., and C. M. Clark's home is in Auburn, N. Y. Sam- 
uel J. Clark married in I-^lniira Amelia Watkins, who had been in at- 
tendance at the school of Miss Webster, a private institution in great 
vogue at the time. Miss Watkins came from Oneida County. One 
daughter was the result of this marriage, Ellon Amelia. In June, 1882, 
she was married to Maxwell Minier, a son of the Hon. T. I. Minier, 
and through his mother a descendant of the Maxwells of the valley. 
A liltle five- year- old-daughter, Theodora Clark Minier, bright blue 
eyed and fair-haired, if she lives will carry the blood of the Clarks and 
Maxwells to future generations. Samuel J. Clark is one of the substan- 
tial, active, prominent business men of the valley of this generation, 
with a wide acquaintance and numberless friends. J. H. Clark is the 
other son of S. S. Clark, of Bradford County. He came over the border 
into Ciicmung and lived there a number of years, connected with rail- 
road and other operations. He became a citizen of Elmira in 1S87. 
His wife was Eloise Keeler, of Bradford County. Like his brother, 
Samuel J., he is an active, enterprising business man and one of El- 
mira's most highly esteemed and worthy citizens, better known by his 
middle name, Henry, in his own locality than by the initials I have 
written. 

There is another Clark in the same neighborhood not of the same 
family as these, Judson H. Clark, wliose coming to the city about 1885 
added an individual to the number of inhabitants of the ward that helped 
it forward very perceptibly. A man of intelligence and wealth, alive 
to the interests of the place he has chosen as his home and the home of 
his wife and children, of course he has made his surroundings attractive 
in all ways, and helped draw attention to the advantages of living in his 
neighborhood. He is largely interested in horses of fine breeds and 
takes great pride in his stock. He has another advantage that not all 
strangers possess, in that his wife is a daughter of Elder Ezra F. Crane, 
of whom something has heretofore been said in this record and the 
number of whose friends in the valley might indeed be termed "legion." 
It is citizens like Judson H. Clark that give credit, honor, and reputation 
to the locality that they call their home. 
55 



434 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

These named, with Col. David C. Robinson, the son of ex- Gov. Lu- 
cius Robinson, have been largely instrumental in the rapid growth and 
progress of the Fifth ward, a portion, as I have said, of the ancient town 
of Southport. 

The proximity of this town to Elmira and the facilities for the ship- 
ment of manufactured articles that that railroad center presents have 
been inviting inducements for the establishment in the town of large 
enterprises. The Northern Central shops, covering twenty acres with 
their buildings and yards, were established in 1866 and in full operation 
in 1867. In the neighborhood of 200 men are employed there. Elmira 
is at the end of a division on the road and all trains stop at the shops 
to change engines. 

The La France Manufacturing Company was incorporated April 12, 
1873, George M. Diven being president thereof and Eugene Diven sec- 
retary and treasurer. The La France engine and the Hayes truck are 
manufactured here, and both have a reputation that make them val- 
uable adjuncts to the fire departments of the country. 

Besides there are the Payne Iron Works and the Kellogg Bridge Com- 
pany, enterprises established within the last decade or a little more, and 
both of them enterprises involving the employment of a large amount 
of capital and a great number of men. 

These enterprises named, when the limits of the city of Elmira were 
enlarged in April, 1 890, were included therein, but their inception and 
the history of their establishment as pronounced successes belong to the 
town of Southport. 

Pine City, originally called Pine Woods, is a settlement of 350 inhabi- 
tants situated near the point where Dry Run Creek empties into Seeley 
Creek. It is about three-quarters of a mile northeast of Wells station 
on the Tioga branch of the Erie Railroad, and is also on the line of the 
Southport and State Line plank road, being five and one- half miles dis- 
tant from Water street in Elmira. Compared with other portions of the 
town Pine City is of more recent settlement. In the year 1830 Charles 
Atkins, a cooper by trade, located there and it is asserted that he was the 
first white man to settle there permanently. 

Contemporary with Atkins, or within a short time after, came John 
Egbert, who built a saw-mill to the south on Seeley Creek. This mill 



roirx OF sou77/PO/rr. -1.55 

has lonij since disappeared togetlicr with another saw-mill somewhat 
fartlier east. Among other early settlers was the Hatch family, none 
of the descendants of which are now living in the place. Other prom- 
inent and well known residents coming later in the century were J. R. 
Crowell, who settled there March 24, 184S ; Samuel Gornee in the same 
)'ear : and I'hiletus Lowrey, the latter somewhat prior to that date. 
When the plank road was laid in I S48 there were but two shingled 
houses in the place. The surrounding country was densely covered with 
pine timber, a significant result of which was the name of this settlement, 
" Fine Woods." Saw mills throughout the town of Soutli])ort did a 
tliriving business in those days and it was not an uncommon sight in 
winter to see from two to three hundred loads of logs closely following 
each other along the road in the vicinity of Pine Woods. The growth 
of the settlement has been slow and has almost entirely taken place since 
the middle of tile present century. There were living therein 1867 
among others \\ illiam Gasper, John Brown, C. B. Atkins, J. M. Ed- 
sall, Emmet Holmes, I. V. Mapes, and Truman Weeks. 

The first hotel was built on the present site of Wilson's store by Sam- 
uel Gornee in 1848. It was known as the Pine Woods Hotel. It burned 
in the winter of 1854. In the spring of 1856 Henry McKibbins rebuilt 
the hotel, but on a s])ot about ten rods farther east on the same side of 
the street. He conducted the place for a year and was succeeded by 
James Webster. I-'ollowing Webster was " Jockey" Wells. George 
Smith kept the hotel during the first three years of the late Civil war 
and Addison Tanner was the landlord during 1864-65. Among otiiers 
whose names are prominent as having acted as proprietors of the hotel 
are William McClellan and Benjamin i\Iiilcr. A Mrs. Miller had been 
in possession of the property for three years prior to 1890. On July i, 
1890, G. H. Brees assumed proprietorship and is the present owner and 
proprietor. He changed the name of the place to Hotel Brees. 

About 1882 Emmett Holmes built an addition to a dwelling directly 
opposite the above mentioned hotel and proceeded to conduct it as 
a tavern, known as the Plank Road Hotel. He remained in possession 
until his death, about a year later. William Benson then became pro- 
l)rietor and continued the business for four years. He sold the hotel 
property to A. A. Updike, who is the present owner. ( ). Burlew is now 
and has b;en the proprietor for about a year past. 



43G OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Tlie first postoffice of Tine City was established October 13, 1874, 
with the appoiiitnieiit as postmaster of Enimett JIohTies. lie was suc- 
ceeded by the fohowing named, the dates being the dates of their ap- 
pointments : Horace M. Cory, December 14, 1883 ; Philetus Lovvrey, 
February 26, 1886; George Wilson, March 30, 1887; Jay F. Dickin- 
son, September 12, 1889. The mails are received twice a day by way 
of Wells station. The postoffice is situated in the store of \V. A. Whit- 
ley, who began business in 1886. 

Austin Edsall came to Pine City, April 17, 1871, and engaged in the 
butcher business and has carried it on continuously since, taking his 
meats to Elmira. On August 7, 1886, C. E. Wilson bought the store 
and stock of goods belonging to Lewis & Graves, who had been in busi- 
ness about two years. Mr. Wilson continued the business until January 
I, 1 89 1, when the firm name was changed to George Wilson & Son as 
at present. 

The oldest house in the place is that now occupied by Philetus Low- 
rey, but it has been remodeled and enlarged several times and bears 
but slight resemblance to its original form. The old barn which is still 
standing between Wilson's store and the hotel was built early in 185 i by 
Andrew Hancock. 

The F"irst Baptist Church of Southport is located on the north side of 
the street near the center of the place, and was organized in May, 1855, 
under the pastorate of Elder T. S. Sheardown. He was followed by 
Elder T. S. Mitchell and he by Elder D. R. Ford, who was with the church 
nearl)' twenty years. The church edifice was erected prior to the regu- 
lar organization of the society, having been built in 1853 and dedicated 
in February, 1854, the Rev. T. S. Sheardown conducting the dedicatory 
exercises. It originally cost $2,200, but is at present valued, with furni- 
ture, organ, and lot, at $5,000. Mr. Ford was followed by Frank A. 
Martin, who was ordained June 30, 1885. Mr. Martin preached his 
farewell sermon on the last Sunday in September, 1888. The church 
was without a regular minister until the following January, when the Rev. 
Mr. Abrams became pastor and remained only a year and a few months. 
The congregation were again without a pastor until June 22, 1890, when 
W. D. St. John preached for them his first sermon. He came from col- 
lege to Pine City and was ordained a minister of the gospel August 26, 



rOWX OF SOL'THPORT. 437 

1S90. He is tlie present pastor and is greatly esteemed by his congre- 
gation. The mcmbersliip is now eight\--four. Tiie trustees are Deacons 
John Brown, William S. Mclntyre, and Nathaniel Ellison, and C. O. 
Haven, William Gasper, and John A. Pellett. The Sunday school num- 
bers about sevent)'-five children and has nine teachers. W. D. St. John 
is the superintendent and is assisted by Samuel Nichols. There is a 
small librar\- connected with the school. 

District school No. 15 is located at Pine City and has an attendance 
of twenty- five pupils. Miss Minnie Moffitt is the teacher. 

I. V. Mapes was a resident of this place for many years and a prom- 
inent man in the communit)-. lie died March 3, 1880. It was through 
his influence that the name of the settlement was changed from Pine 
W'oods to Pine City. A fruitless effort was als'> made at this time to 
name the place Mechanicsville. Mr. Mapes has two daughters living, 
Mrs. Abram Breese, of Pine City, and Miss H. S. Mapes. of Elmira. 

Webb's Mills is a hamlet of about 260 Inhabitants situated a little 
south of the center of the town. It is on the line of the old Southport 
plank road, but since the construction of the State Line Railroad it has 
been reached by rail from Wells station. It occupies a site on what 
was originally the Wells and Holbrook patent of land. Josiah Seeley 
settled here as early as 1798, followed by John W. Pedrick in 1803 and 
by Dr. White in 1805. Amongothers who arrived early in the present 
century were William Spencer Nathan, E. C. Pedrick, Festus A. and 
Mortimer T. Webb, and I. V. Mapes. The place received its name 
from the fact that the Seeley Creek mills, first built by Hezekiah Dun- 
ham in 1835, afterward owned by the Webbs, are located here. Wiien 
the mill was first erected there were but two runs of stone, but subse- 
quently the property fell into the hands of I'estus A. Webb and was 
materially improved. The mill came into the possession of N. T. and 
William Webb, who also operated it until 1866, when they sold it to 
John Brown. He at once improved the machinery and later two ad- 
ditional runs of stone were added. The product for the calendar year 
1877 was nearly 2,ooo barrels merchant, 40,000 bushels general custom, 
and 10,000 bushels buckwheat. A saw-mill, operated jointly with the 
grist-mill, was erected by Dr. A. G.White about 1818 and has a capac- 
ity of 1,000,000 feet per year. The mills are now a part of the Jacob 



438 OUR COUXTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

Lownian estate. The motive power is furnished bj- steam and tlie mills 
are now operated by S. VV. Hunter. 

Tiie Southport tannery at Webb's Mills was built in 1852 by H. F. 
Wells and R. Hammond. It was originally built on the present site 
near the bridge across Seeley Creek on the plank road. H. F. Wells 
carried on the business until his death in 1878. His successors were 
Charles F. Wells, his son, and J. D. Burt, who are the present owners. 
The tannery is now rented to Fred Sheely and the capacity is about 
40,000 sides of leather per annum. This entails the consumption of 
4,000 cords of bark and the employment of thirty men. 

I. V. Mapes started a store here about the year 1845 and conducted 
it for a number of years. It was sold to Brown & Garrison in 1866. 
Mortimer Webb and William Mapes also carried on business as a gen- 
eral store for a few years on the same site. The store is now the prop- 
erty of ;\I. T. Cassada. S. J. McWhorter built a store here in 18S1 and 
deals in general merchandise. He also conducts a liverj' business and 
a cigar manufactory. 

The Second Methodist Episcopal Church of Southport existed as a 
class as early as 1835. The church organization took place about the 
year 1840 at Southport Corners, from which the present church had its 
origin. It is on the east side of the road and the plot of ground on 
which the church stands was purchased of the Josiah S. Pedrick estate, 
and the deed for the same was filed February 8, 1855. In the fall of 
the same year the present church edifice was erected at a cost of $2,000 
to the society, and Robert Hammond was the builder. The first pastor 
was Rev. D. Leisenring. The first trustees were Daniel Bartholomew, 
James H. Arnot, Festus A. Webb, Robert Hammond, Peter Bartholo- 
mew, W. D. Kenyon, and William C. HoUv. Other pastors since Elder 
Leisenring were Revs. A. C. Huntley, Dexter E. Clapp, T. J. O. Wooden, 
J. W. Putnam, J. O. Alabaster, L. Ford, A. C. Chubbuck, U. S. Hall, 
A. W. Staples, David Crow, W. Cochran, Samuel R. Sanford, E. C. 
White, and Dewitt Mj-ers, the present pastor, who has officiated since 
1888. 

The postmasters of Webb's Mills have been as follows: 

Josiah V. A[apes, .liiiiiiary 29. IS.'jl ; Al)rain B. De Witt, August U, 185:!: Sylvester 
W. Brees, April 1!), IS54; Henry K. Wells, Febniary ;], 18G3 ; James M. Kdsall, May 



TO II W or so I ■ THPOR T. 439 

2-', 18GS: William Hrown, Ainil 8, KMiU; Llwi.< M. Wt-lls, April N 1873; William J. 
Mapes, (Jctolicr 1, 1S74: .lolin T. Toliey, FeViruary 25. ISSl); Joliii II. liiowii, Decem- 
l.er 6, 1881 ; Samuel Cassaila, May 5, 1885. 

• For five years, from 1S63 to 1868, Webb's Mills postoftice was known 

as Judsonville. 

Soitthport is also designated as " Soutbport Corners." It is a small 
hamlet and consists principally of dwellings occupj'ing positions on both 
sides of the plank road at a point where it is intersected by another 
road running to the southeast. It is about a mile and a half south of 
the present city line. On this site Nathaniel Seeley settled in 1788 and 
opened a shop. He was a hatter by trade and made hats for the 
pioneers. It was here also that the first postoffice in the town was 
established in the )'ear 1824. Seneca Baker was the first postmaster. 
The present postmaster is William A. Minar, who was ajipointed under 
the administration of President Arthur, October 24, 1881, and has held 
the office ever since. The other postmasters not heretofore and other- 
wise named were: Joel C. Beemer, April 8, 1852 ; Charles Evans, July 
6, 1853 ; Philetus P. Rathbun, January 6, 1863 ; Miss Mary A. Rowley, 
October 26, 1869; Philetus P. Rathbun, May 14, 1873. 

Thomas Smith established a store here in 1882 and was succeeded in 
1886 by V. A. Lewis, the present proprietor. 

The woolen-mill, established here in 1820 by Silas Billings among 
the very first enterprises of its kind in the county, was sold in 1825 to 
Solomon L. Smith, father of John Smith, of Ashland, lately deceased. 
In May of the same year Charles Evans came to Southport and be- 
came interested in the mill soon afterwaid. In 1844 he bought the 
property and continued to operate it until June 25, 1877, when it was 
burned to the ground. With the destruction of this mill passed awaj' 
one of the town's most familiar landmarks. Charles Evans died in Feb- 
ruary, 1882, in his eighty-third year. His grandson, Charles G. Evans, 
is a wagonmaker and the town clerk of Southport. 

The First Presbyterian Church of Southport, which stands at the cor- 
ner of the roads, furnishes an item of history involving much interest. 
In the early days fording the Chemung River was an important obsta- 
cle in the way of churchgoers, and a meeting-house was erected in 18 19 
on the river road on the site of the present cemetery. It was built 



410 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

oil land donated by l'"!ijah Grisvvold and the expense of its construction 
was shared by several rchgious sects. The members of the dift'crent 
denominations did not agree peaceably under the same roof and the 
dissensions became so pronounced that in 1832 they culminated in the 
destruction of the church building by fire. The Presbyterian Society at 
once set to work to build a house of worship to be used independently 
b)' them, and erected the present edifice now standing on the plank 
road. The land for this purpose was secured from the heirs of John L. 
Smith. The church was organized October 31, 1821, and John Fitz- 
simmons, David Griswold and Jane his wife, Milly Smith, Sarah Baker, 
and Philo Jones were from the First Church in Elmira ; Partial Mapes, 
Bethiah Kinner, Amy Holmes, Betsey Brown, Phitty Wing, and Han- 
nah Comfort were from other churches. William Wells, Richard Com- 
fort, and Sabia Jones made profession of their faith and Rev. Henry 
P'ord preached to this newly constituted church, followed in June, 
1822, by Rev. Simeon R. Jones. In April, 1826, Rev. Richard Williams 
began preaching, followed in 1828 by Rev. David Harrower for two 
years, these last two only preaching half the time. As early as June, 
1 83 I, Rev. B. Foster Pratt began preaching and during the year was 
installed as the first pastor ; and during his three years' ministrations 
"the church was blessed by renewed visitations of the Holy Spirit and 
its numbers were largel\' increased." Rev. John Gray succeeded till 
1836, followed by Rev. George Spalding till September, 1842, when 
B. M. Goldsmith, a licentiate, followed, who was ordained and installed in 
February, 1845, and continued till October, 1849. The following named 
have been pastors since 1875 : Elders Irwin M. Hopkins, Seneca T. 
Ham, Emory S. Smith, Fred R. Bentley, Jesse Leverich, A. D. Gris- 
wold, Franklin S. Howe, and James R. Robinson. The present trustees 
are Charles G. PLvans, Ithamar A. Smith, William D. Miller, Irwin M. 
Hopkins, PLmory S. Smith, and Thomas T. Wright. The membership 
of the church is now about 100 and that of the Sunday school 150. 

District No. 4 school house, also located here, was one of the first 
schools in the town. It now has two departments and eighty scholars. 
S. J. Howe is the principal. 

Seeley Creek is a postoffice in the southern portion of the town. It is 
located upon the creek from which it derives its name and on the line 



TO \V.\ OF SO U THPORT. 44 1 

of the Tioga branch of the Erie Railway. The Seelej' family were once 
very numerous in this locality. The postoffice was established July i i, 
1832, John Hrowiitll filling the office of first postmaster. Philo Jones, 
father of Finla M. Jones, settled on this site in 18 17. The surrounding 
country was then a wilderness, the onl\' neij^hbors being a Kelley family 
living near the State line and Dr. Amos M. White farther north near 
Pine City. Philo Jones came from Connecticut. In the year 1817 he 
built a log iiouse on the present site of the homestead and added a 
frame part to it in 1828. He kept a tavern there until about 1835. 
The log building was removed in 1839. He also erected a carding and 
fulling-mill in 1829. This mill was in operation until 1848, when Sim- 
eon R. Jones, a brother of Philo Jones, into whose hands the projjerty 
came in 1843, removed the machinery to VVysox, Bradford County, Pa. 
Pliilo Jones also built a saw-mill in 1841 where the mill of Henry J. 
Wilson stands. This was run by water until 1867, when Simeon R. 
Jones, who had conducted the business since 1843, changed the power 
to steam. The mill burned in 1883 and was subsequently rebuilt. The 
postoffice, which was first established through the influence of Philo 
Jones, was kept for a time near the State line. It was afterward re- 
moved to Seeley Creek, bearing the same name since its first establish- 
ment. The postmasters not otherwise or heretofore mentioned with 
the dates of their appointments are as follows: 

Kiiila M. Jone.s, Decfiiiljer ;!1, ls53: ITenry T. Benedict, Se))tenil>er (i, 1856: Fiiiln 
M. Jone-s August 15. 1801: Anna Snfiilli, September 8, IS.'^o: (leoriie V. Somberger, 
December Hi, 1887: diaries S. Jone.«, September 2(i, ISSi). 

Finla M. Jones, who was postmaster for twenty- seven years and con- 
secutively for twenty four j-ears, is tlie son of Philo Jones. 

Bulkhead is tlie name of a little hamlet on the plank road about three- 
fourths of a mile southeast of Soutliport Corners. It was here that 
Captain Dalrymple erected a hotel at an early day, from the peculiar 
architecture of which the settlement took its name. .Solomon L. .Smith, 
who came into the town from Orange County, N. Y., in 1790, became 
proprietor of the hotel about the year 18 18 or 1819. Mr. Smith was 
the first supervisor of the town and held the office thereafter at dift'er- 
ent times, amounting in all to fourteen years. 

In the year 1820 John H. Knapp built a grist-mill on Seeley Creek 

51', 



442 OCR COrxrV A.XD ITS PEOPLE. 

near Bulkhead. It was ijuicliascd in 1S62 by Jacob Wcj-cr and con- 
verted into a saw and plaster-mill. In 1876 Mr. W'eyer built a new mill 
at Bulkhead and removed the machinery thence from the old mill. 
This mill was operated as a grist-mill and was destroyed by fire June 
21, 1877. Mr. Weyer rebuilt the mill immediately and continued to 
conduct the business. It is now the property of his daughter, Mrs. Eliz- 
abeth Howe. It is operated by H. C. Howe. 

J. D. McKean conducts a grocery in a building built by James Hav- 
ens in i8go. The building was purchased in May, 1891, by S. J. Stone. 

Hc7idy Creek. — This hamlet is the nucleus of what is known as the 
Dutch settlement, comprising school districts Nos. i i and 14 in the 
northwest part of the town. Archilus Dailey settled in the hollow in the 
}ear 1845, where he has cleared nearly 300 acres of land. He also owns 
150 acres partly in Southport and partly in Big Flats. In 1853 Noah 
Tyler, a German, located on Dutch Hill. Many others came in subse- 
quently, among whom were John Bower, Peter Gardner, Daniel Gard- 
ner, Peter Hartman, and George Fisher. There are at present about 
fifty families in this section of the town of Southport. The postoffice at 
Hendy Creek was established October 10, 1871, by the appointment of 
Hiram Wolf postmaster. He was succeeded by Harvey P. Wolf, Feb- 
ruary 12, 1878; Hiram Wolf, July 18, 1881; Lewis Pollv, April 17, 
1884; Theodore Polly, February 27, 1890. 

There are two church organizations in Hendy Creek, Catholic and 
Protestant. The latter was organized about 1870 and Rev. William 
Kemler, of Elmira, preached for several years. Meetings are held in the 
school-house of district No. I I. Rev. Mr. Kemler died in July, 1891. 

The Catholic Church was organized in 1878 and is a branch of the 
Elmira church. An edifice was erected in 1878 and services are held 
monthly. Christian Kuhn and Charles Uhl are the trustees. 

" Happy Thought" Hotel was erected in 1870 by Hiram Wolf. Mar- 
tin Eiffert is the present proprietor and also keeps a store. 

Wells Station on the Tioga branch of the Erie is located seven miles 
southeast of Elmira, and is the place of transportation for the traffic of 
Webb's Mills, Pine City, and surrounding territory. The station was 
established upon the extension of the railroad then known as the Tioga 
and State Line Railway in 1877. The depot was burned March 18, 



TOIVX OF SOUTHPORT. 443 

1890, and the present structure replaced it in the fall of tlie same }-ear. 
F. L. Bush is the station agent. 

The Plank Road. — Prior to 1848 the road between Elniira and tiie 
Pennsylvania State line was in a very poor condition, and for the purpose 
of making a good and substantial highway over this important section a 
company was organized on March 6, 1848, to build a plank road to pass 
through Seeley Creek and South Creek from the Lake street bridge in 
Elmira to the Pennsylvania State line. The comj^any was organized 
under a general statute passed in 1847 governing the incorporation of 
companies to construct plank roads and turnpikes. The road as origi- 
nally constructed was of double width and the total length was thirteen 
miles, but it has since been reduced to a single road and the distance is 
about nine miles. The planks are now through the entire length laid 
beside an ordinary earth road. Since its construction the planlc road 
has been an extremely busy thoroughfare and was the means of popu- 
lating the section through which it passes, as many settlements and 
numerous highly cultivated farms are now Ijing direct!}- in its course. 
The original company had a corporate existence for thirty years and in 
1878 a new one was formed, which is still active. The first directors 
were John Arnot, John S. Smith, Edmund Miller, Festus A. Webb, W'iJl- 
iam Cleveland, Philander Rexford, Warren Mills, Dyar Foote, and 
Draper Nichols. The present officers and directors are : M. H. Arnot, 
president; John C. (ireves, secretary and treasurer; Board of Direct- 
ors: M. H. Arnot, I'latt V. Bryan, John C. Greves, F. M. Blossom, and 
J. H. Arnot. 



444 OUR COUNTY AM) ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER III. 

Tile 'I'own of Chemung, the original Civil Oigani/alion of the County — l)escii|)tion 
of its Location — Its Products — Fruit and Tobacco Culture — Organization and 
early Officers — Curious Records — What attracted the early Settlers ^ — Isaac 
Baldwin, the first Comer — His Family — "Sergeant Tom " and his numerous 
Exploits — Waterman Baldwin — His Life and Character — The Wynkoops, 
Hucks, McDowells, Burts, and Warrens — The Hon. John G. McDowell and 
his F'amily — Israel Parshall, the Beidlemans, and Thomas Keency — Pioneers 
w ho lived to great Ages — An old patent for Land — Thomas Burt — Early Saw 
and Flouring-Mills — Lumbering Interests — First Houses built in Jhe Town — 
Early mail Facilities — Early schools and school Teachers — Early Churches — 
The Postoffice and its Postmasters — Early and present Business places in Che- 
mung Village — J. S. Holbert — Churches of the Town — The Methodists and 
ilieir Pastors — Masonry in Chemung — School Districts — Town Officers. 

THE area embraced within the present boundaries of the town of 
Chemung is trifling compared with the vast domain constituting 
the original town as it stood in 1788, then included in Tioga County. 
Deriving its name from the Seneca term " Chemung" meaning " big 
horn," it embraced the territory now divided into most of the towns of 
this county with some of adjoining counties. It is situated in the south- 
east corner and within its present Hmits are 29,300 acres. The Che- 
mung River flows in a southeasterly direction through the soutliern por- 
tion of the town, and receives the waters of Wynkoop Creek, the next 
largest water course within its limits. Baldwin Creek passes along its 
western frontier for a mile or two and Mallory Creek, commonly termed 
the " Mallory," empties into Wynkoop Creek in the northeast part of 
the town. The surface of the town, witii the exception of a few broad 
flats close to the Ciiemung River, is upland broken by deep and some- 
times narrow valleys. The soil in the valleys in the interior of the town 
is a sandy loam, but near the western botmdary some clay is found. A 
distinct change in the soil is found immediately upon crossing Baldwin 
Creek. On the hills it is of a gravelly loam and well adapted to the 
growing of fruit, although this industry is as yet in its infancy. It is 
safe to predict that before many years the farmers of Chemung will have 



TO ll'.y OF CHEM I -yC. 4A 5 

entered extensively into the growing of apples, pears, peaches, and 
grapes, and the result of recent experiments in this direction seem to 
predict a prosperous future. Dairying, which at one time was extensively 
carried on, is to some extent diminishing and many farmers who kept 
great numbers of cows have reduced their dairies to a mere home supply. 
There are nevertheless two or three prosperous and flourishing cream- 
eries in the town. 

As in Ashland and Southport the farmers of Chemung have within 
a quarter of a century- begun and continued the successful cultivation 
of tobacco. For the growth of this plant the loam soil, or what is 
known as the first bench, is found tlie most productive. Tobacco is 
rapidly assuming first place as the first and best product of the town for 
money. Upon every hand are to be seen the fields devoted to its cult- 
ure and in nearly every farmyard the immense barns and buildings in 
which the staple weed is hung to be cured. Early in the fall the buyers 
circulate through the country, and the crop is often purchased and paid 
for long before it is in a fit state for market. 

The following description of boundaries is given of the town of Che- 
mung as it was first erected in Montgomery County, March 22, 1788 : 

"Beginning at the intersection of the partition line between this State and the Com- 
monwealth of Massachusetts and the Pennsylvania line, and running from said point of 
intersection due north along said partition line to the distance of two miles north of 
Tioga Kiver; thence with a straight line to the Owego River, to intersect said river at 
the distance of fojr miles on a straight line from the confluence thereof with the Sus- 
quehanna ; thence down the Owego and Susquehanna to the Pennsylvania line; and 
thence along the same to the place of beginning." 

In the century following the formation of this town many changes 
and alterations in its boundary were made. The first change was in 
1791, when, upon the erection of Tioga Count}' fiom a part of Mont- 
gomery, the town boundaries were limited to Cayuta Creek on the east 
and e.xtended northward to the county line. This line at that time was 
the same as the present northern boundary of the town of Hector in 
Schuyler County. With the exception of the years 1788, 1789, and 
1790 the town records had been preserved intact until 1883, when they 
were entirely destroyed by fire and much valuable data and interesting 
historical matter were thus lost forever. Certain extracts had been 
made from these records before their destruction which furnish to some 
e.xtent an idea of the civil goverimient of the town at that early day. 



44(i OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Innkeepers retailing liquors with license for the \ear 17SS were Will- 
iam Wynkoop, Joel Thomas, Anthony Rummerfield, and Ezekiel Brown. 
In 1789 they were Jacob Shinneberg, Christian Loop, Joseph Hinch- 
man, William Wynkoop, and Moses Brown: in 1790, Joel Thomas, 
John Konkle, Messrs. Dunn & Hornell, Isaac Baldwin, Ezra Patterson, 
and John Love. Each seller paid a license of ;f 2 a year. Another ex- 
tract shows that Ashkenaz Shappee was permitted to keep a ferry and 
retail strong and spirituous liquors, not to be drank in his own house, by 
the payment of £2. 

A quaint record is found, of which the following is a copy : 

.. -r J- r~i " March, 17SS. 

" J own oj Llieinung, 

" To Samuel Tilths, Dr. 
" To twenty-two (lays spent in his office laying out roads in this town, at the rate and 
allowance of the State laws for such service per day, 6s — t'6, 12s. i td." 

In 1 791 surveyors were sent through the valley to lay out the lines 
for the town of Chemting. Some of those men afterward settled there. 
A description of the several road districts in the town for that )'ear is 
here given verbatim : 

"1st Dist. Begins at the town line called Kyuta, or Sheppard's Mill Creek, and ex- 
tends to William Wynkoop's Mill Creek. 2nd Dist. Begins in the middle of Mr. \Vyn- 
koop's Mill Creek and e.Ntends to Mr. Isaac Baklwin's Mill Creek, on the middle of the 
bridge. 3rd Dist. Begins on the middle of the bridge at Mr. Isaac Baldwin's Mill 
Creek, and extends from thence to tlie middle of the bridge at Newtown Point, and 
extends from thence northwardly to the old town line, and westerly to Abisha Miirk's 
Ferry, including crossroads, etc 5th Dist. Begins at the said ferry and extends to 
the middle of Hendy's Narrows, and extends to Catherines Town and Seneca Lake. 
Districts south of the River Tyoga. — rst Dist. Begins at West Brook Ferry and ex- 
tends to the middle of the narrow. 2nd Dist. begins at the middle of the Narrows, 
from thence extending to the middle of Mr. Culver's bridge. 3rd Dist. Begins at the 
middle of Culver's bridge, and extends from thence to Mark's Ferry. 4th Dist. Begins 
near the grave-yard and extends from thence west thro' to the Inhabitants on Seely's 
Creek." 

The first record made of a surveyed road was in 1807, and it ran 
from Owego to Elmira on both sides of the Chemung River. The 
commissioners at that time were Jacob Batterson, Thomas Burt, and 
John Kent. A record is found of a town meeting held April 3, 1792, 
at which it was unanimously voted that forty shillings be paid by the 
town for every wolf killed within it.s limits, the same to be paid in grain. 



TO XVX OF CHKM L.XG. 447 

Tlie following extracts are made from an ancient book kept by the 
overseer of the poor. They are copied verbatim : 

•'A complaint com to me against Abroni jonson as a stragler fellow on April gtli, 1798. 

he. hearin the news, went ameaditlv. ,.-n,,„,. i-„„.,„„ /-, r .t n •> 

" Thos. Keenev, Overseer of the Poor. 

■ The Tmun of Chtntuiii;. 

" To Thos. Keeiuy, Dr. 

■' To looking plases and riling up too pair of indenters for binding out too of Mitchel 
bennits children as apprintices. £0 12s. Od." 

•T-u T- I- r-i " March the 12th. A. I). 1799. 

The Town of CliemiiHg, '" 

"To T/ios. Keeiuy,- Deter. 

" To one day and a half going down to John Shepard's to warn the widow Moss out 
of this town, and finding that she was not a resident hear. I warned her out. Sl.oo." 

"Dec. the 28th, 1798. Received of Elias Meadow, six Shillings for breach of the 
Sabbath, by the hand of Esqur Buck. 

■• Thos. Keenev, Overseer of the Poor." 

Chemung can undoubtedly lay claim to priority of settlement from 
the fact that within and in the neighborhood of its present limits was 
the seat of defence of the powerful Iroquois, and to break this defence 
was the aim of the troops under General Sullivan, man\- of whom re- 
turned to the valley and settled. As early as 1783 the pioneers had 
crowded well up in the Tioga country, anti the object of the Indians 
was to make the Chemung Valley a keystone to the further progress of 
the whites in the north and west. That they signally failed is related 
in the story of the invasion of their country, the destruction of their 
crops, and the burning of their villages by the soldiers under the direc- 
tion of General Sullivan. When these soldiers beheld before thetn the 
fertile valley of the Chemung they were delighted to witness the vast 
contrast when compared with the stony, unproductive soil of the New 
Kngland hills, whence many of them had come. Others who had been 
tormented and partially driven from the Wyoming region by the in- 
hospitable Pennamites of Pennsylvania gladly welcomed the thouglit 
that some day they might return and settle permanently in the new 
found Acadia. At that time, 1779, the soldiers found immense quan- 
tities of growing corn, pumpkins, beans, and melons. A field of 500 
acres of corn was laid waste near the present farm of Miles C. Baldwin. 

Much courage, patience, and endurance must the venturesome pioneers 



448 OUR COUNTY A\D ITS PEOPLE. 

ha\'e possessed wlio first traversed these valleys with an idea of per- 
manently settling, as the Indians continued to commit frequent outrages 
many years after tiie Sullivan expedition. It has been claimed by some 
that no settlement was made until the year 1786. There are, however, 
good grounds to doubt tliis assertion. Although no written records are 
in existence to substantiate the statement it is probable that Isaac Bald- 
win came up the river as early as 1784. One fact that unquestionably 
gives strength to this claim is that Vine Baldwin, a son of Thomas Bald- 
win and a grandson of Isaac, was born in the year 1782 or 1783 at 
Slieshequin, on the Susquehanna, while the family were on their way to 
Chemung. 

Another well authenticated fact is that at the time of the arrival of the 
Wynkoop, Buck', and McDowell families, who came in the spring of 
1786, Isaac Baldwin was in possession of 600 acres of the most fertile 
and productive land in the valley. This land, although not now in- 
cluded within the limits of Chemung, was in the neighborhood of the 
battleground of 1779, and is now occupied by several farms belonging 
to the Lowmans near the mouth of Baldwin Creek in the town of 
Ashland. This of course precludes the possibility of Isaac Baldwin 
being the first settler in the present town of Chemung, but does not de- 
tract from his priority in the settlement of the valley. 

The Baldwin family have acted an important part in the history and 
development of the town and count)'. The name is familiar in almost 
every part of the Chemung Valley and the male members are noted as 
early mill builders. The elder Isaac had eight sons, among whom were 
Isaac, Thomas, Waterman, Rufus, William, and Henry. Thomas was a 
sergeant in the Continental service and was wounded in the battle of 
Newtown. During tiie fight he stole alone to a place of hiding behind 
a clump of small trees and bushes. It was his object to fire upon the 
fleeing savages as they passed his place of concealment. After firing a 
number of times he was discovered by a running Indian, who aimed and 
fired at him as he ran. The ball hit " Sergeant Tom " in the knee, 
breaking his knee-cap and crippling him for life. Shortl)' after he was 
pursued by a fleet-footed warrior, and seeing that flight was impossible 
he dropped suddenly to the ground and laid himself lengthwise behind 
a large log. The Indian approached cautiously until within a few rods 



TOWN OF CHEMUNG. -149 

of tlie log, when the sergeant slowly raised his hat upon a stick just so 
the crown might be seen above the top of the log. The Indian, sujjpos- 
ing the hat covered Baldwin's head, fired and struck it and jumped for- 
ward in great glee to secure the scalp of the pale face. If he felt sur- 
prise and chagrin at tiie upshot he had little time to show it, for the 
sergeant rose instantly and fired. The Indian threw up his arms and 
fell back u[)on the ground dead. 

Thomas i5aldwin's son, Vine, named above as having been born at 
Sheshequin, is claimed to have been the first white child born west of 
the Allegheny Mountains. During the first year of the family's resi- 
dence in Ciiemung Thomas pusiied a canoe down the river to Way- 
num's mill at W'ilkesbarre and back again. There were no mills of any 
kind in Chemung at that time. Rnfus Baldwin is said to have killed the 
first Indian in the Sullivan campaign. Me was placed in charge of some 
Indian prisoners and told to guard them at the ]:)oint of his rifle. One 
Indian made a desijerate break for liberty, and as he darted forward 
Rufus aimed, fired, and killed him on the spot. 

One of the most interesting characters of the Baldwin family, or in- 
deed of the whole valley from VVilkesbarre to Painted Post, was Water- 
man, the third son of the elder Isaac. His memory comes down to us 
from his fir away time willi that glamour that surrounds in a greater 
measure the knights and men-at-arms of the feudal times. Man\' inci- 
dents related of him, depending not at all upon mere hearsay, but pre- 
served as cherisiied treasures in the records and memories of the family, 
stamp him as being one man in a thousand, brave, chivalrous, generous, 
tender hearted, prudent, trustworthy, the friend, confidant, and compan- 
ion of the highest in the land, the protector and defender of the hum- 
blest, lie was a silent man, speaking infrequently, and then with few 
words. What he did is remembered, not what he said. He possessed 
the exceedingly rare (piality of never being in the way and never being 
out of the way, every time being precisely where it was expected that 
lie should be. ' He could be depended upon for doing every time pre- 
cisely what he said he would do. The memory of such a man deserves 
to go upon permanent record and not merely to depend upon a line or 
two giving his name with the date of his birth and death. He was iden- 
tified in more than one daring exploit in the Revolution and was tliree 



450 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

times taken prisoner by the Indians. His numerous deeds of bra\-- 
ery and daring so impressed the Indians tiiat he was lield in awe by 
many of them. During his last capture it was decided that he must be 
burned and preparations were begun to that end. The terrible cere- 
mony had proceeded so far that " Watt," as he was familiarly called, 
had shaken hands as a last farewell to many of the prominent braves 
and was about to grasp the hand of Cornplanter, the famous Indian 
chief His wonderful coolness and intrepidity at such a moment so 
struck the great chief that he refused to allow the burning to take place 
and adopted Baldwin at once as his son. He was later on released and 
permitted to go to Philadelphia, then the seat of the United States gov- 
ernment, to effect a treaty. He had in his possession a silver- mounted 
saddle, presented to him b)' General Washington, and a horse called 
" Roanoke," which is credited as having performed astonishing and mar- 
velous feats. On one occasion, being pursued by some Pennsyhania 
officers on account of some trouble growing out of the Pennamite diffi- 
culty in Wyoming, he fled over the hills toward New York State instead 
of taking the river road. His trail was sighted and the men of the law 
were " hot upon it." High up on the mountains Baldwin came upon 
the home of a family whose chief wealth consisted of a number of cows 
and whose best building was the milk-house built on the side-hill over 
a spring. Watt had long before this performed some act of kindness 
for this family which he had forgotten, but which the wife, who happened 
to be alone on the premises, remembered. She saw as he rode up that 
he was troubled, and heard the galloping of the horses farther down the 
hill. She suggested that he ride into the milk-house and rest himself. 
It was at best a cooped-up place, but " Roanoke " went into it as though 
he knew why, never disturbing the gourds and pots laid about on the 
stone floor, and never once stirring or making the slightest noise until the 
pursuers, thrown oft" the track by the shrewd answers of the woman, gal- 
loped oft", leaving Baldwin to pursue his journey into New York unmo- 
lested. 

Baldwin was one of General Washington's messengers and was implic- 
itly trusted by that great man. He never adopted fully the modes of 
modern civilization, however, preferring rather the wild outdoor life of 
tlie scout and trapper. 



TOIVA OF CHEMUXO. 451 

When the surveying party was sent out to determine the line between 
New York and Pennsylvania one of their number was l<illed by an In- 
dian. Tile tribe or band to wiiicli the murderer belonged was pursued 
and compelled to surrender the guilty Indian to the whites. The pio- 
neers gathered together and counciled as to what disposition should be 
made of the prisoner. It was finally decided to send him to Niagara 
for trial, and a subscription was started to raise money to defray the 
expenses of taking them there. The total amount collected was four- 
teen cents ! Watt Baldwin together with a few others volunteered to 
take the Indian to Niagara for the fourteen cents, and started off early 
one morning, returning to Cliemung without the Indian in the evening 
of the same day. It is one of the quickest journeys on record, covering 
on foot a distance of about 300 miles and back between "sun-up" and 
" sun-down I " Whether or not the party ever got as far as Niagara is 
not an uncertain matter, nor is it any more uncertain that the mur- 
derous Indian made a mighty quick trip somewhere, whence he never 
returned, his body having been buried in a rude grave not far from the 
present village of Chemung. 

" Watt " Baldwin was very fond of children and alwa)s had one, two, 
or three of his nephews or grandnephevvs with him, tramping with them as 
he loved to do over the hills and through the woods of Chemung. He 
especially fa\ored the vicinit)' of the scene of the battle of Newtown. On 
one occasion, and it was in the early years of this century, he was over 
by the " Hogbacks" with one of his nephews, and in the depths of the 
forest they came across a fallen tree prone so long upon the ground that 
it was nearlv rotted away, yet preserving its shape. "Watt" looked 
about with interest and curiosity, finally sa\ing to his companion : 
" Uncle Watt shot an Indian behind that log years ago. The bullet 
took him scjuare between the eyes in the forehead. Let 's go look for 
him." 

The two made search among the leaves and moss that had been col- 
lecting in the s])ot for many years, and after a time found a skull with a 
bullet hole in the center of the forehead. It was taken, cleaned and pol- 
ished, and for many years was a treasured relic in the family of the 
nephew who had lielped " Uncle Watt" find it, sometimes a curiosity, 
sometimes a squirrel cage. 



452 OCR COUATV .IND /7S PKOI'LE. 

Miles C. Halduin, a scm of \'ine Baldwin, retained to Chcnuing in 
1836 after having li\'ed with his father in Pennsylvania. He lias now- 
one of the sightliest homes in the valley, on a hill a mile or two west of 
the village, commanding a view unsurpassed in extent and beauty by 
few spots on the continent. He is one of the largest fruit growers in 
the valley, is a well-to-do and highly respected farmer, wearing with 
dignity and pride the name that his ancestors wore so worthily in tiie 
earl)- history of the county. One of his sons, James, is a prominent 
railroad man in Kansas and a member of Assembly of that State. 

I'Larly in the spring of 1786 Maj. William Wynkoop, William Buck 
and his son Elijah, Daniel McDowell, Joseph Bennett, Thomas Burt, 
Enoch Warren and his son, Enoch Warren, jr., came up the Susque- 
hanna and Chemung Rivers in canoes and Durham boats. These latter 
boats were generally about eighty feet long, three feet deep, and built with 
ribs shaped similar to a sleighshoe. They would carry from twenty to 
thirt)' and sometimes forty tons. One man stood in the stern and with a 
long rudder kept the boat in the proper channel, while four others, two on 
each side, pushed it forward with poles and oars. The families named aboVe 
made a settlement extending from Wynkoop Creek west to the second 
Narrows Hill. Major Wynkoop was from Saugerties, N. Y.,and located on 
what was afterward surveyed and patented to him as lot No. i , containing 
515 acres, lying near the mouth of the creek that bears his name. He 
died in 1 827, aged seventy-four \'ears, and his remains are buried near the 
Holbert settlement. His two sons, Alonzo I. and Nile T. Wynkoop, 
were also identified with the advancement and development of the town. 
The former was a man of most generous impulse : he was always readj- 
to give and not unfrequently suffered privation himself as a consequence. 
His heart and his hand were ever open to his fellow townsmen, and his 
memory lives fresh in the minds of those who knew him. Nile T. still 
resides in Chemung, about one mile south of the village, and is probabl)- 
the oldest man in the town. 

William Buck, a native of New Milford, Litchfield Count)-, Conn., 
came to Chemung from the Wyoming Valley. His sons who came with 
him were Aholias, Asahel, and Elijah. The family settled on lots Nos. 
2 and 3 next west of Major Wynkoop. William Buck died in March, 
1799, aged seventy-seven years, and his wife, Deborah, died August 23, 
1785. His second wife, Rebecca, died May 30, 1798. 



TO ivy OF CHEMUNG. 453 

Klijali liuck was a most marked and prominent fii^iire in the town's 
early historj', filling many positions of trust and honor. After a long, 
active, and useful life he died at the age of eighty one on May 26, 1830. 
His son Asahel also commanded the respect of his fellowmen and was 
a man of varied attainments, an able lawyer, and a tireless worker. He 
died May 15, 1863. aged seventy-one years, and his remains are in- 
terred in the family lot in the cemetery east of the village. 

George \V. Buck, a son of Asahel, was particularly identified with the 
political history of Chemung. He represented Chemung County in the 
State legislature in 1840 and 1867, and was supervisor of the town at 
dift'erent times, in all fifteen years. He was born June 7, 1813, and died 
December 23, 1874. His wife Adaline died August 22, 1870, in the 
fifty- fourth year of her age. His brother, A. H. Buck, was also a well 
respected farmer of Chemung for many jears. 

Capt. Daniel McDowell, a Scotchman by birth, a soldier of the Rev- 
olution, and a man of indomitable perseverance and education, came up 
with the VVynkoopsand Bucks and located on the land afterward desig- 
nated as lots Nos. 4 and 5. 

Hon. John G. McDowell, a son of Captain McDowell, was prominent 
in the War of 1812. He was born February 27, 1794, and at the time 
of his death was seventy-two years of age. He was first appointed first 
lieutenant and aid-de-camp, and subsequently captain and paymaster. 
1 le was prominent in political life when Martin Van Huren, Silas Wright, 
Governor Marcy, and Gen. John A. Dix were at the height of their 
fame, and Mr. McDowell was intimately associated with all of them. In 
1830-31 he represented his district in the Assembly, and in the fall of 
1831 was elected one of the four senators from the old Si.xth Senatorial 
I )istrict composed of the counties of Delaware, Broome, Otsego, Che- 
nango, Tioga. Cortland, and Tompkins. Judge McDowell was ap- 
pointed by Governor Marcy commissioner of loans and was also 
appointed about this time president of the Chemung Canal Bank. He 
was presidential elector in 1852, which was his last appearance in public 
life. One of the most striking characteristics of the man was his open 
hearted generosity toward the old pioneers and his faculty for creating 
strong and lasting friendshijis. Members of the McDowell family are 
now prominent in public and social life in l^lmira, but no descendants are 
left upon the old homestead. 



V> 



454 OUR COUXTV AXD IT.-^ PEOPLE. 

Jacob Lowman McDowell, one of the sons named for his uncle of the 
Lowman family, is one of the best known of the citizens of the county 
and one of the most highly regarded of the men of Elmira city. He 
is and always has been prominent in the business, social, political, and 
religious life of his city. He represented his district in the ]?oard of 
Education of Elmira several years and was county treasurer for two 
terms from 1882 to 1888, in both and in all positions proving himself 
a man of worth and of the highest principles and desires. Of the 1 ted- 
ding Methodist Church, in which he has been interested from an early 
period of its useful career, he has been a zealous and substantial men)ber. 
A daughter of his married E. J. Baldwin, a young lawyer of Elmira who 
is earning the reputation of being a deeply read and learned member of 
his profession. 

Maj. Robert M. McDowell, the other son of the Hon. John G. Mc- 
Dowell, is referred to in another portion of this record. A daughter was 
the wife of the Hon. Jefferson B. Clark, one of the former substantial 
and conspicuous citizens of this town who held a number of official po- 
sitions and in 1856 was the member of Assembly of the county. 

In 1787 Israel Parshall came from Long Island and located on the 
property now owned and occupied by his grandson, Asa Parshall, who 
is a well known and highly respected farmer. At the treaty held with 
the Indians at Newtown in 1790 Asa, one of Israel's sons and the father 
of the present Asa, ran a foot-race with one of the fleetest Indian run- 
ners and came off victorious. The same year came Samuel Beidelman 
from Easton, Pa., and located on land now constituting the farm occu- 
pied by the two sons of Gordon Snell. He was during his life well 
known and highly respected. Thomas Keeney also came in 1787 and 
located on the south side of the Chemung, and is remembered as being 
one of the pioneers of the present town of Ashland. He was a soldier 
in the war of the Revolution and came from Hartford, Conn. He was 
overseer of the poor for the old town of Chemung on several occasions 
and lived until he was more than ninety years of age. 

Another pioneer was Jacob Kress, also a veteran of the Revolution 
who came to Chemung from Ulster County, N. Y., together with his 
son, John Kress, and settled on lot No. 14. Jacob lived to be ninety- 
four years of age. 



TOWN OF CHEMUNG. -45.5 

Among others early in the field was Jacob Low man in 17S8, wlio 
settled one-half mile west of the lower narrows. Coming at the same 
time, or in 1787, were Jonathan Griswold, John Squires, and Abijah 
Hatterson, who were followed soon after by Ebene/.er Green, James 
Wilson, Uriah Wilson, David Burt, Justus Bennett, Benjamin Wynkoop, 
John Hillman, Joseph Drake, Moses De Pu\-, Jacob Decker, and Samuel 
Westbrook. 

Thomas Burt, who was one of the early settlers, coming at the same 
time as the Wynkoops, Bucks, and McDowells, came on horseback from 
Warwick. Orange County, N. Y., and married the sister of Thomas 
Welling, one of the surveyors who had located on lot No. 7. This lot 
contained 660 acres and is the land now owned by Miles C. ]?ald\vin. 
The patent for the tract is now in the latter's possession and was made 
to Thomas Welling on the 29th day of January, 1791, and signed b}' 
Robert Harper and G. \^ . Clinton for the State of New York. Welling 
sold this lot to Thomas Burt in the year 1796, and the following in- 
denture is copied verbatim from this instrument : 

"Tioga County, ss.: Be it remembered that on the ninth day of July in the year of 
our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six. Before me. Elijah Buck, one 
of the Judges of the court of common pleas In and for said county. Came Benjamin 
Burl, one of the witnesses and being sworn as the law directs sayelh that he See 
Thomas Welling and Sibil Welling, the subscribers to the within Indenture Sign and 
Seal and deliver the same as their free act and Deed and that he also saw David Burt 
the other subscribing witness write his name as a witness to the same — 

" And I having perused said Indenture do allow the same to be recorded. 

" Elijah Buck." 

■' Tioga County. I certify that the within deed of conveyance was recorded in the 
clerks office of the said county in Book No. 8 of deeds page 172 &c. the 13th day of 
July. .808 at 2 o'clock P. M. „ ^^.^..^ ^ Carpenter, Clk." 

Thomas Burt reached the advanced age of ninety-four j'ears. Gen- 
eral Floyd came from Long Island prior to 1800 and was one of the 
early settlers. He located on the farm now owned by Peter Bennett on 
Dry l?rook. Mr. Bennett came into possession of the Floyd farm about 
1876. He is a prominent farmer. 

Among other prominent families who came later on in the century 
were the Sayres, Joseph and Gabriel, brothers, who came from CVange 
County and bought 900 acres of Wynkoop and Fry about 1838. 



45G OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

This land was known as the plains south of the depot in the bend 
of the river, part of it lying in Pennsylvania. None of the Floyd 
family are living in the vicinity at present. Tliey cleared about 500 
acres of the Pennsylvania land and started a large dairy connected with 
the farm. The\- traded this land to the father of Joshua Ilolbert, who 
came about i 848. 

A large portion of the land on both sides of the river for a consider- 
able distance above Chemung village was already cleared of its timber 
by the Indians when the whites first located upon it. The hills and up- 
lands, however, were thickly covered with pine. This, as in many other 
towns in the county, furnished ample work for the ntw comers until 
well into the middle of the century. The first mill of any description 
within the present limits of the town was a grist-mill erected by Maj. 
William Wynkoop. Later on many grist and saw- mills were built at 
intervals of a mile or half a mile along Wynkoop Creek. First among 
these was a saw-mill built by Alonzo I. Wynkoop about half a mile 
from the village. Joseph Swain then built another one-half mile farther 
up the stream, and William Jackson built one about half a mile still far- 
ther up. About 1833 William P'oulke built a grist-mill half a mile 
above Jackson's mill. The next one farther up was a saw-mill built 
by a Mr. Wolcott, who sold the property later on to Cornelius Ouiclc. 
Yet above this was a mill built about 1840 by Alonzo Fry. In 1828 or 
'29 Sands Warren, an uncle of James Warren, built a saw- mill. On 
this site now stands a steam saw-mill operated by R. B. Warren. About 
half a mile above this a mill was built by a Mr. W^eller, commonly known 
as the " brush mill." It afterward fell into Warren's hands and he con- 
ducted them both. In 1849 or possibly in 1850 Thomas Maxson built a 
saw-mill a few rods above the Warren mill, and still farther on, possi- 
bly a quarter of a mile, was a mill built by Hubbard Jackson, and yet 
farther another by Nelson Warren. The latter still runs a mill on this 
site. It is a water-power mill. In 1835 Clark & Guthrie built a 
double mill, and still above that, ninety or one hundred rods, was a 
water mill built by Thomas Sweet. Above the Clark & Guthrie mill 
was a mill built by Zacariah Tarble and now owned and operated b)' 
Matthew Fi^ncher. The first steam mill built in the town was that of 
Clark & Guthrie, built about 1835 half a mile east of the Tarble mill. 



TOWX OF CHEMIWG. 457 

Tlie gri^t-mill built by William Foiilke was constructed of hewed timber 
mostly, and was a big square-framed mill. It stood about a mile and a 
half from the \'illage, and no road had been made above it at that time 
that could be traveled by wagon. About 1837-38 a steam saw-mil! was 
erected on Dry Brook by Stewart, Davis, I'loyd & Co. It stood in the 
east end of the town near the head of the brook. Several mills weie 
erected on Mallory Creek, which was named after the Mallory fam- 
ily, of whom quite a number lived in that neighborhood. The first of 
these was an overshot mill built by Martin Tillman about 1840 It was 
afterward modeled into a steam mill b\- Alonzo and Nile W'ynkoop, 
who ran it for man\- years subsequent to 1850. The mill has now en- 
tirely disappeared as have most of the mills in the town. In I 853 Sands 
Warren built a mill on the Mallory below the Wynkoop mill. It was a 
steam saw-mill and Warren operated it. He was a descendent in the 
third generation of Enoch Warren, jr., who came with his father, 
Enoch, sr., from Connecticut at an early day. Sands Warren was for 
many years a prominent man in the affairs of Chemung and died June 
14, 1878, aged eighty-one years. His wife, l^lecta, died November 14, 
1869, aged sixty-six j'ears. 

The busiest years for tlie lumbermen were down until 1855. Up to 
that time pine was principally cut, hemlock being of small value when 
pine was so plenty. Tiie pine was of the very best quality ever cut in 
this part of the country. About i860 tanneries began to use hemlock 
bark and a great amount of this has been shipped from Chemung. In 
1882 Charles Ruggles & Son shipped nearly 1,300 tons of hemlock 
bark in one season. 

The first frame house was built by Maj. William Wynkoop, tiie boards 
and timbers for which were sawed witli a whip-saw. About the same 
time the Buck house was built and also the McDowell house, which un- 
til recently stood just north of the James Owen residence, and the 
foundations can j'et be seen. These three liouses together with that of 
Thomas Burt were the first four frame houses built in the town, and 
only two of them are now standing, the Buck house south of the Owen 
farm-house on the old Buck lot and the Thomas Burt house which 
stands about four rods west of the residence of Miles C. Baldwin. All 
four of the iiouses were built quite a hundred years ago. 



458 OUR cou^'^y and its people. 

The first biiclc house was erected by Asa Parshall in 1829 and is still 
standing on the Parshall liomestead west of the village. The first mail 
carried through this valley was made up of letters for the officers and 
men of General Sullivan's army, and was borne by a runner named Ca- 
rey. The first regular mail carrier, however, was a Mr. Teater, who 
made a trip once a week. Stephen B. Leonard opened a stage line at 
an early day and Joseph Batterson was one of the first drivers. William 
Wynkoop opened and kept the first tavern in 1788. This tavern stood 
almost opposite the residence of J. S. Holbert about three quarters of 
a mile east of the village. The building has long since disappeared, 
but the place where it stood can be designated by a depression in the 
soil. About 1836 William Seward built a public house where Joshua 
Holbert now lives and carried on business there for several years. It 
was afterward modeled into a duelling. 

Tiie first school in the town was taught by Samuel Walker, who was 
afterward killed by the Indians. Master Cooper was also a pioneer 
school teacher and for a time taught a few scholars in Israel Parshall's 
weaving room. A school was held in Master Cooper's house, which 
was built on land traded to Master Cooper by Thomas Burt. The site 
is now on the Nelson Von Gosback farm on the Wynkoop Creek road. 
Among those who went to school in this house were the children of the 
Buck and Wynkoop families, the McDowells, John G. and Sarah, and 
two or three other girls, Thomas and Hawthorn Burt, with their sisters 
Peggy, Sally, and Betsey, while from over the river were the children from 
the Westbrook family. Some of William Baldwin's family also attended 
school in this house. The next school was taught in a house built es- 
pecially for the purpose on the old Daniel McDowell farm. It was con- 
structed of logs and was probably the first school eilifice erected in the 
town. Another school-house was afterward built of logs on the Wyn- 
koop farm near the creek. It has long since disappeared. The third 
school-house was built in 1835 by Asahel Buck. It was the first frame 
school-house and is still standing just across the road from the present 
school in the village. It is now occupied as a dwelling. 

The first church society was the Baptist, formed in 1789 under the 
leadership of Kev. Roswell Goff, and the first church edifice was built 
by the Methodists in 1838 near Wynkoop Creek. The first wedding was 



TO U'X OF CHEMLWu. 459 

tliat of Guy Maxwell, who was married to Eleanor Van Steinberg, a step- 
daughter of Major Wynkoop. The ceremony was marked by a peciiHar 
incident. The justice of the jieace wlio had been engaged to perform 
the ceremonj' was a resident of Tioga Point, Pa , and upon arri\ing at 
the house wliere it was to be performed he ascertained that he was out 
of his province and had no jurisdiction in the premises. The large party 
assembled at Major Wynkoop's house adjourned to the open field near 
the sixty- third mile-stone, across tiie line into the State of Pennsylva- 
nia; the ceremony was performed and all parties made happy. 

The first birth upon record is that of Morris Catlin, a son born to 
Israel and Uitha Catlin, and the first deatii was that of William Bos- 
worth, who was an uncle of Elijah Buck and who died in 1790. He was 
a native of Connecticut. Elijah Buck kept the first store and his son, 
Asahel Buck, was the first resident lawyer. The first physician who 
settled within the present limits of the town was Dr. Hovej' Eveiitt. 
Prior to his arrival the people had called on the services of Drs. Hop- 
kins and Spring, of Tioga Point. Nathaniel Goodspeed was the first 
commissioner of highways in 1788. 

The site of the village of Chemung was among the first if not the first 
settled localities in the town and probably in the count)-. The village 
is situated in the south part of the town about three-quarters of a mile 
from the Chemung River. The ground upon which it is located is 
mostly a level and fertile plain and stretches out toward the north 
for a half mile or more. This land was originally owned by Daniel 
McDowell and Elijah Buck, and in the early days the place was 
known as " Buckville." Being situated within a mile and a half from 
the mouth of Wynkoop Creek the village was early made the nucleus 
for the lumbering interests, and has grown slowly but steadily since its 
first settlement. It was here that Asahel Buck built a hotel early in the 
century, known as the " Great Western." From time to time it re- 
ceived additions to its structure until its architectural appearance was 
peculiar indeed. It covered nearly a quarter of an acre of ground and 
was afterward kept by George W. Buck for many years. The original 
building was burned in 1874 and the present one built, which is known 
as the Chemung House and conducted by James Warren, who is also a 
cigar manufacturer. 



4G0 OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Another hotel, known as the Junction House, located near the Erie 
Railroad depot, was built shortly after the completion of that road 
through Chemung. S. T. Reynolds, ofElmira, has been the proprietor 
for about four years. 

The postoffice was first established at Chemung, April i, iSoi, the 
first postmaster having been Elijah Buck. Mis successors not otherwise 
and heretofore mentioned, with the dates of their appointments, are as 
follows: Henry 13aker, June iS, 1853 ; George VV. Buck, November23, 
185S ; Mrs. Mahala Brown, January 28, 1862 ; Charles Ruggles, Feb- 
ruary 14, 1867; Ebenezer Gere, October i, 1886; Wilson Ruggles, 
May 31, 1889. 

Chemung Center, another post town of Chemung township, was estab- 
lished July 19, 1854, with the appointment of Daniel Bean as postmas- 
ter. His successors and the dates of their appointments are as follows: 
John L. Shockey, April 9, i860; Daniel Bean, April 15, 1862; Alva 
Hicks, May 14, 1S64; Ira Dodge, September 18, 1865; Frank Sayre, 
June 6, 1866; Ira Dodge, November 17, 1870; Thomas Sweet, No- 
vember II, 1872; La Fayette Inman, August 3, 1874; Edward F. 
Bean. October 8, 1877; Matthew Fincher, May 29, 1890. 

The postoffice in Chemung village was kept for a time on the Owen 
farm at the stage-house, and was located there in 1831, when Homer 
Ruggles with his son, Charles Ruggles, came from Colesville, Broome 
County, N. Y., and located in the woods about a mile and a half north 
of the village. According to Mr. Ruggles lumbering was at that time 
the all-absorbing industry, and millions of feet of pine have been carted 
down Wynkoop Creek and made into rafts on the river. Charles Rug- 
gles opened a small grocery in the village in November, 1865, three or 
four rods east of his present location in a building owned by George \\'. 
Buck. After remaining there a year he moved to more commodious 
quarters and was appointed deputy postmaster in the place of Mrs. 
Mahala Brown in 1863, and continued as such until February 14, 1867, 
when he received the regular appointment, which he held for nearly 
twent>' \-ears. He moved into a store on the corner in 1870 and car- 
ried on business there for thirteen years, when, on August 10, 1S83, the 
building was completely destroyed by fire, entailing a loss outside of in- 
surance of $5,500. Wilson Ruggles, son of Charles, was town clerk at 



TOiV.X OF CHE.\n-.\G. 401 

tlie time and the town records were consumed, nothing being saved ex- 
cept the mail in the postoffice. The fire started in a building used as a 
hall just east of the Ruggles store, and spread rapidly, destroying every- 
thing in its path. The present store was built immediately upon the 
site of the old one and was finished ready for occupancy in less than six 
weeks from the time operations began. The firm now consists of 
Charles Ruggles and Wilson Ruggles and is known as Charles Ruggles 
& Son. 

Directly across the street from the Ruggles store is the oldest store 
building now standing in the village. It was built by Abner Buck, an 
uncle of George W. Buck, about 1833 or '34, but was not used as a 
store until 1838, when J. M. Baldwin, familiarly known as " Morg." 
Baldwin, opened the place with a stock of groceries and carried on busi- 
ness there for about five years. It passed into several different hands 
and for some time prior to 1868 was kept by Sawyer & Nichols. Mar- 
tin Wood then purchased the store and continued it until 1885, when he 
disposed of it to Charles Murphy, who was in possession for two years. 
In 1 88/ Reeser Brothers took charge of the store and continued there 
until the death of Willis Reeser, after w hich F". A. Reeser carried on the 
business until bought out in April, 1890, by George C. Baldwin, the 
present proprietor. 

Tile Chemung creamery was built sonic twent\-sevcn years ago by 
J. S. Holbert, and is still standing as originally built with the exception 
of ordinary improvements and repairs. It was operated by J. S. Hol- 
bert until about one year ago, when his son, John H. Holbert, became 
the. proprietor and active manager. The capacity of the creamery is 
about 400 pounds of butter and 500 pounds of cheese per day during 
the season of eight months. It is intended to introduce machinery and 
ap])liances by which the creamery can be operated tlie year round 
without intermission. Tlie milk product of 500 cows is used daily. 
The Holbert family are identified with industry and thiift, and arc well 
known and highly respected throughout the valley. 

The present school-house in Chemung village is a frame structure 
built in 1 85 I, and has two large and well conducted departments. It is 
in Chemung district No. 2. 

The Methodist Church of Chemung had its origin during a religious 



462 OUK COUNTY A.\D ITS PEOPLE. 

revival in the year 1819. At that time the class contained some thirty 
members, among them being Jerry Holland and his wife, James Kibble 
and his wife, Epenetus Owen and his wife, Philip McConnell and his 
wife, William Kellogg and his wife, Stephen Vanderlip and his wife, 
Nancy Floyd, Julia W'ynkoop, Katie Floyd, Betsey Swain, and Tread- 
way Kellogg. Their first meeting was held in the old log school-house 
near VVynkoop Creek, Rev. Horace Agard being the presiding elder 
and Rev. Sophronus Stocking one .of the first circuit preachers. The 
first resident pastor was Rev. William H. Pearne. Until 1838 the soci- 
ety had held their meetings in the school-house. In that year the}' built 
a small but modest church edifice a short distance east of Wynkoop 
Creek, in which meetings were held for a space of about ten years. The 
Erie Raihva\''s right of way passed through here in 1849 and the com- 
pany bought the property of the church society, and the latter at once 
began the erection of the present church building in the village. It cost 
$1,500 and was completed in 1850. The ctiurch will accommodate 
450 persons. The pastors of the church since 1864 have been : 1864- 
65, E. H. Cranmer ; 1866-67, M. C. Dean; 1868-69, Harvey Lamp- 
kin; 1870, Uriah S. Hall ; 1871-72, R. L. Stilwell ; 1873-74, CM. 
Gardner; 1875-76,0.0. Butcher; 1877-79, Ira B. Hyde; 1880-81, 
P. J. Bull; 1882-83, S. A. Chubbuck; 1884-85, J. A. Roberts; 1S86, 
C. E. Ferguson, of Elmira ; 1887, O- D. Davis; and 1890, H. A. Car- 
penter, who still fills the pastorate. The charge consists of Chemung 
village. Oak Hill, Williwanna, Pa., and Middle Chemung. The number of 
members on the whole charge is now about one hundred and at the vil- 
lage twenty-six. The Sunday school has fifty registered attendants. 

The First Baptist Church of Chemung, which prior to their organiza- 
tion at Dry Brook, P'ebruary 3, 1855, had been a branch of the Factory- 
ville church, first built a small church building at Dry Brook about the 
year 1848. Upon organization as an independent body the society 
embraced a membership of seventy-three persons, prominent among 
them being Piiineas Rogers, Reuben R. Tooker, Stephen \'anderlip, 
William H. Bassett, William F. Rogers, Zelotus G. Carpenter, Samuel 
H. Rumsey, Stephen Hoover, Hawley B. Rogers, John H. Hicks, Sam- 
uel Carey, Abraham H. Knight, C. D. Hill, Ruth Rogers, Hulda Bow- 
ling, Emma M. Knight, Phebe H. Bennett, Mary A. Saunders, and 



701VA- OF CHEMUNG. 463 

Others. After occiipjing the Dry Brook Churcli for more tlian a score 
of years the society in 1S70 completed the present church edifice in the 
village. It cost $5,000 and will seat 400 people. Rev. J. M. Coley 
was the first pastor. 

Tlie Chemung Lodge, No. 350, F. and A. M., was organized August 
23, 1854, with the following charter officers : Asahel Buck, master; 1 lenr\- 
Baker, senior warden ; William Guthrie, junior warden ; Jacob L. Mc- 
Dowell, secretary. They held their meetings in the old hall until its 
destruction by fire August 10, 1883. A new hall was immediately 
built upon the site of the old one and is owned by the lodge. It is val- 
ued at about $2,500. The present officers are Judson Campbell, W. M.; 
Jared Marvin, S. \V.; Henry C. Snell, J. W.; Sutherland T. Everett, 
treasurer ; Wilson Ruggles, secretar\' ; Rev. John D. Bloodgood, chap- 
lain ; Urial VV. Burt, S. D.; William C. Edgerton, J. D.; Francis M. 
Walker, S. M. C; H. B. Lovvery, J. M. C; George W. Foulke, tyler. 
The trustees are Wilson Ruggles, Jared Marvin, and Sutherland T. Ev- 
erett. The trustees were incorporated in 1874. 

The Chemung Grange. No. 204, was chartered in Maj', 1874, and had 
forty inaugural members. The first officers were Joshua S. Holbert. 
master; Miles C. Baldwin, overseer; Peter Bennitt, lecturer; W'illard 
Doolittle, treasurer; M. C. Gardner, chaplain; John M. Crispin, secre- 
tary. The hall in which the grange held meetings stood next to the 
store of Charles Ruggles and was burned in 1883. It was owned by 
Miles C. Baldwin and William Holbert, and their loss was about $500. 
Since the fire no meetings of the grange have been held and no officers 
elected. There is a grange at Williwanna, Pa., which includes as its 
members a number of farmers living in the town of Chemung. 

Besides the postoffice in Chemung village there are others in the town. 
One is at Owen's Mills, where Harry and Jesse Owen & Co. built a 
mill in i860. The postoffice remains, but the mills have disappeared. 
The office was established April 8, 1872, with Jesse Owen as postmaster. 
His successors with the dates of their appointments are as follows : 
George W. Drake, April 30, 1872; Lorin Grace, February 25, 1878; 
Clarence E. Hubbard. March 7, 1888. 

The postoffice of Arnot in this town was established June 10, 1886, 
with the appointment of Augustus Bartholomew as postmaster. 



4G4 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Ill this township there were two other postoffices that had brief ex- 
istences. VVynkoop, with Isaac D. Simpson for postmaster, was a post- 
office from July 25, 1883, to November I5tii of the same year. Wyn- 
koop Creek became a postoffice on March 26, 185 i, with Thomas Sweet 
as postmaster. He was succeeded by Daniel Bean, December 23, 1852, 
and James J. Jones, June 18, 1853. The office was discontinued March 

31. 1854- 

There are seventeen school districts in the town of Chemung with 
fifteen school-houses valued at about $7,000. On July 14, 1885, by 
order of A. P. Nichols, school commissioner for Chemung County, the 
school district formerly known as district No. 6 of said town, also com- 
monly known as the " Double Mills District," was changed and called 
district No. 17. Joint district lying parti}- in the town of Chemung 
and partly in Baldwin, and Barton, Tioga County, were designated 
as joint school district No. 6 in each of the above named towns. The- 
town received an apportionment of $2,021.29 from the State in 1891 
and the total attendance was reported at 31,159 days. 

The building of the suspension bridge across the Chemung River 
about half a mile south of the depot was one of the most beneficial en- 
terprises to the town that has been undertaken in many years. An act 
of the State legislature passed Maj' 4, 1869, and amended May 14, 
1875, authorized the construction of the bridge, and Mijamin Griswold, 
Jesse Owen, and Henr\' Baker were appointed commissioners to locate 
and construct the same at a cost not to e.xceed $18,000. The graceful 
structure which now spans the river is the outcome of their efforts, and 
is of great convenience to the residents on both sides of the river. 

The fourth town meeting of Chemung was held at the house of George 
Hornell, April 5, 1791. The following named persons were then and 
there elected as town officers : 

Aliner Kelsey, .siipeivisor ; Jolin Konklc, town clerk : Brinton Paine, Bezaleel Seele)', 
and Lebeiis llammoiic], oomniissioneis of highways; Conrad Smith, jr., con.<tahle ami 
callectoc; Christian Loop, John Parklnir.st, Daniel De Witt, and James Cameron, com- 
stables ; Joseph Hirichinan, Phiiieas Catlin. and Caleb Baker, asse.i.'JOrs ; Abiaham 
Miller, William Jenkins, Samuel Seeley, Thomas Keeney, Elijah Buck, Thomas ]!ald win, 
Brinton Paine, Cornelius Lowe, and Caleb Gardner, fence viewers; David Bnrt. Thomas 
Baldwin, and William Jenkins, pound-keepers. 

The overseers of highways were Epenetns Owen, first district ; Elijah Drake, second 
district; Thomas Baldwm, third district: Joshua Carpenter, fourth district; Phineas 



TOWX OF CIIEMUXG. 405 

< 'atlin, fiftli district; Tliomas Hemly, sixth ilistiiot ; and Elislia Biown, " Bijr Flat " district. 
Tlie overseers on tlie south side of the river were Thomas Keeney, first distiict; Abner 
Kelsey, second distriif : Wilhaiii Jenkins, third district : and Abner Hal field on Seeley 
Creek. 

The records for the years 1788, '89, and '90 were lost prior to the fire 
of 1883 and no data can be obtained for the compilation of civil history for 
those years. The names of the supervisors and the years during which 
they held office from 1791 to the \ear of the erection of Chenuing 
County are as follows : 

179 l-'Jl!, Abner Kelsey; 17'J3-tU. Daniel McDowell : 1795-9G, Elijah Duck; 1797- 
1><0.J, Enoch Warren; 1804-09, Jacob Lowman : 1810, Thomas Floyd ; ISll, Benjamin 
Wynkoop: 1812, Thomas Floyd; 181.!, Jacob Lowman ; 181-t-lG. Benjamin Wynkoop; 
1S17. Thomas Floyd; 1S18--J9. Asahel Buck; 1830-31, li^aac Shepard ; lS.32-33, 
Ninolia T. Wynkoop; 1834-3.J, Alpheus II. Tozer; 1836, Isaac Shepard. 

The following named have held the office of town clerk from 1790 
to the present with the exception of the years 1879 and 1880, the town 
records for wiiich years having been destroyed : 

17911, Daniel McDoWL-11; 1791-92, John Konkle : 1793-98, John Kress: 1799-1800, 
Daniel Mf- Do well; 1801-02. John Kress; 1803. Elijah Buck; 1804-011. Joseph Green ; 
1807-10, Elijah Buck: 1811-12, Jacob Kress; 1813-19, Elijah Buck; 1820, John G. 
.McDowell; 1821, Benjamin Wynkoop; 1822-25, John G. McDowell; 182<i-27, Ben- 
jamin Wynkoop; 1828, William Foulke; 1829, Joseph Foulke ; 1830, Benjamin Wyn- 
koop; 1831-32, Harry N.Floyd; 1S33. Jacob .Snell ; 18.34, William Seawar.l ; 1835-38, 
Ninolia T. Wynkoop: 1839-43, (Oliver D. Boyd : 1844, John Pickering: 1845, Dan- 
iel F. Pickering; 1840. William Lowman; 1847-48, Wilson Ganiage; 1849. Noble 
Weller; 1S50-54, Henry Baker: 1855, Wilson Ganiage; 1850, Flarris Peck, Asahel 
Buck; 1857, Ellas B. Doolittle; 1858-59, AndnisGere; 18(>0, Elias B. Dooliltle; 18(il- 
03, C. C. McKinny; 1S64. Allen W. Smith; 1805, James M.Sawyer; ISOO, Charles 
Buggies; 1807-08, John 11. Orcutt: 1809, James M. Sawyer: 1870-72, Ulysses W. 
DeWiti; 1873, William C. Buck; 1S74-78, Martin Wood; 1881-87, Wil.son Buggies; 
1S88, Charles S. Gere: 1&S9, Wilson lliigglcs: 1890. Francis A, Reeser : 1891, George 
C. Baldwin. 

Justices of the peace, with the omission of the years 1879, '80, '81, 
'82, and '83, have been as follows: 

In 1791. Bnnton Paine. liezaleel Seeley. John Miller: 1793, Elijah Buck; 1830, 
William McKinstry ; 1832, Jacob Batterson, Milo Smith; 183:!, Sabin Hatch, Phin- 
eas ^^cplll■es; 1834, Ninolia T. Wynkoop, M. (iriswold; 18:55, George Landis, Levi 
Little: 1830, Isaac M. Griswold. Milo Smith; 18:!7, Ninolia T. Wynkoop, Martin Low- 
man, Jo.»epli K. Coleman; 1838, M. Griswold, William Guthrie; 18.39, Anthony Coll- 
.«on: 1840, William Guthrie; 1841, John Benedict; 1842, Mijamin Griswold; 184:!. 
William McComber; 1S44, William Guthrie; 1845, John Kent; 1840, Belden Burt; 
59 



466 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

1847, William Lownian, Wells Newton; 1S4S, Gersliom H. Gutlirie; 1S49, Elijah 
Kress, Asa Parshall ; 1850, George W. RoVierts; 1851, Noble Weller: 1852, Zachariali 
Tarble; 1853, James F. Jones; 1854, George W. Roberts; 1855, Asahel Buck, Rolieit 
Cassidy: 1856, Geor^re P. West, Gordon Siiell; 18,5(i-57, Noble Weller; 1858, Gorch.ii 
Snell; 1859, M. S. Robbins ; ISdO, D, D. Ilarnden, George P. West; ISiil, Andiiis 
Gere : 1862, Noble Weller, Gordon Snell: 1863, Noble Weller; 1864, D;uiiel Cornwell ; 
1865, Simon B. Lathrop, John A. Carey ; 1866, Andrus Gere; 1867, Noble Weller, Al- 
bert P.Maxwell; 1868, John A. Carey, John Benedict; 1869. Thomas B. Hany on ; 
1870, James F. Harlow ; 1871, Gordon Snell ; 1872, Andrus Gere, A. D. Carey ; 1873, 
John A.Carey; 1874, Mason Harrington ; 1875, George Decker; 1876, George W. 
Drake, Phineas S. Roberts ; 1877, Noble Weller ; 1878, Andrus Gere, Elijah Smith, 

The justices of the peace still in office when Urial W. Burt was 

elected in 1884 were: 

Andrus Gere, James H. Dickinson, Loren Grace, and Mason Harrington ; 1885, Martin 
T. Rogers; 1886, Andrus Gere; 1887, Loren Grace: 1888, Guy M. Bosworth ; 1889, 
k. W. Hamilton : 1890, Andrus Gere ; 1891, Loren Grace and Jared Marvin, 

The town officers of Chemung elected February 10, 1891, are : 
Wilson Ruggles, supervisor; George C. Baldwin, town clerk; Frank Monroe, asses- 
sor; Clarence Hubbard, commissioner of highways; Loren Grace, Jared Marvin, Guy 
M. Bosworth, and A. W. Hamilton, justices of the peace ; G. M. Straiter, collector : 
A. B, Raynor and George Bartholomew, overseers of the poor: Charles M. Young, jr,, 
and Gilbert Harris, inspectors of election, first district ; Henry Miller and Willard Guild, 
inspectors of election, second district ; John M. Burt. Charles A. Woodruff, Daniel Cas- 
terline, Clarence Guild, and Alexandei- Burnaby, constables; Sylvester Decker, game 
constable ; George W. Foulke. excise commissioner. 



TOIVX OF HORSEHEADS. 407 



CHAPTER IV. 



The Earliest Settlers of the Town of Horseheads — Jolin and Hannah Breese and 
their Family — The Sayres — Jonathan S. Conkling and Others — Soldiers' Claims 
--E. I'Hommedieu — The Westlakes — A Locality whose Citizens reach very ad- 
vanced Ages — Owen O'Hanlon and his Family — Early Business Enterprises — 
Lively impulse given lo the Region by the Construction of the Chemung Canal 
— The first Boats — Rapid growth of the Village of Horseheads — The Fire of 
August. 1862 — Village Officers — The Horseheads Fire Department — Churches of 
the Village — Organi/ation of the Township — Schools — I\LTSonry in Horseheatis 
— Manufacturing and other Enterprises — The enormous Brick interests of the 
Town — Breesport — Its early History and first Settlers — Its business Enter- 
prises and Churches — The County House — Cemeteries of the Township. 

^^II]'", name Horselieads as at fir.st locall)' applied designated the 
place of the scattered remains of some of the cc]iiine patriots of 
the Revolution ; a century later it is the synonym for tlie "hub" of Che- 
mung County, — a townsliip rich in agricultural wealth ; the queen village 
of the valley, where are the homes of nearly 2,500 persons, among 
whom are many of wealth, worth, and culture; a place of active and 
growing industries and inviting as a place of residence. 

In the spring of 1787 John and Hannah (Gildersleeve) Rreese and 
eight children left Somerset County, N. J., and traveled toward Che- 
mung Valley, reaching a place about one and one-half miles below the 
present city of Elmira in June of the same year. In 1789 Mr. Breese 
and his family removed to Horseheads, locating a short distance south 
of the present village, where he built a log house on the east side of 
the road leading northward toward Seneca Lake, on the farm subse- 
quently owned by Civilian Brown. Sarah Breese of this family, born 
I'ebruary 18, 1789, is believed to have been the first white child born 
in the county. She died May 14, 1881, retaining to a remarkable de- 
gree her bodily strength and mental vigor. Site became the wife of 
John Jackson, who was sheriff of Tioga County when Chemung County 
was formed. The first wife of John Jackson was Elizabeth Gildersleeve, 
who was the mother of John C. Jackson. Lyman Jackson is the son of 
Sarah (Breese) Jackson. Joiin Breese had eleven children, among 



468 OCR COU.XTY AMD ITS PEOI'T.%. 

whom was Azariah, who was born in Xew Jersey, September 5, 1781, 
and died June 21, 1866. John Breese, jr., one of the sons, was born in 
the old log house in 1791. According to the records John Breesc's 
grandchildren numbered ninet)'-nine. The centennial of the settlement 
of the family was celebrated in June, 18S9, and nearly 500 relatives of 
the family were present. 

In 1790 Asa Gildersleeve, brother-in-law of John Breese, settled on a 
farm a part of which was afterward owned by the late John C. Jackson. 
In 1 79 1 David Powers located on the farm where resides the widow of 
the late Col. H. C. Hoffman. Christopher Van Deventer built a house 
near the site of Maj. John Puff's hotel. John Winkler settled on the 
David McConnell farm. Jonathan S. Conkling with his wife and three 
children and John Sayre with his wife and one child settled here in the 
spring of 1791. They were from Orange County, N. V., and were ac- 
companied as far as Chemung by James Sayre, whose family consisted 
of his wife and seven children, and by Ebenezer Sayre. \\\ the spring 
of 1792 James and I'^benezer Sayre came up from Chemung and settled 
here. These families made the trip from Orange County partly by 
land, then up the Susquehanna River by flat-boat, starting with a cart 
drawn by a pair of horses and a yoke of oxen and a hired team and 
wagon. Tlie goods, thus loaded together, with a few cows constituted 
their possessions. When the river was reached the goods were trans- 
ferred to a boat which the men poled up the stream, while the women 
and children on horseback followed along the banks driving the cows. 
The trip to Chemung was made in about sixteen days. While coming 
up the river the nights were passed under tents; their mealswere partaken 
of in common while the boat remained fastened at the shore. Jonathan 
S. Conkling purchased a lot of 120 acres lying south of what was later 
known as the John Breese road, his house standing near the later resi- 
dence of N. Van Dusen. 

Soon after the original surveys of lands in this section, made by State 
Commissioners James Clinton, John Hathorn, and Jolm Cantine, a ])or- 
tion of the lands in this vicinitj' was taken up under what was known as 
soldiers' claims. E. I'Hommedieu took up 1,440 acres, the west line of 
which corresponds nearly with Conkling street of Horseheads village. 
The Sayre brothers purchased half of I'Hommedieu location, which 




-'V tvi"/, ((l;/,,„, , 



rOir.X OF HORSICHE.WS. 40!) 

tliey divided. James located liis liouse near the site of tlic residence of 
the hitc \V, H. Van Du/.er, father of J. S. and Seiali II. Van inizer, who 
arc great-grandsons of James Saj're. Ebenezer located farther north 
and John took the southwest corner and built near the site of the Hum- 
phrey house on Franklin street. Henry Wisner and Caleb Bentley, 
father of Darius and Cyrus J. Bentley, each took up 6oo acres, 

John. Parkhurst came here about 1792. Israel Catiin was among the 
first teachers in the town. Nathan Teal came about 1794 and owned 
land in the vicinity of the village. Among those who came soon after 
and before 1805 was Col. Brinton Paine, a Revolutionary soldier. He 
kept a small tavern on Newtown Creek near where John Breese settled 
in 1809. Mordecai Rickey settled about 1794 on the farm where he 
died in 1867. George Paine came about the time Brinton Paine, his 
father, did. Jacob Powell, a blacksmith, was one of the early settlers. 
Solomon Moore was here early and built a log tannery near the present 
site of the Mosher block about 1808. He was the first tanner in the 
town. 

John Tenbrook and Gershom Livesay, father of Joseph Li vesay, settled 
here prior to 1812 on lands adjoining those of Mordecai Rickey, west 
of the present village. John Jackson, already mentioned, came from 
Brooklyn in 1798 to Newtown, and later to this town, locating to the 
eastward of the village. He has the credit of having first applied the 
principle of the "square rule" to the construction of frame buildings in 
this section of the country. Darius Bentley, who had visited this section 
in 1809, came from Rensselaer County in the spring of 18 15 and settled 
north of the village on land located by his father. He was a surveyor of 
much practice and had many years after an intimate knowledge of old 
lines and locations. He is remembered by many as Judge Bentley. He 
died in the village of Horseheads at an advanced age. Mrs. A. C. Wes- 
ton is a daughter. 

The Westlake families were early settlers. Jacob Westlake, known 
as Col. Jacob Westlake, represented Tioga County in the Assembly in 
1833 and Chemung County in 1837. Samuel D. Westlake was another 
of the same family. J. Fletcher Westlake, a resident of the town, is his 
son and Mrs. A. M. Covcll his youngest daughter. 

Among other early residents of the town were Rev. James Taylor, 



470 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

Joseph McConnell, grandfather of H. H. McConnell, John McConnell, 
Jolin C. Wannamaker, William Seeley, Abel Shute, Benjamin Smith, 
William Hastings, sr., George Whiteman, Theodore Valleau, Orris 
Eddy, Israel Boyer, Walter Dailey.sr., John N. Barbour, John Acmood\-, 
Silas Clark, Levi Maxwell, Richard Hatfield, Isaac Maxwell, Elmer 
Shappee, Josiah Maxwell, Jesse and David Shappee. 

The sons of John Breese, of whom there were several, settled along 
Newtown Creek. Lewis Breese built the first mill on the creek. James 
Hartgrove and Benjamin Smith were first settlers in that part of the 
town afterward called Breesport. 

Abel Shute and wife came to Horseheads in 1S25. They were from 
Orange County. Mr. Shute was born December 10, 1795, and died 
December 20, 1880. His wife, Hannah S. Shute, was born December 
26, 1802, and though in her ninetieth year is as vigorous and active as 
many people thirty or forty years younger. She has an unusually re- 
tentive memory. In August, 1891, she was asked if she ever expected 
to be old. She replied, " If I live to be old I hope to be able to meet 
all my duties and responsibilities." She lives in the family of William 
Westlake, whose wife is her daughter. 

Jonas Sayre, who lived upon the farm now owned by J. S. Van 
Duzer, also lived to extreme age. He died April 1 1, 1876, at the age 
of ninety- one years, four months, eight days. He was one of the earli- 
est settlers of Horseheads. Daniel Young, who was for several years a 
resident of Horseheads, died May 14, 1S84, in his eighty-fourth year. 
Mrs. Margaret (Stevenson) \'oung, his widow, born of Scotch- Irish pa- 
rentage at Alban\-, June 27, 1804, still a resident of the village, retains 
her faculties to a remarkable degree. She repeats manj- of the lessons 
of her school days in a manner that would do credit to a student of to- 
day. John Sterling, who was a resident of Horseheads for some time 
subsequent to 1832, died June 27, 1872, in his ninety-third year. George 
Bennitt, son of Comfort Bennitt, now past eighty, is heart}' and jovial. 
His wife, who was Patty Swartwood, died February 11, iSQi.on her 
eightieth birthday. Capt. William Wood died in 1878 at the age of 
ninety-one. Mrs. Sarah Wintermiite, widow of Isaac Wintermute, was 
born in 1812, came to this town in 1837, and is still a resident of the 
village of Horseheads. Joseph Mosher, father of the late J. B. Mosher, 



TOWN OF HORSEHEADS. 471 

died here in 1876 at the age of eiglity-eiglit. The first death in the 
town was that of Susanna Conkhng, a child who died March 3, 1793. 
O'Hanlon is a name of more than ordinary interest in Ireland. If 
you follow the famil\' back far enough you will run very close to the 
ancient kings of the Emerald Isle. Up to so late a period as the latter 
part of the eighteenth century the heads of the family were " Lords of 
the Orior." The trouble in '98 disturbed them very much in rights 
that had come down to them from a very remote antiquity, for they 
were Irishmen of Irishmen and loved the land of their ancestors. Owen 
O'Hanlon, one of this race, was born in Ireland, July 9, 1788. By 
trade he was a cooper. He came to America in 18 16 and worked at his 
business in New York city and Newburg, N. Y. In 1S17 he came to 
Newtown to see his old friend and kinsman, John Hughes, whose mother 
was an O'Hanlon. Owen O'Hanlon remained where he had- only come 
to visit, being favorably impressed with the valley and its prospects. 
On iVIay 25, 1819, lie married Anna Fitzsimrnons, a member of the 
Southport family of that name. He built a house and cooper shop in 
18 (8 on John street at the corner of Dewitt in Elmira, and lived there 
many years. He died December 13, 1859. Mrs. O'Hanlon was born on 
November 10, 1789, and died on May 6, 1871. Six sons were born to 
this couple, all in the home at John and Dewitt streets. The two elder 
ones, Thomas and John, born respectively January 30, 1820, and Janu- 
ary 15, 1822, are residents of the State of Michigan. George O'Han- 
lon, born January 4, 1824, the third son, has acquired a local promi- 
nence as a business man and as a successful and influential politician, 
having remained in the county of his birth. He has held minor official 
positions and was elected sheriff in 1870. His wife, whom he married 
November 3, 1859, was Miss Clara Van Vleet, of Ovid, N. Y. They 
have six children : William, a resident of Geneva, N. Y.; Mrs. Anna 
Brooks and Charles, of Elmira ; Mrs. Ida Leverich, of Wellsburg ; 
George, jr., of Baltimore, Md.; and Clara, of Elmira. The other chil- 
dren of Owen O'Hanlon were Hugh, born August 13, 1S28, a resident of 
Elmira; William, born August 13, 1828, died .March 11, 1856; and 
Colon, born August 25, 1S30, died September 25, 1884. These 
were all men well known in the valle)'. The old O'Hanlon homestead 
in the town of Horseheads has been known as such for many years. 



472 OUR COL'.Vry AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

Mr. O'Hanlon having purcliased tlie propeit)' and moved thither when 
he left his home in the cit)' of Elniira at John and Dewitt streets. 

At the early settlement of the township and for some time afterward 
the land lying south and west of the village was considered of little 
value. To the mere observer the stunted growth of pine upon some of 
this land compared very unfavorably with the grand old trees upon 
some of the outlying hills, where many preferred to locate. Land ly- 
ing west of I'Hommedieu tract, including that now occupied by the 
western part of the village, and some other lots were for sale at twenty 
shillings per acre, and for a long time there were no purchasers. Time 
works wonders and men are moved by force of circumstances. The 
pine plains of Horseheads no longer go begging in the market. 

Abel Shute and wife came to this place May 25, 1825, and purchased 
the corner owned by Solomon Moore, where the Mosher block stands. 
There were then but three or four dwellings where is now the village. 
One was a small frame house standing upon this lot, one w-as a house 
built by Jonas Sayre near the present residence of A. C. Weston, and a 
third was on Franklin street and occupied b)' Stoddard Conkling. 
The house upon the Shute lot was afterward enlarged and was one of 
the buildings destroyed by fire in 1862. Vincent Conkling became the 
owner of the Sayre house. This was afterward removed to the south a 
short distance and occupied by him at his death. It is now the resi- 
dence of his son, Fletcher Conkling. 

In 1825 George Whitman and Elias Culver started a grocery on the 
south side of Franklin street. In 1826 Vincent Conkling and Jacob 
Westlake opened a larger establishment, carrying both dry goods and 
groceries. In the same year Mr. Shute built a large frame tannery 
where he carrried on a successful business. His first lot of hides was 
drawn by teams from Ithaca. In 1828 Mr. Shute erected a hotel on 
tlie site of the Piatt House. This was first occupied by Charles W. 
Dunn as proprietor and opened January 8, 1829, by a grand military 
ball. About this time James Matthews built a grocery and James Sayre 
and Charles Maxwell (a son of Guy Maxwell) opened a dry goods store 
in a new building on the north side of Franklin street just west of the 
hotel. 

Before the close of 1829 the Seneca and Susquehanna Lock Naviga- 




,/x^^..^ ^^.,^^ 




rOlVX OF HOKSEHK.IDS. A'Z 

tion Company, incorporated in 1815, which had promised more than 
liad been accompHshed, had assigned to tlie people of the State all their 
vested rights, and a legislative enactment providing for the constrnction 
of the Chemung Canal, with a feeder from Corning intersecting it at 
this place, had assured to the people of the village an inflowing tide of 
prosperity. The population of the village nearly doubled during the 
three years employed in the construction of the canal. The first two 
boats, which were built by John Jackson, and named respectively Gat- 
cral Sullivan and Lady Sullivan, were launched upon the ensuing. 
Fourth of July, and a trial trip was m.ide under the command of Colo- 
nel Westlake. The office for the collection of tolls upon the canal was 
located at this place, and Thomas Ma.xwell was the first collector. The 
office was discontinued by the abandonment of the canal in 1877. 

In 1830 Holmes Hutchinson purchased, surveyed, and mapped a 
portion of land for the future village. This was extended in 1841 so as 
to include lands belonging to Colonel Westlake and Chauncey Rowe, 
and thus enlarged included that part of the village south of the feeder, 
west of Main street, and north of Steuben street. The village was first 
incorporated in May, 1837, under the name of Fairport. In April, 
1S45, ''"-' 'liime was changed to Horsehcads by an act of the legislat- 
ure. In 1885 the name was changed to North Elmira and in 1886 the 
name Horseheads was restored with the belief that the old historic 
name is the best. 

In May, 1841, C}'rus Barlow set the first shade trees in the village. 
This elicited from one of less consideration the incjuiry : " What are you 
doing that for?" Others followed Mr. Barlow in the ])lanting of trees 
and the beauty of to-day answers the " what for." About 1850 Rev. 
C. C. Carr became owner of several acres of the Conkling farm south of 
Steuben street, which he laid out in lots. Mr. Conkling laid out others 
south of the scliool-house, and Fletcher Matthews also laid out several 
from his purchase from the Matthew Sayre farm in the south part of the 
corporation. These were readily disposed of and built upon. In April, 
1854, the Horseheads Building Association was formed, having for first 
officers: Comfort Bennitt, president; Willis B. Sayre, vice-president; 
H. S. Bentley, secretary; Charles Hulett, treasurer. The association 
purchased of Abel Shute and William Reynolds property on the east 
no 



■)71 OUR CO U A TV AND ITS PEOPLE. 

side of Main street, aiui soon after erected a large three-story brick 
block which contained one of the finest halls in this section of the State. 
In 1855 De Witt C. Curtis, by direction of the Board of Trustees, pre- 
pared a new charter for the villa<^e which extended the boundaries of 
the village on the south, west, and north, and also gave enlarged powers 
to the village board. This passed the State legislature April 14, 1855. 
On the 1 2th of August, 1862, a fire originating in one of the barns of 
the hotel standing upon the site of the Piatt House swept away tlie 
whole business part of the village. The Colwell Hotel, the brick block 
of the Horseheads Building Association, the wooden buildings on the 
west side of Main street and the south side of Franklin street, and 
N. Van Dusen's hotel all lay in smoldering ruins. The records of the 
corporation were destroyed in this fire. During this year and the early 
part of 1863 C. \V. Ryant built a brick block of three stores on the 
corner of Main and Franklin streets; F". Matthews two stores south- 
W. T. & L. Carpenter built two on the south side of Franklin street; 
Colwell re-built his hotel ; and J. B. Mosher erected a block of four 
stores. Though the loss was severe the new buildings so much im- 
proved the general appearance of the village that there came a feeling 
that the scourge had been for the public good. In 1871 there was a 
general revision of the charter of the village and the boundaries enlarged. 
The act of the legislature by which the corporation was enlarged also 
empowered the Board of Trustees to cause the removal of bodies from 
the old cemetery that the land so occupied might be devoted to other pub- 
lic uses. An avenue leading southward through the old burial place was 
soon after laid out. Subsequently the remainder of the plot was graded 
for a park and is now adorned by beautiful shade trees. 

Presidents of the village Board of Trustees since 1862 until 1S80, in 
their order, have been: J. B. Mosher, F. C. Bloomer, Charles F. Taber, 
Charles Kline, J. H. Marshall, A. D. Loomis, Robert Colwell, Joseph 
Putnam, C. F. Taber, Hiram M. Root, and O. Groom. Presidents and 
years of service : 1880, O. Groom; 1 881, William E. Haines; 1882, 
O. Groom; 1883, Benjamin Westlake ; 1884-85, Thomas Hibbard ; 
1886, W. E. Breese; 1887, T. J. Wintermute; 1888-89, F- S. Bentley ; 
1890, C. F. Taber; 1 89 1, Sayre Holbert. 

Village clerks: 1863-67, U. W. C. Curtis; 186S-69, M. V. B. Bach- 
man; 1870, Frank M. Ross; 1871-72, M. V. B. Bachman ; 1873, Rick 



TO Wi\ or HORSEHEADS. 470 

Donovan and Horace J. Weller ; 1874, C. L. Hathaway; 1875, Rick 
Donovan; 1876-77, Lawrence M. Young; 1S78, M. D. W. Curtis ; 
1879, George McCumber; 1S80, Edwin R. Benedict; 1881, J. Walter 
Slayton and A. P. Beard ; 1882, Edward II. Fleming; 1883-86, Menzo 
H. Brown; 1887-91, \l. M. Myers. 

Village officers in 1891 : Trustees, Sayre Holbert, president; A. S. 
Terry, L. M. Brown, R. G. Erseniiart, Eugene Zimmerman ; Robert M. 
Bundy, treasurer; J. S. Colwell, collector; John B. Keelcr, police jus- 
tice; W. W. Mosher, S. Compton, George McCumber, assessors; John 
Hogan, policeman ; D. W. C. Curtis elected police justice for term com- 
mencing January I, 1892. 

Preliminary meetings for the organization of a fire company were held 
July 25th and August I, 1873. The organization of the Horseheads 
Steamer and Hose Com|)any, No. i, was effected August 22, 1873. 
The first foreman of the steamer was John \V. Lovell ; Rick Donovan, 
foreman of the hose. The hose company withdrew from the organization 
on May i, 1874, and afterward organized the Pioneer Hose Company. 
The department was incorporated in June, 1876. Independent Hose 
Company, No. 2, organized a year or two previously, disbanded Septem- 
ber 1 1, 1878. Acme Hose Company was organized November 14, 1877. 
The first trustees of the department were: Steamer Company, John W. 
Lovell, Oscar Thompson ; Pioneer Hose Company, Charles Bartholo- 
mew, Frank A. I^ennett ; Independent Hose Company, L. G. Purdy, 
Frank Smith. Department trustees, 1891: Steamer Company, No. i, 
J. D. Shoots, president, W. \\. Colgrove ; Pioneer Company, No. i, 
Peter D. Connelly, vice-president, John Hogan; Acme Hose Compan_\', 
No. 2, Arthur S. Terry, Mott B. Moore, J. E. Barlow, secretary. 

Officers of Steamer Company, No. i : George W. Dean, president ; 
F. N. Drake, vice-president; J. D. Shoots, secretary ; F. A. Matthews, 
foreman ; Frank Green, first assistant ; A. B. Woodruff, second assistant ; 
J. D. Shoots, engineer; L. D. Slater, assistant; Frank Bills, fireman; 
A. V. Cromwell, assistant. Company trustees: F. N. Drake, Ed R. 
Benedict, F. Green. 

Officers of Pioneer Hose Company : J. L. Nixon, president ; F. M. 
Barlow, vice-president; M. H. Hum[)hrey, secretary; T. B. Colwell, 
treasurer. Directors : J. L. Nixon, M. H. Murphy, H. C. Nichols, 
Matt Markham. R. P. Bush, E. B. Myers, J. R. Piatt. 



476 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Officers of Acme Hose Company: Harry B. Reynolds, president; 
L. E. Mosher, vice-president; Burr Nichols, secretary; M. B. Moore, 
treasurer; W. E. Tuttle, foreman; John Bogardus, jr., first assistant; 
D. D. Clark, second assistant. Trustees : J. L. Churchill, L. E. Mosher, 
Robert J. Kimmick, Charles L. Marshall, Harry B. Reynolds. 

The department has an equipment of steamer, chemical extinguisher, 
and hose carts. 

Rev. Roswell Goff, a pioneer Baptist preaclier, preached in the vicinity 
of Horseheads as early as 1805. He was succeeded by Rev. Philander 
D. Gillette, who preached for some time. In 1827 a church was erected 
about two miles north of the village and was known as the " Marsh " 
Church. Rev. Aaron Jackson also preached for a time at this church. 
April 22, 1840, a church organization was effected at the village at 
which were present Elders T. S. Sheardown, D. Robinson, and R. 
Swick. The first members were Elder Aaron Jackson, Deacon Joseph 
Smith, Increase Mather, Ebenezer Mather, Asa D. Smith, John Ten- 
brook, Lyman Lincoln, Warren Lincoln, Asenath Jackson, Sarah Smith, 
Irena Mather, Clarissa Mather, Elizabeth A. Smith, Jane Tenbrook, 
Julia A. Lincoln, Martha Smith, Sarah Wintermute, Margaret Ten- 
brook, Sophrona Donaldson, Esther Giltner, Harriet Jackson, Hannah 
Smith. The first meeting held after being duly constituted was at the 
house of Elder Jackson, May 2, 1840. Joseph Smith and Ebenezer 
Mather were chosen deacons. A church edifice was erected during this 
year and dedicated in February, 1 841. December 23, 1840, the society 
united with the church at Elmira and was called the " Elmiraand Fair- 
port Church." In 1853 the name was changed to the the "Baptist 
Church of Horseheads." The church was burned April 11, 1874, and 
a substantial brick building erected during the same year and dedicated 
in Januar)- following. The expense of the new church was about $8,000. 
Dr. O. Groom, J. H. Owen, Calvin Eddy, Benjamin Smith, and J. Park 
were the acting trustees during the building of the new church. 

Succeeding Rev. Aaron Jackson as pastor was Rev. Philander D. Gil- 
lette, who remained until his death in 1845. The next incumbent was 
Rev. G. M. Spratt. In 185 i a call was tendered to Rev. Zclotus Gre- 
nell to become pastor, who remained for a time. He was succeeded by 
Rev. W. Mudgc, who was followed by Rev. Mr. Williams in 1857 and 



TO IVA- OF HORSEHEADS. 477 

llev. Philotus 01iie_\- the next year. D. P. Leas became pastor in i8S6 
and T. v.. Phillips in i888. J. \V. Spoor came in 1871, G. W. Abrams 
ill 1872, and P. Perry in 1874. Rev. Mr. Whitmarsh took charge in 
1876 and was succeeded hy Revs. A. M. Bennett, F.J. Roscoe, George 
W. Newman, and VV. Mitchell in the spring of 1891. 

Among the first Methodists in this town were Benjamin Westlake, a 
local preacher, and Samuel D. \\ estlake and wife, all of whom settled 
herein 1815. From this time until 1827 members belonging to this 
persuasion were connected with the Methodist Church in IClmira, 
although meetings were held here principally in the old school-house. 
About this time a class was formed wliich, with the societies of Cathe- 
rine, Havana, and Millport, constituted one charge, Rev. Mr. Hall being 
the first minister. The members composing the first class were Benja- 
min Westlake, Samuel D. Westlake and wife, Hannah Sluite, James 
Taylor and wife, William F. Hull and wife, Obadiah Thorn and wife, 
David Holmes and wife, Philip Smith, and Sarah Westlake, wife of Jacob 
Westlake. The first quarterly meeting in 1827 was held in a large new 
barn. erected by Jonas Sayre on the farm afterward owned by W. H. 
Van Duzer. The society was incorporated November 25, 1834, as the 
" I''irst Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church inHorseheads " Since 
that time the pastors have been: 1S34-35, Revs. T. J. Champion and 
John Dennis; 1837-38, A. C. Story and C. A. Smith; 1839-40, Philo 
Tower and J. W. Nevens; 1841, E. C. Pengra ; 1842, Henry Wisner ; 
1843-44, L. B. Castle and D. S. Chase; 1845-46, I. V. Mapes ; 1847, 
John Witted ; 1848-49, E. H. Cranmer ; 1850-51, David Crow ; 1852, 
C. S. Coats; 1853-54, Nathan Fellows; 1855, John Parker; 1856-57, 
T. McElhenny; 1858, John H. Day; 1859, Jo'i" E. Hyde; 1S60-61, 
J. Jarolonien ; 1862-64, J. H. Blades; 1865-66, W.C. Matti.son ; 1867, 
H. T. Giles; 1868-70, Luther Northway; 1871-73, C. M.Gardner; 
1874-75, J. T. Canfield ; 1876-77, Thomas Stacey ; 1878-79, F.J. 
Whitney; 1880-82, Silas Ball ; 1883-84, E. E. Morris ; 1885-87, W.K. 
Shaw; 1888-90, F. D. Hodgson ;' J. C B. Mover. 

The first church building belonging to the society was erected in 
1834. The increase in the membership and congregation during the 
next twenty years made it necessary to enlarge the building ; this was 
done in 1855 and the church was rededicatcd February 20, 1856. It 



478 OUR COVXTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

was then the commodious church ui the village. During the pastorate 
of Rev. E. E. Morris the building was again repaired and improved. 
The society buik a parsonage in 1868, which expenditure increased the 
value of the church property to about $12,000. 

The First Presbyterian Church of Horseheads was organized Februarj^ 
8, 1832. This organization was effected at the school-house under Revs. 
Ethan Pratt and M. L. Farnsworth and John McConnell, an elder. 
Twenty-four persons became constituent members, among whom was 
Elder J. N. Barbour, who is one of the last survivors of that number. 
Rev. Ethan Pratt was the first pastor, remaining from 1832 to 1835, 
when he was succeeded by Rev. W. Adams for about a year. Rev. 
Orin Catlin came in 1837 and remained until 1841, when Rev. C. C. 
Carr, then directly from AuburnTheological Seminary, became pastor and 
remained for sixteen years. Rev. B. G. Riley was stated supply in 1856 
and 1857, and was followed in the latter year by Rev. N. E. Pierson as 
pastor until 1861, when Rev. Irving Beaman became a supply until 
1863. In that year Rev. C. C. Carr was recalled and was pastor for 
twenty-three years. In 1886 he resigned on account of the infirmities 
of advancing age and was then made paslor emeri//ts, which position he 
has since held. Rev. j. C.Russell has been pastor since 1886. In 1S32 
the first church edifice was erected on a lot west of the Northern Cent- 
ral depot. In 1849 it "'^s removed to the lot on which it has since 
stood. During the pastorate of Rev. N. E. Pierson in 1858-59 the 
church was remodeled and improved ; the side galleries were removed, 
the seats reversed, and the pulpit placed in the opposite end of the audi- 
torium. In 1887-88, through the munificence of Selah R. Van Duzer 
and wife, the church was repaired, elevated, and enlarged by the addi- 
tion of a hall on the east. The chapel was erected and furnished and a 
stained glass window placed in memory of the faithful Sunday school 
work of Susan Rachel Saj're Van Duzer. During the same year the 
parsonage was sold to Rev. C. C. Carr and a lot was purchased adjoin- 
ing the church property on the west. Through the efforts of the ladies 
of the society the grounds were put in order, the pavements were re- 
built, and the basement arranged for the social work of the church. The 
church was rededicated June 3, 1888. The list of communicants as 
revised in July, 1888, numbers 145. 



TO WX OF HORSKHEADS. 479 

Officers of the church, 1S90: Rev. J. C. Russell, pastor; Rev. C. C. 
Carr, pastor emeritus ; elders, J. N. Barbour, James Orniistou, M. E. 
ligbert, William A. Shoemaker, John Farr, John Stepfield; trustees, J. S. 
Van Duzer, president ; W. E. Breese, secretary ; Elizur Day, P. Whit- 
aker, W. E. Tuttle, E. B. Shappee, R. G. Eisenhart; treasurer, T. J. 
W'intermute. 

Besides the Sunday school, Rev. J. C. Russell, superintendent, and 
R. G. Eisenhart, assistant, the societies are the Woman's Aid Societ)', 
Mrs. J. A. Christie, president; the Woman's Missionary Society, Mrs. 
Helen Penny, president; Young People's Missionary Band, E. F"rances 
Shappee, president ; and the Busy Bee Mission Band and the Young 
People's Society. The committees of the last are appointed quarterly 
by the pastor. 

St. Matthew's parish, Episcopal, was organized August 11, 1862. 
Services had been rendered for some time previous, first by Rev. A. Hull, 
D.D., then rector of Trinity Church, lilmira. S. H. Maxwell and R. 
Parker were the first wardens; vestrymen, S. Johnson, J. A. Christie, 
N. Van Dusen, M. Bennitt, Charles Hulett, Daniel Bennitt, A. J. Ben- 
nitt, and Joseph Stanwood. Rev. Henry M. Brown was the first rector, 
taking charge in October, 1S62. In 1866 the erection of the ciuirch was 
commenced and the building was consecrated in the fall of 1867. Rev. 
H. M. Brown resigned in August of 1871. February 24, 1872, Rev. 
Robert R. Goudy was called to the rectorship, also having the parish 
at Big Flats. January 17, 1873, he resigned, taking effect April 4, ^^71- 
Rev. John A. Brown succeeded, remaining until March 28, 1875. Rev. 
G. W. G. \'an Winkle entered upon his duties May 30, 1875. Janu- 
ary I, 1S78, Rev. F. D. Hoskins, of Grace Church, Eimira, was placed 
in charge until the close of the j'ear. Rev. Edward Lewis was placed 
in charge June i, 1879. The Rev. Ilenr}- Heaton had charge for one 
year following October, 1879. Rev. John Y. Hurlich was in charge for 
about five years and was succeeded by Rev. J. P. Foster for a few months. 
Rev. Thomas Duck became rector October 20, 1889, having charge at 
Millport and Big Flats. The church was repaired and improved in 1890. 
There arc fortj'-five communicants in this church. 

For many years the Roman Catholic mission in Horseheads was a 
part of SS. Peter and Paul's parish of Eimira. During the time of the 



480 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

pastorate of the Rev. Martin Kavanagh, previous to 1866, the present 
frame structure was built. It has a seating capacity of 250 and was 
dedicated in the year named. When in 1869 the Rev. James McManus 
became rector of the Watkins mission the Horseheads mission was 
transferred to his charge. Fathers McManus and Henry Leddy, now 
Dean Leddy, of Wellsville, attended Horseheads as a part of the Wat- 
kins parisli. In 1879 Father Tliomas Herrick, wiio had been Fatlier 
Leddy's assistant in tlie Watkins parish, was appointed rector of Horse- 
heads mission. The mission consists of about seventy families or 350 
persons. Of these forty families attend the Horseheads church proper, 
having service every Sunday. The remainder, about equally divided 
between Millport and Spencer, are each attended once a month, mass 
being said in a house or hall, and Breesport is attended once every three 
months, mass being said at P. Kavanagh's residence. At the Breesport 
services the Catliolic inmates from the county-house attend. Father 
Herrick had charge of the Horseheads mission from November, 1879, to 
October, 188 1, and he was succeeded by the following named: Father 
L. W. Murphy from October, 1881, to January, 1883; Father James Grif- 
fin from January, 1883, to March, 1889; the Rev. T. A. Murray from 
March i, 1889, to April 21, 1889; the Rev. D. Daly from April 21, 
,1889, to June 7, 1889. The Rev. T. A. Murray, assistant at St. Pat- 
rick's Church in Elmira, attended temporarily until July 14, 1889. On 
that date the rector now in charge, the Rev. William T. Dunn, assumed 
the care of the parish. Father Dunn is a Chemung County man, hav- 
ing been born in the city of Elmira, his education up to the period of 
his entrance into the seminary having been obtained in the public 
schools of that city. 

In the earlj' history of the town there resided in the vicinity of the 
village several families known as Friends or Quakers. Their meetings 
were held at the house of Richard Wild on the farm since known as the 
Wild farm. Prominent among those belonging to this sect were Rich- 
ard Wild and wife, P'rancis Bowman and wife, David Coddington, Ben- 
jamin Palmer, Amos Crandall, Townsend Carpenter and wife, Richardson 
Cornell, John Marshall and his family, Josiah Cornell, Stephen Estes, 
antl Sally Westlake. In 1831 the Scipio Society of Friends by their 
trustees purchased the lot where Mrs. Shute resides and erected a build- 





Crl^C^iXtyt 




^-/yi 




TOnW OF HORSEHEADS. 181 

ing for the use of this society. This was known as the " Quaker meet- 
ing-house," and was occupied by the Friends until about 1854. By 
removals and other causes the society diminished in numbers until but 
few remained. Among these were Josiah, Levi, and Samuel Marshall. 
The property of the society was sold to Mrs. Shute and the building was 
used in the construction of the dwelling where she now resides. 

The Horseheads A. U. M. P. Church (colored) was first organized 
about i860. In 1883 they built a brick church for the uses of the so- 
ciety. Rev. Nathan F. Wilson is the present pastor. George Cohen, 
G. V. Peterson, Thomas B. Scott, and George Lodine have also labored 
with this people. 

The town of Horseheads was formed from Elmira by an act passed 

February 8, 1854, as follows: 

" All that part of the town of Elmira in the county of Cliemung, lying and being on 
the north side of the line, which shall be a continuation, westerly, of the south line of 
the town of Erin, in said county, to a point in the west line of the said town of Elmira, 
is hereby erected into a separate town l)y the name of Horseheads." 

Charles Hulett, Elijah Carpenter, Hiram S. Bentley, and George Bcn- 
nitt were appointed to preside at the first town meeting, which was held 
on the 14th of February at the house of W'aternian Davis. The offi- 
cers elected were : 

Ebenczer Mather, town clerk; Samuel H. Maxwell, supervisor; Hiram S. Benlley. 
superintendent of common schooKs ; D. Edwards, Joel Hellor, and George H.Taylor, 
justices of the peace; John Ross, Lewis Carpenter, and Daniel Bennitt, assessors ; Jo- 
seph Uodbourn, commissioner of highways; David P. Breese, collector; William Rey- 
nolds, Abner K. Shappee, overseers of the poor; David P. Biecse, A. D. Loomis. Moses 
P. Breese, Asa G. Jack.son, Hiram H. McConnell. constables; John C. Jackson. Lewis 
H. Turner, and Zeno Carpenter, inspectors of election ; Isaac Still, town sealer. 

Town clerks since the organization of the town have been : 
Ebenezer Mather. Peter Wintermiite, Charles Wintermute, Walter L. Dailey, Samuel 
C. Taber, Hiram H. McConnell, Elbert Thorn, Austin H. Whitcomb, Charles W. Me- 
Xish, Jonah H. Marshall, Charles H. McNish, Thomas J. Wintermute, Collins L. Hath- 
away, John Eagan, Isaac Dennis, William Park, William H. Egbert, Thomas Hibbard, 
Luther Biuilker (1883), Clarence E. Caqienler (1884-88), Frank A. Bennett (1880-90), 
Charles L. Marshall (181)1), Jo.sepli S. Bogardus. 

Justices 0/ the Peace. — David Edwards, Joel Heller, George II. Taylor. Charles Kline, 
Cyrus Barlow, David Edwards, Cyrus Barlow, Robert Stewart, John Nichols, John N. 
Breese, Hiram H. McConnell, Charles Wall, John Nichols, Cyrus Barlow, Samuel II. Max- 
well. Joel Hellor. Hiram S. Bentley, John C. Cowan, II. H. McConnell, W. D. Adam.s 
CI 



482 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

H. S. Benlley, M. a. Shappee, K. V. Stewart, ^\. \. B. Baclunaii, W-Alev L. Dailey, II. II. 
Mc'Comiell, Henry A. Treat, Theoilore \'. W'elier, John P. Breese, Civilian Brown, II. II. 
McConnell, .lohn P. Breese, Theodore \'. Weller. .losejih P. Ripson, Ilenrj' C. Iloffnian, 
M. V. B. Bachman, John H ad sell ; 1880, Theoilore V. Weller ; 1881, Cyrus Barlow; 
1882, John Nichols ; 1883, M. V. B. Bachman ; 1884, Hiram II. McConnell ; 1885, Theo- 
dore V. Weller; 1886, John Nichols; 1887, John B. Keeler; 1888, Hiram H. McCon- 
nell; 1889, John M. Van Gonler and Nathan Carey; 1890, Frank Starr ; 1801, Cyrus 
Barlow. 

Commissioners of Highways. — 1854, Joseph Rodbourn ; 1855, John Jackson; 1856, 
James Suftern ; 1857, Joseph Rodbonrn ; 1S58, Ira L. Breeae ; I85I), A. B. Rockwell; 
18G0, Joseph Rodbourn ; 1861, Vincent Conkling ; 18G2, A. B. Rockwell ; 1863, Joseph 
Rodbourn; 1864, George Bennitt; 1865, Sylvester Hull ; 1866, Andrew Suflern, Joseph 
Rodbourn, Daniel Edwards; 1867, Joseph Rodbourn, Daniel Edwards, Daniel Bennitt; 
1868, Joseph Rodbourn, Daniel Bennitt, Ira L. Breese; 1869, Joseph Rodbourn ; 1870, 
Israel F. Coats ; 1871, Joseph Edwards; 1872, Ebene/.er B. Warner; 1873, Edward L. 
llathorn ; 1874, Matthew Staring ; 1875, E. B. Warner ; 1876. Israel F. Coats ; 1877, 
Matthew Staring; 1878, E. B. Warner; 1879, George S. Lynch: 1880, Sylvester J. 
Morse; 1881, Myron H. Breese; 1882, Jeremiah Smalley ; 1883-86, D. M. Snyder; 
1887-00. John Q. Brooks; 1801, James McQueen. 

The schools of the town and village of Hor.seheads are among the in- 
teresting features of its history. The first was taught by Amelia 
Parkhurst in 1793 in the log house first the dwelling of John Breese. 
Israel Catlin succeeded Miss Parkhurst as teacher. The next teacher 
was Seneca Roland, who commenced his school in a part of an old log 
house which stood near the residence of James Sayre. The principal 
text book first in use was Dilworth's spelling book. Seneca Roland 
afterward introduced Webster's spelling book. There are now ten dis- 
tricts in the town, having in 1890 an aggregate attendance of 80,468 
days and receiving from State funds in the following spring $2,646. 
Preparations are being made to add anotlier department to the school 
at Breesport and to enlarge the school building accordingly. 

Probably the first school-house in the town was a log building erected 
about 1800 near the site of the Ryant block in the village of Horse- 
heads. Here Seneca Roland first held authority as teacher, coming 
from his former charge in the Sayre house. Nathan Teal, who came 
here about 1794, purchased of William Seeley a portion of the I'Hom- 
medieu tract and afterward deeded to three trustees, two of whom were 
Ebenezer Sayre, great-grandfather of Frank Bentley, and a man by the 
name of Conkling, grandfather of Fletcher Conkling, nearly two and 



TO 1 1 W OF HORSE HE. I DS. 483 

one-lialf acres of land for cliurch and cemetery purposes and such other 
public use as might be thought advisable. This was called the meeting- 
house lot. Upon this lot near where is the residence of Rev. C. C. 
Carr there was erected about 1815 a two-story frame building, the lower 
part of which was for a long time used for both school and church pur- 
poses. In 1849 ^yrus and James Barlow contracted to build a school- 
iiouse having four main rooms at a cost of $2,200. School was com- 
menced in this building in July, 1850, with Ezra M. Roberts as the first 
principal. Vincent Co'nkling, John Relyea, and William S. Barlow were 
then the trustees. Relyea built a steam saw-mill about 1845 'lear the 
old canal feeder from which was furnished material for the school-house. 
This building enlarged and repaired served well the use for which it 
was intended. The first frame school-house was removed and used for 
a barn now owned by Dr. D.ivis, which stands upon the east side of 
Main street. In 1865 the school was organized as a union free school, 
the people thus being in advance of the general law for free schools. 
In 1877 an academic department was created. The principals of the 
school since the adoption of the free school system in 1865 have been: 
Sylvester D. Boorom, Alonzo Kveland, W. G. Van Zant, John W. Os- 
borne, Robert P. Bush, R. U. luistnian, F. M. Beardsley, G. E. Atwood, 
W. II. Benedict, W. R. Prentice, A. H. Lewis, A. D. Whitney, P. T. 
Marshall. The teachers employed in the school during the school 
year ending in 1891 were as follows: P. T. Marshall, principal, Jen- 
nie Howie, Alice D. Hall, Lola Thomas, Bernice Rockwell, Harriet 
Armitage, Anna Drake. By report of 1890 there were 43,242 days of 
attendance, of which 3,387 were from other districts. The school year 
commencing 1891 marks a new era in the school interests of the village. 
During the summer of this year there was erected upon a lot west of the 
avenue a brick building with all the necessary and convenient equip- 
ments required by the growth of the school. The total expense reaches 
an aggregate of about $23,000. The Board of Education consists of 
the following members : W. H. Davis, Frank S. Bentley, H. J. Weller, 
Charles V . Taber, E. C. Day, and T. J. Winterniute. There are three 
courses of study in the academic department of the school, English, sci- 
entific, and classical. 

A dispensation naming James A. Christie, W. M., O. D. Chatfield.S.W., 
James Barlow, J. W., was issued in February, 1855, by the Grand Lodge 



4Si OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

F. and A. M. of the State of New York to the following named brethren : 
James A. Christie, James Barlow, Darius Bentley, Waterman Davis, 2d, 
Richard Hetfield, Hiram S. Bentley, George O'Hanlon, John Bach- 
man, O. D. Chatfield, Rowland Parker, Vincent Conkling, Mordecai 
Rickey, Adam L. Staring, John N. Beers, Charles M. Conkling. The 
first meeting of the lodge, which was designated as Horseheads Lodge, 
No. 364, F. and A. M., was held February 21, 1855, and the following 
named subordinate officers elected : Adam L. Staring, treasurer ; Hi- 
ram S. Bentley, secretarj' ; John Bachman, S. D.; John N. Beers, J. D. 
On the 25th day of June, 1855, the Grand Lodge issued to this lodge 
a warrant appointing James A. Christie, W. M.; O. D. Chatfield, S. W.; 
James Barlow, J. W. 

The first meeting under the warrant was held on June 27, 1855, and 
other officers of the lodge elected as follows: Adam L. Staring, treas- 
urer; George Bennitt, secretary ; John Bachman, S. D.; Le Grand Bar- 
low, J. D.; Stephen Whitenack, tyler. The lodge was regularly insti- 
tuted at this communication and its officers installed by VV. James S. 
French, a past master of Union Lodge, No. 95, of Elmira. The lodge 
continued its labors under the original warrant until July 3, 1862, at 
which time was held the last meeting under the warrant prior to Au- 
gust 12, 1862, when the building in which the lodge was situated was 
destroyed by fire. 

R. W. Clinton F. Paige, deputy grand master, issued a dispensation 
August 19, 1862, authorizing the lodge to continue its work until the 
next annual communication of the Grand Lodge. Officers A. L. 5891 : 
O. S. Botsford, W. M.; T. J. Wintermute, S. W.; Emery Eddy, J. W.; 
Thomas Hibbard, treasurer ; A. P. Beard, secretary ; S. Compton, cliap- 
lain ; John S. Dailey, S. D.; Henry D. Bishop, J. D.; Charles L. Mar- 
shall, S. M. C; Jerome R. Piatt, J. M. C; W. E. Haines, organist; H. 
Clark, marshal; Charles Busli, tyler. Past masters: J. A. Christie, V. 
Conkling, Cyrus Barlow, L S. Marshall, J. H. Marshall, C. G. Eddy, S. 
Compton, M. V. B. Bachman, Jonas Park, R. P. Bush, Thomas Hibbard, 
F. V. Conkling, W. E. Haines, A. P. Beard, G. \V. McCumber, A. D. 
Newhall. Trustees (i 891): T.J. Wintermute, C. G. Eddy, A. D. Loomis. 

Horseheads Chapter, No. 261, R. A. M., was instituted in April, 187 1 
warrant issued in February, 1S72. R. P. Bush, IM. E. H. P.; Calvin 



TOIVX OF HORSEHEADS. -185 

Eddy. E. K.; S. A. Palmer, E. S. Officers in 1891: T. J. Wintenmite, 
M. E. H. P.; R. P. Bush, E. K.; A. Myers, E. S.; Thomas Hibbard, treas- 
urer; A. P. Beard, secretary; James McQueen, C. of H.; P. J. Ward, 
P. 5 ; H, Clark, R. A. C; John Nichols, M. 3d V.; C. G. Eddy. M. 2d 
v.; F. V. Conkling, M. ist V,; Charles Bush, tyler. 

Chemung Valley Equitable Aid Union, Horseheads, was organized 
in June, 1880. F"our death losses have been paid, amounting to nearly 
$10,000. Cyrus Barlow was secretary and accountant for about eleven 
\-ears ; he was also a representative for the organization of the New York 
.State Lodge in 18S4 and the Supreme Lodge convened at Columbus, 
Warren County, Pa. The officers are John Nichols, president; Mrs. 
.Mary J. Switzer, vice-president ; William E. Haines, secretary and ac- 
countant ; S. II. \'an Duzcr, treasurer. There are sixty-eight members 
in this lodge. 

Although Horseheads is a village of residences it has also been the 
location of manufacturing interests. On the square front of a building 
near the old canal erected many years since appears dimly through an 
outer coat of paint the words " Carriage Factory." More plainly 
than the other and upon the same space is seen "Woolen Factory." 
The former uses to which the building was devoted have had their day 
.ind the observer sees above the door " Horseheads Celery Company." 
This business was established in 1887 by W. H. Smith, who handles 
large quantities of celery and other produce grown by farmers in this 
vicinity. His shipments extend from Maine to Florida. Among the 
growers of celcr)- in this vicinity are E. Orvis and James McQueen. It 
is also grown on the Willis Sayre farm. 

The woolen factory above mentioned was started in 1868 by Robert 
Thorn and Spafiford Andrus. Clark M. Barbour became associated with 
them in the business, which was successfully conducted under the firm 
name of Thorn, Andrus & Barbour. 

The Horseheads mills, erected by Capt. Vincent Conkling in 1837, 
stood in the south part of the village on Newtown Creek. Conkling 
ran the mill until 1846 and Benjamin Stimpson ran it from that time 
until 1850. Theodorus Satterlee became owner in 185 1 and sold to 
Hitchcock, of Elmira, in 1854. In 1S66 Charles Kline and Samuel Hall 
purchased the property and made extensive repairs, afterward doing a 



48C OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

profitable business. In 1868 I. McDanolds purchased an interest and it 
was afterward carried on under the firm name of Kline, Hall & Co. The 
mill was burned in April, 1884. 

What was known as the " Empire Mill," situated originally on the 
east side of Main street, was built by William T. Hastings in 1850. Two 
or three years later he removed the building to the north side of Frank- 
lin street near the Northern Central Railway, where he ran the mill until 
1857, when it fell into the hands of George and Morris Bennitt, by whom 
it was operated until April, 1861, when it was destroyed by fire. It was 
rebuilt and conducted by them as proprietors until 1865, when the 
Tabcrs became partners and the firm name was Bennitt, Taber & Co. 
Some changes were made in the proprietorship by the Tabers and Ben- 
nittsin 1868. The building was burned in 1880, at which time Charles 
F. Taber and Daniel Bennitt were partners in the business. 

The Reynolds & Tuttle flouring- mill was built by Reynolds & Tuttle 
in 1885. They operated this until July, 1888; since that time it has 
been under the control of T. R. Peck & Co, 

The Horseheads steam saw- mill was built by Morris Bennitt in 1869. 
He operated it until 1874, when it was purchased by Reynolds & 
Tuttle. The mill was burned in January, 1890, and was rebuilt by 
W. E. Tuttle in the same year. It is situated near the tracks of the 
Elmira, Cortland, and Northern Railway. There is a box factory in 
operation in connection with this business. 

The Terry Manufacturing Company started business near the inter- 
section of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western and the Northern 
Central Railroads in 1883. They manufactured an improved barn-door 
hanger. In 1887 the company purchased the foundry and machine shop 
on Main street, and manufactures a great variety of iron and steel articles. 
What the place turns out might properly be called " Terry jewelry." 

The firm of E. A. Perkins & Co. established business here in 1890. 
Their plant is located near the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Rail- 
road. They manufacture iron and steel bridges and all kinds of struct- 
ural iron work. The members of the firm are E. A. Perkins, J. S. Per- 
kins, and W. F. Walker. 

George Rockwell and E. M. Sayre commenced business in the maii- 
ufaclure of screen doors and windows in 18SS. In 1889 their business 



TO W\ OF HORSEHEADS. 4S7 

was enlaigeci, and they commenced the manufacture of boxes and 
crates. Their shops are located near the Erie dei)ot. 

The Kline Iron Worlds, where for many years were manufactured 
architectural iron work and agricultural implements, stood on Franklin 
street. This business was established by C. A. Granger in 1849. 
Oakley, Clapp & Co. were afterward the proprietors. The building was 
burned in 1870. During this same year Bogardus & Bennitt built the 
foundry on Main street, now the location of the Terry Manufacturing 
Companj'. This was a wooden structure and was destroyed by fire in 
1883. Case & Tomlinson bought the lot and built what is now a part 
of the Terr)' shops. 

The town of Horseheads is especially noted for the manufacture of 
brick, the enterprise being originally upon a small scale. It has grown 
into gigantic proportions. The Westlake brickyard, now the property 
of R. G. Eisenhart, was started by a man named Albright in 1840. 
William Westlake operated it in 1855 to the extent of about 1,200,000 
bricks per year. In 1858 Benjamin Westlake purchased the yard and 
the land surrounding it, afterwaid added improved machinery, and in- 
creased the output to more than five times its former capacity. Mr. 
Westlake became wealthy during the years he conducted the business, 
and expended large sums in buildings and other improvements. It is 
said that his dwelling-house alone cost him $80,000. Succeeding Mr. 
VW^stlake's death, some six years since, the business has undergone some 
clianges. It was for a time under the proprietorship of Henry Smith, 
William D. Reynolds, and R. G. Eisenhart as the Smith Manufacturing 
Company. In 1890 Mr. Eisenhart became sole proprietor, has a force 
of si.xty-five men, and manufactures from 7,000,000 to 8,000,000 bricks 
per annum. 

The Eureka brickyard was started bj' P. M. C. Townsend. About 
150,000 was the output of the first year. In 1888 Mr. Townsend sold 
tiie business to M. H. Brown, but resumed the proprietorship again in 
1891. A large force of men is employed and about 1,200 cords of 
wood per annum are consumed in burning the brick. Drain tile and 
paving brick are also manufactured. The capacity of this yard is about 
8,000,000. The location is on the line of the Elmira, Cortland, and 
Northern Railroad between Horseheads and Breesport. 



48S OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Adjoining the Eureka yard is the yard of Kinley & Sons, which was 
opened in 1888. The firm is composed of Adam Kinley and his sons 
Charles and William. George Kinley is superintendent. There is 
about $20,000 invested in the business. The product of the yard was 
3,500,000 in 1890. The buildings were burned in August, 1891. 

The Empire yard of Duhl, Schaple & Co., Louis Duhl, Emil Schaple, 
and another, has an investment of $25,000. This yard was established 
in 1887 with a capacity of 3.000,000, and has been increased to 5,500- 
000 building brick. 

The postmasters of the post-town of Horseheads not otherwise or 
heretofore named, with the dates of their appointments, are as follows : 
Joseph McConnell, January 15, 1853 ; Samuel H. Maxwell, March 29, 
1853; Joseph S. Humphrey, August 15, 1861 ; Charles E. Thorn, Sep- 
tember I, 1865; Amaziah D. Loomis, March 28, 1876; Lawrence L. 
Curtis, April 6, 1880 ; Nelson H. Sixby, May 10, 1888 ; Jonas S. Van 
Duzer, July 2, 1889. 

Breesport, in the eastern part of the town of Horseheads, is one of the 
briskest villages in the county with all the evidences of activity and enter- 
prise that mark a thrifty and busy place. It is not a very old village and 
its condition is largely due to the exertions well directed of one or two 
men. Neither is it a large village, its inhabitants numbering only about 
525. Two beautiful streams of water pass through its borders, New- 
town Creek having an easterly and westerly direction and Jackson 
Creek a northerly and southerly one. The village is located on the El- 
mira, Cortland, and Northern Railroad, which does a profitable business 
with the manufacturing interests of the place. The road has switch 
lines past the steam flouring and saw-mills and to Adam Kinley's tan- 
nery. The land for the village plots was surveyed by Azariah Breese 
in 1854, and in the fall of that year the first frame building was erected 
upon the site of the present Rodboiirn House, a hotel kept by C. E. 
Breese. formally opened in January, 1855. The next spring the first 
store was put up on the opposite side of the street b|y Ulysses and Will- 
iam R. Breese, its builders and owners. Azariah Breese was the uncle 
of Ulysses and William R. 

There were a number of early settlers in this locality. As far back 
as 18 16 there were two log houses built within the present limits of 



TOIV.X OF HOKSEHEADS. 180 

Brcesport. One was on land now forming the front yard of the house 
of Joseph Rodbourn. James Hartgrosec, a British soldier captured 
by our forces at Saratoga and refusing to be exchanged, came to this 
locality and was living in a log house here in 1818. Jonathan Sclmon- 
over was another old settler. He died in 1808 at the age of eighty- 
three years. Other old settlers were Benjamin Smith, A. Schoonover, 
Israel Boyer, Silas Breese, David, Joel, and Israel Heller. One b\- the 
name of Barlow located at the west end of what is now tlie village in 
1818. Ulysses and William R. Breese are the sons of the Silas Breese 
named. The Heller family came in 1828 and built the first saw-mill in 
1830 in the vicinity of the present village. 

The postoffice was established November 19, 1853, tlirough the 
efforts and influence of Ulysses Breese, the first postmaster having been 
Moses P. Breese. He was succeeded by the following named : Warren 
Lincoln, July 5, 1854; Anson A. Ambry, November 21, 1854; David 
L. Lincoln, January 26, 1855; Robert F.Stewart, March 18, 1857; 
Joseph Rodbourn, June 21, 1858; Barzillia Burgess, March 26, 1S63 ; 
Jo.seph Rodbourn, August 28, 1866; Barzillia Burgess, March 25, 1869; 
Hermon C. Stone, April 19, 1881 ; Ldwin D. Burgess, March 3, 1884; 
Joseph Rodbourn, July 7, 1885; Edwin D Burgess, Ma_\' 13, 18S9. 

The village is much indebted to the enterprise and activity of Ulysses 
and William R. Breese and Joseph Rodbourn for its favorable condition. 
Mr. Rodbourn was very active and zealous in building the railroad 
that brought the village within touch with the markets of the world. 
He built the first saw-mill in the village in 1857, which has a capacity 
of 3,000,000 feet per annum. In 1S60 he built the first grist-mill, which 
has four runs of stone with all the modern improvements in mill ma- 
chinery. Its annual product is 3,000 barrels of merchant and 50,000 
bushels of custom work. Mr. Rodbourn's hands have always been full 
of undertakings for the good of the place. 

The shops of the railroad originally built and completed in 1874 as 
the Utica, Ithaca, and Elmira road were located in Breesport, but were 
burned in 1883. They were subsequently transferred by the new com- 
pany, the Elmira, Cortland, and Northern, to the village of Cortland. 
In 1877 J. K. Sanborn began the business here of the manufacture ot 
oatmeal. It was conducted under the name of the " U. S. Hulless Oat 



■l!)!) OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Company." The enterprise proved unprofitable and was soon aban- 
doned. Breesport has two hotels, tiie Rodb'ourn House, conducted 
b}' Charles E. Breese, and the Batterson House, named for its proprietor 
and landlord, John Batterson. There are two general stores here, those 
of John Van Gorden & Co. and the Harding Brothers. Other enter- 
prises, and they are numerous for so small a place, are one custom wool 
and carding- mill, two creameries, three brickyards, two blacksmiths, 
one carriage and repair shop, one harness shop, two custom boot and 
shoe shops, a drug store, a cheese-box factory, and an undertaking 
establishment. 

The religious sentiments of the people expressed themselves long be- 
fore they had any church organization. Ministers came to them from 
other villages and were aided by local members of the several denomi- 
nations. Meetings were held at the houses of members until the erec- 
tion of the first school-house on the Teal meeting house lot in which 
the various denominations worshiped. The first clergyman of whose 
coming any knowledge exists was the Rev. Daniel Thatcher, a Presby- 
terian who preached in the locality as early as iSoi. The village ^as 
now four churches. A flourishing Sabbath school is maintained in their 
commodious house of worship. The Rev. Mr. Clark, of Elmira, has 
preached here since the organization of the society. Mrs. G. W. Hard- 
ing is the organist. About forty members, formerly belonging to the 
Baptist Church of Horseheads, were added to this church in 1867. 

The Methodist Church was organized in 1839. Meetings had been 
held before this in the school-house. A church edifice was commenced 
in 1854 and completed in 1855, Isaac Van Gorden being class-leader 
and the Rev. M. Beach the pastor in charge. In 1875 the building was 
removed and the erection of a new church was commenced soon after. 
This was completed in 1880. The cost of the new church was about 
$8,000, of which Nathan Carey contributed $2,000. Among the mem- 
bers at the organization of the society were Abram Riker, Nathaniel 
Bailey, Guy M. Shappee. This church is a part of the Erin charge. 
There are about fifty members. 

The Methodist Protestant Church was organized by Rev. H. F. Snow 
of Chemung circuit in 1885 with fifteen members. A disagreement in 
the regular Methodist Church culminated in the formation of this so- 



rOirX OF HORSEHEADS. 491 

ciety. Tlie old clnircli of tlie iMethodist Society was purchased and 
repaired by Joseph Rodbourn, and is the place of worship of the Metli- 
odist Protestant congregation. The pastors of this church subsequent 
to the pastorate of Rev. H. F. Snow have been Revs H. F. Perkins, 
VV. \\. Church, A. F. liebee, and James Shewsniith. George P. SJiap- 
pee, a prominent member of the churcli, is a class-leader and has a local 
preacher's license. There are about thirty members. 

The Presbyterian Church was organized in 1874 with thirty members, 
being in part the remaining members of the old Scotchtown Church of 
l>in. The meeting-house of the old society was removed to Breesport and 
used in the erection of a new church, which was dedicated September 17, 
1875. . There are between thirty and forty members. Rev. C. C. Carr, 
of Horseheads, preached as stated supply for two or three years. Rev. 
1). D. Lindsley succeeded for one j'ear. He was followed by Rev. S. W. 
I^indsley, who remained four or five years. There was then an interval 
in which theological students supplied. Rev. John Cairns came as stated 
supply in January, 1891. The elders of this church are William Ormiston, 
Charles Ormiston, and Ira R. Jones. There is a flourishing Sabbath 
school of about seventy- five members. 

There was an old- school Baptist Church organized man\- years ago, 
having a place of worship near Colonel Barbour's. This building was 
erected for the society by Nathan Carey in 1856. There were originally 
about twenty-five members. Sanford Banister was one of the trustees. 
The wife of William Wheat was one of the members. Those who wor- 
shiped here are nearly all dead. The meeting house is still standing, 
though desecrated by the whir of a feed-mill. 

Breesport has a good departmental school with Prof. F. D. Williams 
as its principal. The Southern Light Lodge, F. and A. M., No. 125, is 
located here; C. B. Judson, W. M., and Joshua Staples, secretary. Tiiere 
is also a lodge of the I. O. O. F., Breesport Lodge, No. 419, John Van 
Gorden, N. G.; Achilles Breese, V. G.; Joel Jansen, secretary; and My- 
ron H. Breese, treasurer. 

The poor-house was located in Breesport in 1836, at the time of the 
organization of the county. There were three superintendents then, 
Wyatt Carr, James Van Etten, and George Coryell. A farm of 180 
acres was purchased of R(;bert Lindsley. At the time there was a log 



4i)2 OUR COUNTY A.YD /TS PEOPLE. 

house on the land. A stone foundation was put under it, a small addi- 
tion was built, and it was so used as the count)- house for mnn_\- years. In 
the course of time other buildings were put up. Joseph Rodbourn was 
superintendent in i86i,and that year he began building the present 
vooden structure. He was authorized b)' the supervisors to use a suffi- 
cient sum out of the excise fund to complete it. This was accomplished 
in 1862. In 1888 a new brick house was erected, which is complete in 
all respects for the purposes for wliich it is intended. On January 27, 
1891, it had ninety-six inmates — seventy-three men and twenty-three 
women^ The present officers are: Superintemlent, ICugene Atkins; 
keeper, Harvey Coleman ; matron. Miss Belle Roushey ; physician, N. S. 
Messenger ; chaplain, the Rev. James Shewsmith. 

The principal cemeteries of the town of Horseheads are located at 
Horseheads and Breesport. The first interment at Breesport was 
probably that of a person named Schoonover ; the half-obliterated 
name upon a rough stone is remembered by some of the old residents. 
A monument erected to the memory of the parents of Joseph and James 
Rodbourn stands upon the brow of the hill overlooking the village. 

The cemetery at Horseheads is within the corporation and is under 
the management of the village board. The first purchase of land was 
made in 1856. This embraced a square plot of four acres. It was laid 
out into four square sections, three of which were divided into lots 
twelve by twenty feet each. The lots in the front section sold for $8 
each and the lots of the third section for $5. The remaining section 
was free for any who wished, interments to be made in accordance with 
the rules of the corporate body controlling the cemetery. About 
1867 five or six acres extending back to the old canal feeder were 
added to the original purchase. The lots brought about $10 each. A 
third purchase of seven acres of land lying upon the west was subse- 
quently made for $1,500. The lots are valued at $15 each. 



ronW OF lUG FLATS. J!);l 



CHAPTER V. 

The Town of (he " Great Plains " that was Modernized into Big Flats — Who came first 
to take up the Lands c|uitted by the Redman — Christian Myneer — Events that 
marked his Pioneer Life — Where the early settlers Located — Aged Men — Organ- 
ization of the Town — The Town Officers — Highways and Bridges — Schools — 
Churches — Cemeteries — Masonry in the Town — Other Societies — Big Flats 
Village — The Lumbering and Tobacco Interests — Successful Enterprises — 
Interesting and Peculiar Events and Incidents in the History of the Town. 

THE town of Big Elats, lyiii!:^ upon the western border of the 
county, consists of broken upland and rich alhivial fiats along tlie 
Chemung River, wliicli flows tlirough'it and receives the water of Sing 
Sing Cieelc as its principal tributary. The area of the town is 26,097 
acres, the greater part of which is arable land of fair to excellent pro- 
ductiveness. The inhabitants are almost exclusively devoted to agri- 
cultural pursuits, in which they are especially successful. The township 
embraces a part of the old town of Chemung. 

As follows are the names of early settlers and old time residents: 
Christian Minier (Myneer), Caleb Gardner, George Gardner, Eleazer 
Owen, John Winters, Robert Miller, Roswell Goft', John Goff, Clark 
Winans, Abram Bennett, John Bennett, William Miller, John L. Sexton, 
Charles Frye, Elisha Brown, Uzel Gobie, John Silsby, Gershom Live- 
say, Joel Rowley, John V. Delaney, Joseph Rowley, Abram Minier, 
Nathan Rowley, Nathan Mundy, Charles Beard, Simon Hawes, Cor- 
nelius Lowe, jr., David Van Gorder, David Reynolds, Benjamin Whitney, 
Roswell Goff, jr., Tunis Dolson,John Emmons, Jonathan Boyer, Martin 
Hammond, Calvin Hawkins, Abram Scofield, Henry Fuller, John C. 
Scofield, Darius C. Bennett, Lewis Scofield, T. N. Bennett, John Pound, 
Jacob Van Tassel, Daniel Middaugh (Revolutionary soldier), John Mead, 
John Riker, Ebenezer Snow, Nathan Sanders, James Cooper, Abram 
Wilmartli, George Shriver, James McNulty, Jonathan Kent, Aaron 
Cook, Hezekiah Mead, Hugh Miller, Amos Rowley, Thomas Buck, 
John Huey, James Hughson, George Bticher, Daniel E. Brown, Henry 
McCormick, Hezekiah Beebe, Levi Lovell, Able Keyes, Henry Farr, 



49i OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

Benjamin Farwell, Andrew McNulty, Jacob Dorn, James Jackson, Will- 
iam H. Reeder, Lewis Edminster, Patrick Haggerty, Aaron Edminster, 
Klilui Chapman, Joseph Rhodes, Joseph Chandler, William Hooker, 
Jacob Reeser, John S. Miller, George Reeser, David Van Deren, James 
De Armand, Charles Reynolds, Daniel I lagar, Edmund Brace, Samuel 
Boyer, John Wormley, Philip Boyer, John M. French, Hezekiah Wood- 
ruff, Erastus Beard, Coleman Olmsted, Henry Farr, Joiin White, 
J. Beardsley, Daniel Lord, Samuel Minier, Frederick Woolcott, Ira 
Minier, sr., Silas Mills, John Blowers, William White, George Reeser, 
John J. Barton, Comfort Bennitt. 

In the spring of 1787, prior to the laying out of the lands in this 
vicinity into townships. Christian Myneer, accompanied by his wife and 
seven children, came up the river and landed upon the north side, where 
he built a cabin and planted corn' for their bread. To him is accorded 
the honor of being the first settler as well as planting the first orchard, 
building the first log house, and erecting the first frame building in the 
town. Here he laid the foundations of future prosperity ; here was born 
to him his son, Christian, jr., the first white child born in town; his was 
the first great sorrow, — the shadow of death crossed the threshold and 
removed a daughter in her winsome childhood ; at his house was the mar- 
riage rite first solemnized, when his daughter Catharine was wedded to 
William Applegate. Remaining where he settled he received on March 
23, 1791, a certificate of lot 1 17 in the town of Chemung, thus confirm- 
ing his right to his chosen possessions. He died in 1837, and side by 
side on the farm where he first settled rests the ashes of Christian ^\y- 
neer and his faithful wife, who toiled with him in the hardships and en- 
dured with him the privations of pioneer life. Descendants of this 
family are still prominent citizens of the town. 

In 1788 Tunis Dolson, Caleb Gardner, Capt. George Gardner (son of 
Caleb), Henry Starrett, and Clark Winans became settlers. Dolson 
located near Myneer's on lot 118. Henry Starrett settled near what is 
known as Starrett's Hollow. Caleb Gardner located on the farm after- 
ward owned by John Minier. Capt. George Gardner settled nearer the 
present site of the village, where he built a frame tavern in 1807. Clark 
W'inans settled on Sing Sing Creek ; Joel Rowley and John Winters 
took up their residence here in 1 790. Winters located on the Martin 



roir.y of jug flats. 495 

Hammond farm. Me was a hunter and claimed to have paid for 200 
acres of land from tlie sale of tlie skins of bears and wolves which lie 
killed and the bount)' he receivetl from the State for their destruction. 
Cornelius Lowe, William Miller, John ICmmons, Robert Miller, and 
David Van Gorder came about 1794. Robert Miller was a prominent 
town official for several years. Cornelius Lowe settled near the pond 
which bears his name. He was a successful dealer in skins, furs, and 
salt. David Reynolds and two sons, Nathan and James, came from 
Pennsylvania and settled in the locality afterward known as " Kgj'pt." 
He subsequently became the owner of a tract of land nearer the village 
and built a log house near the later residence of John D. Parks. He also 
built a saw-mill near Sing Sing Creek about 1804. His settlement in 
town was about 1800. John Huey, a merchant, brought goods from 
Piiiladelphia and established the first dry goods store in the village 
about this time. A part of the store was afterward used as a dwelling 
and became the residence of Abram Minier. Prominent among those 
who came later was Kleazer Owen, who settled in 1805 on land which 
was later the property of Stephen Owen. Eleazer Owen's father was 
one of the victims of an Indian massacre at Minisink, N. Y., in 1779. 
Nathan Sanders and Andrew and John McNulty settled not far from 
1810. Charles Hammond subsequently lived where Andrew McNulty 
settled. Nathan Sanders kept tavern for a number of years near the 
later residence of Lewis Fitch. Reuben M. Mundy, a veteran of the 
War of 18 12 and a native of New Jersey, came into the town in 1820. 
He was a thorough and practical farmer, a man of wealth and influence. 
He died in 1862. Nathan Mundy, father of Reuben M., was born in 
1770 and died in 1847. If is wife, born in 1776, died in 1840. Simeon 
L. ]\Iundy, son of Reuben M., born in February, 1825, died from the ef- 
fects of an accidental gun-shot wound in 1853. Among many others 
who liave been residents of the town and have added to the intellectual 
and material wealth of the community may be mentioned Lauren A. 
Tuttle, born December 1, 1803, and died March 19, 1875; William A. 
Tuttle died April 4, 1864, '" '"s fifty-fourth year; Henry Minier, born 
in 1810, died in 1873; Joel Rowley died July 4, 1854, aged eighty years ; 
Rebecca, his wife, died in October, 1859, at the age of eighty- four ; 
Patrick Haggerty, born in 1787, died in December, 1851 ; Sarah, his 



49(1 OUR CO US TV AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

wife, died in i860; David Reynolds died in 1853, aged ninety-two; his 
wife, Sarah, died in April, 1847, in her eighty- first year ; Capt. George 
Gardner died in 184S; John Winans, born in 1801, died in 1831 ; Will- 
iam Winters, born in January, 1805, died in June, 1878; Eleazer Owen, 
born January i, 1780, died December 19, 1859; Samuel Minier died 
October 18, 1876, aged seventy-two years. John Haggerty was born 
at Big Flats, June 30, 1824. He was the son of Patrick Haggerty and 
was the member of Assembly from the county in 1858. He died in 
Waterloo, N. Y. 

One of the noticeable cases of longevity was that of William Mapes, 
who spent the last years of his life in this town. He was a native of 
New Jersey, enlisted in the Colonial army, served at the battle of Mon- 
mouth, where he was twice wounded, was with General Sullivan on his 
memorable campaign against the Indians, and after several years of 
honorable service received a formal discharge from General Washing- 
ton's own hands. Fifty years later he came to Big Flats, where he spent 
the remainder of his life. He died April i, 1856, at the age of 103 
years. A marble shaft erected by the generous citizens of Big Flats 
marks his last resting place in their beautiful cemetery. 

Big Flats was formed from Elmira, April 16, 1822. Among those 
who held the office of supervisor prior to the organization of Chemung 
County in 1836 were George Shriver and Samuel Minier. The names 
of Robert Miller, John Aliller, T. Brooks, and W. Wyatt appear as 
town clerks. February 18, 1823, Clark Winans, John Bennitt, and Uzel 
Goble as commissioners of highways divided the roads of the town into 
twelve districts. 

Town clerks since 1836 have held that office in the order following: 

K.lmiind T. Gilbert, \Y. A. TiUtle, D. B. Brown, B. A. Rose, D. B. Brown, W. A. 
Tiittle, H. D. Lovell, Horace Miller, W. A. Tiittle. Lorenzo Brown, Horace Miller, J. M. 
Brown, W. T. Overhiser, John M.'Biown, William Woodward, G. M. Norman, William 
Woodward, W. E. Tuttle, N. E. Munson, T. W. Reed, Willis M. Hilton, J. R. Minier, 
George W. Woodward, Abram B. Minier, William Woodward. Huldah L. Storms, 
George H. Woodward, Alfreil Miller, William H. Hornby since 1S85. 

The following named have served as justices of the peace : 

Abel Rogers, Abel Crofut. George A. Gardner, J. L. Sexton, J. C. ScoSeld, S. K. 
Wollcott, J. M. Wheeler, Nelson Hotchkiss, Andrew W. Gilbert, J. D. Williams, John 
Rockwell, Aaron Whitney, John A. Stewart, William Clark, George W. Menthan, 



TOU:V OF BJG FLATS. 4'.i7 

lleniy Minier, Reuben Lovell, Henry Minier, A. S. Tiiller. Cephas Breed, .1. L. Sexton, 
Henry Wood, L. A. Tuttle, \V. A. Seeley, G. W. Haynes, Elmer Gilliert, John Camp- 
bell, James E. Farr, S. 11. Smith, jr., J. R. Lowe, George S. Voorhee.s, Charles H. Ham- 
mond, Harris Wickham, S. H. Smith, jr., Charles Gardner. Edwin Gilliert, J. R. Lowe, 
Ambrose S. Fuller, Charles H. Hannuond, Lemuel Caywood. Charles Gardner, Elmer 
Gilbert, Sylvester Miller, John Elwood, De Witt C. Rineljart, I'. J. Hrown. Thomas 
Ciywooil. Elmer Gilbert, William B. .Miller. T. B. Sils'.y, William B. Miller. 

Tin.- highways of the tovvn have been iiiider the supervision of com- 
petent and painstaking men as commissioners, usually' three, who have 
carefully studied the convenience of the travehng pubUc. The con- 
struction and maintenance of bridges has been attended with consider- 
able expense. Besides those of minor importance are two which span 
Ciiemung River. These are suspension bridges, the first built about 
1870 at an e.xpense of $15,000 and the other, near the southeast cor- 
ner of the town, erected in 1882 at a cost of $i6,000, si.\ty per cent. 
of which was paid by the town of Big Flats and the remainder by the 
town of Southport. This bridge occupies the site of the old bridge 
erected by the Lumbermen's Bridge Company, which was carried away 
by a flood February 11, 1881. 

At the town meeting of 1880 it was voted to have but one highway 
commissioner. Pursuant to this the ne.xt election was made in 1882, 
the choice being David Churcher. I le was succeeded by Asa Storms, 
who held the office for si.x consecutive j'ears. Grover Johnson was 
elected in 1889 and Asa Storms again the )-ear following. J. Marion 
Easterbrook was elected to the office in 1891. 

This town has eight districts with a school-house in each, and parts of 
tliree joint districts with the school-houses in Steuben County. Dis- 
trict No. I employs two teachers and has a conmiodious school build- 
ing. The aggregate attendance in all of the scliools of the town by re- 
port for 1890 was 30,641 daj's. The State appropriation for 1891 was 
$1,250.28. The village of Big Flats has had three school houses: the 
first a log building erected about 1815, one known as the red school- 
liouse built in 1837, and the one built near the cemetery in 1853. 

A council from the churches of Ovid, Romulus, and Chemung, rep- 
resented by Revs. Gofif, Caton, and Gillette, organized a church of the 
Baptist denomination August 30, 1807, tlic tlrst in the town. The first 
services were held in a barn and later in school-houses. The Rev. Ros- 
en 



4!IS OUR COUNTY A AD ITS PEOPLE. 

well Goff, a pioneer preacher, was the first pastor. He was succeeded 
bj' tlie Rev. Philander D. Gillette, under whose ministration in 1827 a 
meeting house was built and first occupied in January, 182S. The 
building stood northeast of the residence of J. R. Lowe and was used 
for church purposes until 185 1, when it was abandoned and subse- 
quently used as a tobacco-house. About this time a branch of the reg- 
ular Baptist Church purchased the Episcopal Church edifice in the 
village and remodeled it at an expense of about $3,000. This was first 
occupied in September, 1852. The pastorate of Rev. Philander D. Gil- 
lette was succeeded by those of Revs. Stephen Wise, Aaron Jackson, 
Benjamin R. Swick, Daniel Reed, James Coffin, Isaac Estabrook, Sam- 
uel Keim, J. W. Emery, David Burroughs, Charles L. Bacon, William 
N. ICntwistle, Hobart Leavenworth, J. Jones, H. D. Baldwin, and F. A. 
Martin, who commenced his labors as pastor in June, 1889. The church 
has a membership of 1 54 and about the same number attend the Sun- 
day school. 

During the pastorate of the Rev. Benjamin R. Swick in the regular Bap- 
tist Church a dissension upon the subject of Free Masonry resulted in the 
building of a church in 1849 near the residence of George Shriver; this 
was known as the Freewill Baptist Church. The Rev. S. T. Aldrich 
was the first pastor. The historj' of this church is uneventful and the 
society disorganized. 

There was a Methodist class formed at an early day and circuit 
preachers visited the society occasionally. The Rev. Edward T. Gil- 
bert preached about 1825. There was only a feeble existence of the 
society for several years. In 1853, through the influence of Dr. and 
Mrs. T. W. Read, who had then resided in the town about a year, and 
the efforts of Rev. John Nevin, a church organization was efiected un- 
der Rev. John Parker as presiding elder. There were then twelve mem- 
bers. The Rev. Isaac Ketchum was ti;e first pastor. A church edi- 
fice was erected about 1866 and completed in 1868. There have been 
two appointments, but later only one, this at Tompkins Corners in the 
town of Catlin. There is a membership of about lOO. The pastors who 
have succeeded Rev. Isaac Ketchum are the Revs. George Wilkinson, 
F. Kent, W. E. Pindar, Eli Brown, John Hutchings, William Walge- 
muth, Harris Peck, R. D. Munger, Walter Statham, A. T. West, G. J. 



roii'.y OF luc, flats. -lyo 

Du Bois, A. W. Staples, C. \V. Winchester, A. S. Durling, John A. Sack- 
ett, A. D. Edgar, S. G. Rliinevault. G. W. Moxe\-, Wesley Cochran, 
James A. Roberts, G. W. Foster, N. M. Wheeler, N. A. De Pew, Walter 
Statham, and (i 891) II. D. Barber. 

The First Presbyterian Church was organized in 1825 with Nathan 
Reynolds. Charles Fry, and Joseph Pound as deacons. A flourishing 
Sunday school numbering about lOO was held in Robert Miller's barn. 
The first preachers were Revs. Rouse, Ford, and Jones. In 1829 a 
church was erected bj" William II. Reader under Benjamin Farwell, 
Eleazer Owen, Nathan Reynolds, Robert Miller, Charles Frye. John 
Winters, Clark Winans, and David Reynolds as building committee 
who furnished the means. The first settled pastor was the Rev. 
S. Harmon. He was succeeded by the Revs. Shaw, Whitney, Mills, 
and Clark. The pastors in more recent years have been Revs. T. Har- 
rington, C. W. Higgins, E. S. Wilson, William Atwood, S. D. Jewell, 
and H. T. SJioll, who came in 1891. 

St. Paul's Episcopal Church was organized in 1830. John Minier 
was largely interested financially and otherwise in the erection of a 
church edifice which was completed in 1834. Capt. George Gardner 
gave the land for a site and Trinity Church of New York contributed 
several hundred dollars. Rev. E. T. Gilbert was the first rector. Deaths, 
removals, and otlier causes led to partial disorganization about 1843 
and the church building was sold in 1S51. Services were held occa- 
sionally by rectors from Corning and I-^lmira. The Rev. Mr. Mot>dj' 
was their rector for a time. In October, 1861, a re-organization was 
effected under Bishop De Lancy. L. A. Tuttle was chosen senior 
warden and A. H. Gates junior warden ; the vestrymen were \\'illiam 
Woodward. W. A. Tuttle, John Haggerty, A. J. Bennett, A. D. Huey, 
O. T. Tuttle, Jedediah Stowe, and A. B. Steele. It has since been 
known as St. John's Episcopal Church. The Rev. Henry M. Brown 
was the first rector of the new church. I le was succeeded by the Revs. 
Robert R. Goud)', John A. Bowman, and George W. G. Van Winkle. 
Services were afterward conducted by the Revs. F"rancis D. Hoskins 
and John F. Hurlich, rectors of Grace Church, Elmira. Supply services 
were afterward rendered by the Rev. S. D. Boorom, who was succeeded 
by the Rev. F. E. I^asterbrooks as recto/. Rev. F. E. Badger then 



t 
500 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

supplied until the ministration of Rev. Thomas Duck, who is the present 
rector. The building of the church edifice was the result of generous 
contributions and self-sacrificing efforts of several members of the con- 
gregation, and its completion in 1867 and its subsequent consecration 
fully assured by a gift of $3,000 from Warden I>auren A. Tuttle, who 
closed his earthly labors March 19, 1875. 

The few Catholic families of this town are occasionally visited by 
Rev. Peter Colgan, of Corning, and at other times by his curate. A 
neat little church was erected at the village in 1881 at an expense of 
$1,000. There has been a gradual diminution of the number of Catho- 
lics in this town during the last decade, mainly on account of removals. 

Soon after the settlement of the town a plot of land where the village 
of Big Flats is located was set apart by the proprietor of the land for 
burial and school purposes. The first burial of which there is any 
record was that of Amos Rowley, who died June 5, 1809. The next 
record of death gives the name Isabella Miller, wife of Robert Miller, 
July 14, 1809. 

On July 24, 1855, Big Flats Cemetery Association was incorporated 
with William A. Tuttle, president; John Haggerty, vice-president; 
William Woodward, treasurer; John D. Williams, secretary. The trus- 
tees were : First class, N. S. Mundy, John Minier, and John D. Will- 
iams ; second class, H. B. Noyes, William A. Tuttle, and Samuel 
Minier ; third class, William Woodward, John Haggerty, and Levi Rose. 
A lot adjoining the old cemetcrj' was purchased by the association of 
Nathan Reynolds, November 12, 1855, for $50, and another, known as 
the Barton lot, April 5, 1870, for $500. The whole contains about four 
acres. 

The Big Fiats Burial Association was organized February 13, 1886, 
with Simeon S. Smith, president; E. Gilbert, secretary; J. R. Minier, 
treasurer ; trustees, M. C. Bennett, N. S. Mundy, J. R, Minier, E. Gil- 
bert, James E. Farr, J. P. Smith, J. R. Lowe, Uriah Goff, and S. S. 
Smith. S. M. Hughson has since succeeded Simeon S. Smith as presi- 
dent. The cemetery under the management of this association is 
situated north of the tracks of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western 
Railroad, and contains about six acres. The entire expense of land, 
grading, trees, and other improvements has been $2,500. One acre 



rO WN OF lilG FLA TS. 501 

was purcliased by the town for $452. Tlieie is a smaller cemetery near 
the site of the old Baptist Church. 

A Masonic lodge was organized in 18 10, holding meetings at Capt. 
George Gardner's tavern in an upper room. Daniel E. Brown was 
W. M. George Gardner and Benjamin Farwell held other offices in the 
lodge. The number of tlie members is not known and they probably 
disbanded several years later. 

Big Flats Lodge, No. 378, F. and A. M., was instituted in July, 1855. 
Dr. Corbett Peebles was first W. M. and meetings of the lodge were 
held at his house. Past masters who succeeded Corbett Peebles were 
John D. Williams, Samuel Minier, John A. Stewart, A. D. Huey, P. J. 
Brown, J. R. Minier, II. L. Storms, Purley Churcher, and L. S. Brant. 
Officers for A. L. 5891 : D. L. Churcher, VV. M.; Thomas Caywood, 
S. D.; S. A. Minier, treasurer; E. IF Wakeley, seicretary ; J. R. Minier, 
organist; N. S. Mundy, W. H. Elliot, and L. S. Brant, trustees. The 
lodge has a membership of eighty-two. Masonic Hall, the propertj' of 
the lodge, was first occupied October 30, 1872. The building is valued 
at $3,000. The lower rooms are rented for town and other purposes. 

The Big Flats Lodge, A. O. U. W., was organized in March, 1879. 
Relatives of deceased members have received since organization and 
prior to July, 1891, $i2,ooo. The present officers are : James P. Smith, 
M. VV.; Grove Johnson, recorder; J. R. Lowe, financier. 

An Equitable Aid Union was instituted December 16, 1884. It has 
twenty-seven members and its meetings are held in Silsby's Hall. Its 
present officers are : N. J. Lowe, president ; S. P. Reader, secretary and' 
accountant ; W. F. Tifft, treasurer. 

Seeley Post, No. 554, G. A. R., was chartered April 25, .1885. The first 
meeting was held May 8, 1885. The charter members were James Bur- 
ton, Henry Saunders, Orlando Groom, J. E. P'arr, S. B. Hilton, Samuel Hig- 
gins, George \V. Brant, Jerry Transue, Jacob Weaver, Israel Kimball, 
Andrew Blackman, Horace Kimball, David Quackenbush, Benjamin 
Smalley, Andrew Groom, Wallace Pease, Charles Quackenbush, P2!eazer 
Hogancamp, Charles Seymore, John Rickey, Adelbert Kenj'on, and 
John Webber. The meetings of the post are held in Campbell's Hall. 
Officers in 1891 : Henry Saunders, commander ; Orlando Groom, senior 
vice-commander; J. D. Campbell, junior vice-commander ; Israel Kim- 



502 OUR COUNTY A.\D ITS PEOPLE. 

ball, chaplain; John D. Miller, quartermaster; J. E. Farr, adjutant; 
Wallace Pease, O. D.; G. E. Hogancamp, officer of the guard. 

The village bearing the same name as the town is located in the 
western part of the township and convenientlj' near the stations of the 
Erie and the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroads, which ex- 
tend through the town from east to west. There are fi\'e churches 
(the Baptist, Presbj-terian, Methodist, Episcopal, and Catholic), a school 
of two departments, a dry goods store, four groceries, a store of millin- 
ery and fancy goods, a drug store, a wagon shop, several blacksmith 
shops, a baker}', harness shop, Masonic Hall, and a hotel. There are 
also a grist-mill, saw- mill, and a cigar manufactory. 

During the early history of the town lumbering was actively carried 
on, and especially during the first years of the existence of the Chemung 
Canal feeder, which was constructed about 1833. This extended east 
and west through the town and was the scene of active commerce. 
Vale and hill contributed each of its stock of pine and other timber to 
supply the increasing demand. The culture of grain and grass has since 
yielded profitable returns to the tiller of the soil. The culture of to- 
bacco, which was commenced in 1850, has graduallj' increased until 
there are nearly 400 acres of the choicest land in the town in the shadow 
of its broad leaf 

Big Flats steam mill, operated by an engine of sixty horse-power, 
was built by H. V'oorhees as a grist-mill in 1869. Other owners or pro- 
prietors have been Voorhees & Rhinehart, S. S. Smith, and H. C. 
Warner. It is successfully operated by Grover Johnson. Since 1872 
there has been a saw-mill in connection with the grist-mill doing custom 
sawing to the amount of about 500,000. feet per annum. About the 
same amount is sawed yearly at the saw- mill of Johnson & Rhinehart. 

The Stephens grist-mill on Sing Sing Creek, built by S. S. Stephens, 
has both steam and water power and is owned and run by James Cas- 
terline. 

Hammond's creamery, started about 1870 by Homer Bennett, after- 
ward owned by Martin Hammond, manufactures annually about 40,000 
pounds of butter and 60,000 pounds of cheese. 

Grove Spring Creamery Company was organized in i 884. The build- 
ing is located at Grove Spring (mi the old canal feeder. This spring 



TO \V.\ OF BIG FLA TS. 503 

flows at the rate of fourteen barrels per iiiiiuite and the purest of water 
at a temperature of 47". Fifty thousand pounds of butter and about 
75,000 pounds of cheese are made annually. Its superintendent is Lewis 
Fitch. 

A co-operative creamery at Sing Sing near the town of Catlin does 
a successful business and is patronized by a number of the citizens of that 
town. 

G. S. Yoorhees & Co. employ ten hands in a cigar manufactory. 

There is but one postofilce in the town. Robert Miller was the first 
postmaster. His successors not otherwise and heretofore named, with 
the dates of their appointments, are as follows: Horace Weller, April 8, 
1852 ; Nelson Ilotchkiss, December 31. 1853 ; William A. Tuttle, Feb- 
ruary II, 1859; Theophilus \V. Read, April 7, 1863; William E. Tut- 
tle, May 3, 1867; Thomas Cuddeback, May 26, 1871 ; Edgar A. 
Campbell, May 18, 1879; William A. Seeley, March 21, 1881 ; Edwin 
C. Taylor, January 15, 1883; Samuel A. Minicr, August 24, 1885; Edgar 
A. Campbell, May 13, 1SS9. 

The town took an active part in the war of the Rebellion, furnishing 
170 men for the defence of the Union. 

Among interesting and peculiar events connected with the historj' of 
the town maybe adduced the following: Aaron Cook built the first 
distillery in 1809. The building was burned in 1812 and Cook died by 
the bite of a rattlesnake in 1825. John L. Sexton erected the first 
steam saw-mill. It was stolen and removed to Canada. Justice failed to 
reach the thieves, but fate brought retribution in disaster and ruin. The 
first school- house was built in 1814. Onjune i, 1889, the flats along the 
river were flooded, two houses were carried away, horses, cattle, and other 
animals drowned, and crops seriously damaged if not entirely ruined. 
Daniel Middaugh, a Revolutionary soldier, an early resident of Big Flats, 
great grandfather of L. P. Whitcomb, died at the age of 102. Dr. Corbett 
Peebles, born in 1803, practiced medicine in this town fifty years. He 
died December 26, 1890. His son, a graduate of Elmira Free Academ\-, 
is winning a fine reputation as a writer in the editorial columns of the 
IClmira Gazette. A locust tree standing upon the premises of Stephen 
T. Owen measures fifteen feet in circumference. The dwelling-house 
of James IC. P'arr, which was built in 1814 of brick burned upon the 



504 OUR COU-XTV AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

premises, stands with a firmness and solidity which make it appear able 
to withstand the wear of a century to come. It was built by Clark or 
John VVinans, one of the earliest settlers of the town. Owen Hardiman 
and Henry Gilder, residents of Big Flats, were killed in a railroad dis- 
aster at Ravenna, Ohio, July 3, 1891. They were each about twenty- 
one years of age. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Ashland the latest of the Towns to be Organized — How it got its Name — The Mon- 
ument that marks the Sullivan Battlefield — Early settlers of the Town — Green 
Bently — Nathan Roberts — Jesse Carpenter — Eunice Kelsey, the first White 
Child born in the Town — The first Tavern and the first Church — The old Grave- 
yard — Wellsburg, Ashland's only Village — Abner Wells and his Family, from 
whom the Place gets its Name — Bently Creek and its Water-Power — First 
business Enterprises — Later Comers — Richard Caton Lockwood — Oldest Resi- 
dents — George W. Roberts — Wellsburg's business Men — The Postoffice and 
its Postmasters — Officers of the Village^ The Baptist Church, the oldest Relig- 
ious Society in the Valley — Elder Roswell Goff — Wellsburg's other Churches - 
Lowmanville or Lowman's — Its Postoffice and Postmasters — Its Industries — 
Dairying and Tobacco raising in Ashland — Favorable promises for Petroleum 
near Wellsburg — Organization of the Town and its Officers. 

OF the eleven towns comprising the county of Chemung Ashland 
was the last to be organized. It lies in the extreme southern 
[jart of the county and its formation is very irregular, owing to the fact 
that the Chemung River, which runs in a southeasterly direction, forms 
the boundary line for nearly the whole eastern and part of the northern 
limits. On the west and a portion of the north Ashland is boimded by 
the town of Southport. 

Until 1867 the territory constituting the present town was included 
partly in the towns of Elmira, Southport, and Chemung. A large ma- 
jority of the voters were compelled to go a considerable distance to vote 
and a strong movement was started to form a new town. A petition 
was prepared, principally through the efforts of the late R. C. Lock- 
wood and David Sweet ; was signed by many prominent men interested 



TOWX OF ASHLA.XP. 505 

in the movement, and presented to the legislature b\' Assemblyman 
George \V. Buck, of Chemung. Mr. Buck's bill authorizing the new 
division was favorably acted upon and Ashland was legally constituted 
a town on April 25, 1867. Many residents were desirous of giving the 
name of Lockwood to the new town in honor of R. C. Lockwood, one 
of the most conspicuous citizens of the communit}'. Mr. Lockwood, 
however, being of an unassuming nature, would not consent to this and 
in deference to his wishes the name of Ashland, which was the name of 
the Kentucky home of Henry Clay, of whom Mr. Lockwood was a 
great admirer, was selected. 

With the exception of the flats on either side of the Chemung River 
the surface of tiie town is made up of wooded hills and fertile vallej-s. 
The soil in the bottom lands is a rich, gravelly loam, susceptible of high 
cultivation, and that portion of the hills and uplands not covered with 
timber is admirably adapted for grazing purposes. . 

The immediate \icinity of this town was the scene of the historic 
battle with the Indians on August 29, 1779. A monument was erected 
and dedicated on the centennial anniversary of the battle August 29, 
1879. This monument stands on what is now known as Monument 
Hill, a towering elevation 600 feet above the surface of the river and 
one mile to the northwest of the ground on which the engagement really 
occurred. Among those prominent in bringing about the erection of 
the structure were R. C. Lockwood, of Wellsburg, James Carpenter, of 
Lowmanville, and General Gregg, of Elmira. It is built of quarry stone, 
which is found in abundance in the vicinity, and is fifty feet high. Upon 
a marble slab which was originally placed over the entrance was this 
inscription : 

'• Near this spot on Sunday, the 29th day of August, 1779, the forces under Joseph 
Brant were met and defeated by the Americans under the command of Major-General 
John Sullivan." 

This slab long since fell from its position and only small fragments 

of it remain scattered about the base of the shaft. On either side ot 

this slab were placed two small blocks of marble. On the left hand one 

was inscribed the date " 1779" and on the other that of " 1879." 

Tiiese blocks still remain, as does also a marble tablet inserted in the 

wall just inside the entrance, on which the following can be traced : 

Ii4 



nOG OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

"The grounds for this structure, fifteen acres in t-xlnit, .-ire donated to (he New- 
town Monument Association hy Alfred Searle." 

The top of the monument, which is reached by a spiral staircase, dis- 
closes a view of great extent and beauty. A magnificent range of vision, 
stretching from the farthest limits of the city of Elmira on the north- 
west to the village of Waverly on the southfast, is presented to the visit- 
or's eye. Across the valley of the Chemung lies the village of Wells- 
burg and beyond are plainly visible the gray and towering hills across 
the Pennsylvania State line. Moving railroad trains can be distinctl)' 
seen as they leave Soutliport and traced in their winding course through 
the vallej' on the south side of the river for nearly twenty miles. 

The monument is now in a neglected slate, a large portion of the 
front wall directly above the entrance having become detached and 
fallen to the ground. It is visited but rare!}', owing to the extreme diffi- 
culty of ascending the hill on which it stands. During fair weather it 
can be seen b)' passengers from the car windows on the river side of the 
train just north of Wellsburg. A great mistake is now seen and 
acknowledged to have been made in erecting a monument of such a 
character in stich an inaccessible spot. A stattie of General Sullivan 
could have been placed in one of the public squares in the city of El- 
mira at less expense than the erection of the monument and served the 
purpose to be reached, a meinorial of the event, much better. 

In the year 17S8 Green Bently settled near the present site of the 
village of Wellsburg. In 1790 the Wells family, the Traceys, together 
with Ebenezer Green and' Isaac and Henry Baldwin, also settled in the 
town permanently. The Baldwins laid out farms on the east side of the 
river and the Wells family also settled on that side. 

A patent for 460 acres of land dated March 2, 1791, issued to Abner 
Kelsey, is still in existence. Kelsey came in 17S9. This land lies on the 
south side of the river and west of Bently Creek. 

In 1795 Nathan Roberts came from Orange County, N. Y., with his 
wife Hanna, and settled within a mile of the mouth of Bently Creek. 
He had seven sons, John, James, Jonathan, Jeremiah, Samuel, Joseph, 
and Solomon. The descendants of this family now living are Jasper and 
George W., sons of Jonathan, and Miles, son of James. 

Jacob Comfort and David Burt settled here about 1800. Jacob Low- 



rOtV.V OF .ISULA.XD. 507 

man came from Middletoun, Pa., in 1796, and settled on the east side 
of the river near the Baldwin farms. 

In 1804 came Jesse Carpenter, a hneal descendant of W'iUiam Carpen- 
ter who came from Amesbury, Wiltshire, Hlngland, with Roger Williams 
and settled at Providence, R. I., in 1636 Jesse settled on what is now 
the Jacob Lowman estate half a mile west of Baldwin Creek. He had 
two sons, Jesse, jr., and Joseph. The latter never married. The living 
descendants of Jesse Carpenter, jr., are ICdward S., George E., James, and 
William S. Ivdward S. and William S.are well known and prominent resi- 
dents in the town of Big Mats. George K. is a retired merchant and re- 
sides in Elmira. James Carpenter still remains on the old homestead, and 
the house in which he dwells occupies a site only a few rods to the west of 
the spot on which his grandfather erected liis primitive abode more than 
fourscore years ago. His fatlier, Jesse Carpenter, jr., invented and con- 
structed the first horse-power churn in 1832. The indenture in the 
ground made for the purpose of erecting this machinery is still to be 
seen near the present farm-house, although the apparatus itself was dis- 
continued in 1876. 

In 1790, or soon thereafter, the following named persons settled in 
the vicinity: James Mitchell (father of Jacob W. I\Iitchell), Samuel 
Middaugh, Jonas Gardner, James McKean, whose nephew, Hon. Samue! 
McKean, served the State of Pennsylvania as member of Congress from 
1823 to 1829 and as United States Senator from 1834 to 1839. About 
this time came also Elias Middaugh, Judge Caleb Baker, Elder Ros- 
well GotT (who so ably conducted the affairs of the historic Baptist 
Church at Wellsburg), and Thomas Kecney. Few of the descendants 
of these early settlers remain in the neighborhood where their fathers 
located. 

Nearly opposite Wellsburg settled John Hillman and Wilkes Jen- 
kins in 1790. The latter removed to Elmira in 1799. Somewhat later 
Col. Solomon L. Smith, father of Jud Smith, both since deceased, ar- 
rived, and soon after came the Matthews family. Some descendants 
of the latter named family are still living in Ashland. 

Green Bently early in the year 1789 put up a log house in which he 
dwelt. This house stood on the banks of Bently Creek and near the 
present site of Wellsburg. All traces of it and its foundations have en- 



508 OUR COUXTV AND ITS rKOPLE. 

tirely disappeared. It was without doubt the first habitation built by a 
white man within the present limits of the town. 

In 1800 Isaac Baldwin built a saw-mill on the west bank of the creek 
that bears his name and on the present site of the grist-mill at Low- 
man's. This mill has been remodeled and enlarged. 

The first white child born in the town of which there is any record 
was Eunice Kelsey, her birthday having been on March 16, 1789. Her 
father was Abner Kelsey. Eunice grew to womanhood and married 
Jacob Decker. She became the mother of six children, three sons and 
three daughters, descendants of whom are now living at Wellsburg. 
Eunice died March 21, 1864, at the advanced age of seventy-five years, 
eleven months, and five days, and her remains were buried in the church- 
yard of the Wellsburg Baptist Church. 

In a log house on the east side of the river William Baldwin kept the 
first tavern as early as the spring of 1798. The first school- house was 
located on the site of the present Baptist graveyard and the school was 
taught by Caleb Baker. The building was a rudely constructed log 
house and passed into oblivion long since. 

The first church edifice was that of the Baptist Society, built in the 
year 18 1 2. It was originally erected on the site of the present building, 
but has undergone several changes and has been enlarged. The grave- 
j'ard that surrounds this church was the first piece of ground that was 
set off for the interment of the dead, and many old and time-worn 
stones mark the resting place 'of generations that have lived and died in 
Ashland. Here lie the remains of such persons as judge Henry Wells; 
Nathan Roberts and his wife Hanna ; Richard Comfort and his wife 
Charity; James Roberts, son-of Nathan Roberts and father of Miles, also 
his wife Mary ; David Bush and wife ; and only a few days since were 
laid to rest here the remains of Richard Caton Lockwood, long time a 
resident of Wellsburg, who lived always honored and respected and died 
sincerely mourned. 

Wellsburg, the only village in Ashland, occupies a picturesque posi- 
tion on the west side of the Chemung River at a point just south of the 
mouth of Bently Creek. On the east and west are towering hills with 
heavy undergrowths of chestnut, oak, and hemlock, leaving a level plain 
between nearly half a mile in breadth, on which the village proper is 



TOWN OF ASHLAND. 509 

symmetrically laid out. The principal business street runs parallel with 
the tracks of the Erie Railroad and is intersected by three broad avenues, 
on which are located the homes and dwellings of the villagers. 

The immediate neighborhood of VVellsburg was among the first set- 
tled spots in the valley. Green Bently located here in the year 1788 
and built the first house. Ebenezer Green came shortly after and almost 
simultaneously with him we find that Mehitable Tracey was living in a 
log house on the east side of the river. She was the daughter of Abner 
Wells, an old man who came from Orange County, N. Y., in 1789 and 
lived with his daughter. He was an interesting character, being a col- 
lege student, a man of fine education, and a graduate of what is now 
Princeton University. He died in 1797 and his wife survived him ten 
years. Accompanying him to this locality from Orange Count}' was 
his son Abner, jr., and two years later came Henry, another son. The 
two sons, Abner and Henry, afterward became particularly prominent 
in the affairs of the community and acquired a great amount of land. 
Nearl}' the entire area now covered by the village of Wellsburg was 
owned by these two men. Henry became the leading member of the 
Wells famil)', having been elected sheriff of the county in 18 19 and also 
afterward one of its judges. He was familiarly known as Judge Wells. 
The sons of Abner Wells, jr., were William, Isaac, Henry, and John. 
The sons of Judge Wells were Horace, Abner, Benjamin, and Henrj-. 
It was from this family that the village of Wellsburg received its name. 
The only male descendants of the family still living are Horace D. 
Wells, a florist living in Elmira city, and his cousin, J. Henry Wells, 
who keeps a grocery in Wellsburg. 

At the same date of the arrival of the Wells family came Samuel 
Westbrook, Abijah Batterson, Abraham Bennett, Asa Burnham, Abiel 
Fry, and Thomas Keenej-. Later by a few }'ears came Stephen H. 
Brown, of Orange County, N. Y., in the year 1806; Jacob Smith in 
1807 ; Aaron Brown, father of T. T. Brown, from Morris County, N. J., 
in 1 8 16; and George Fishier in 1835. 

Undoubtedly the incentive for settling on the present site of the village 
was the valuable water-power furnished by Bently Creek, which flows 
into the Chemung River at this point. The location is also easy of ac- 
cess to the surrounding country, thereby inviting the establishment of 



510 OUR couyrv axd its people. 

stores and taverns for the accommodation and patronage of farmers. 
The first store was opened by Abnerand Henry Wells in the year 1792. 
The location of this store is not definitely known, but those familiar with 
the stories of its existence are positive that it stood not more than half 
a dozen rods from the spot where J. P. O'Bryan's grist-mill now stands. 

Not more than a few months afterward a store was opened on the east 
side of the river by Isaac Baldwin. He kept a general stock of goods 
such as the early settlers would require, and his store was for many years 
one of the largest in the neighborhood. 

The first saw- mill built within the present limits of the village was 
that erected by David Brewer in 1830. It stood about twelve rods south 
of the bridge that crosses Bently Creek on the main street. In 1835 
Solomon L. Smith put up a saw- mill on the same stream at the south 
end of the village, or at the head of the street now known as Pennsyl- 
vania avenue. This mill was conducted by him for many years and 
afterward by his son, Jud Smith. The structure long since outgrew its 
usefulness, and nothing remains to-day but the foundations and a few 
decaying timbers. The first grist-mill was built conjointly by Calvin 
and James West and Miles Roberts in 1865-66. It stood on the site of 
the present mill. 

The first hotel regularly kept was that of Henry C. Wells, although a 
tavern had been kept prior to this by one of the Baldwins. The first 
church society in Wellsburg, in fact the first in the Chemung Valley, 
was the Baptist, organized in 1789. 

The village seems to have prospered both in the way of an increase 
in population and in commercial importance, for many are yet living 
who came and made it their home early in the 'fifties and later. Among 
these may be named R. C. Lockwood, who came in 1841 ; Hiram W. 
Young in 1853 ; A. C. Jewell and his sister in 1849; s"^ David Sweet 
in 1859. In 1849-50 the Erie Railroad was extended through Wells- 
burg and gave the place increased facilities for the transportation of its 
manufactures and the importation of goods and materials from other 
fields. 

The two oldest male residents of the village now living are Aaron E. 
Decker, born in the town of Southport in 1808, and George W. Roberts, 
who was born November 3, 180S, in the town of Big Flats. Mr. Roberts 



TO IVN OF ASHLAND. 5 1 1 

lived in Big P'lats until 1826, rcmoviiii^ tlience to W'cllsbiirg, where he 
engaged in cabinetmaking until 1836. lie then purchased a farm in 
llie town of Ciieniung and worked it until 1855, at which time he moved 
to the town C)f Southport, where he continued farming until 1887. 
While living in Chemung Mr. Roberts was elected justice of the peace 
and held the office four years. He was also postmaster at South Che- 
mung for one jear. In Southport he held office as justice of the peace 
for two years, when his other business necessitated his resignation. He 
has acquired the familiar title of Justice Roberts. His first wife was . 
Sally Ann Squires, whom he married in November, 1834. She died 
February 21, 1886. He has four children : Phineas S., Addison P., 
George Henry, and Sarah F., all of whom live in Chemung Countj'. 
He married for his second wife Hulda A. Rathbun, October 2, 1887. 

The population of Wellsburg is now in the neighborhood of 1,000. 
It contains four dry goods stores, three groceries, one drug store, a meat 
market, a barber shop, one millinery establishment, one livery stable, 
one harness shop, two blacksmith shops, two wagon shops, a grist-mill, 
a planing factory, three churches, one school-house, and three hotels, 
the " Fishier," the " Exchange," and the " Baldwin." Besides these there 
is a creamery and an extensive tannery. 

The oldest store now in existence and in the hands of a continuous 
proprietor is that of Iliram VV. Young. He came to Wellsburg from 
Elmira in the year 1853 and established himself in the western part of 
the \-illage, but the year following removed to his present location. The 
building he now occupies comprises three large stores thrown into one 
and is two stories high. The upper floor is given up to a large hall in 
which public meetings are held. 

Miles Roberts is probably the next oldest storekeeper, his place of 
business being about twelve rods farther west on the same side of the 
street. Morris Young has a general store in the three-story brick block 
belonging to the estate of the late R. C. Lockwood. Mr. Young suc- 
ceeded Mr. Lockwood in business, the latter having kept a store on this 
site since the year 1841. In 1854 the store with nearly all its contents 
was destroyed by a fire, entailing a loss of $2,O0O over and above the 
amount of insurance. The place was rebuilt in 1856, Mr. Lockwood 
continuing business on the same site. The fire was the work of incen- 



512 OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

diaries, who were afterward captured and brought to justice. In 1865 
Mr. Locl<wood sold his mercantile business to Kress & Evans, who con- 
tinued it until succeeded a few years since b\' tlie present proprietor, 
.Morris Voung. J. Henry Wells has a store opposite the Fishier House. 
The other stores are kept by proprietors of more recent arrival. 

The postoffice at Wellsburg is now located in the store of Morris 
Young. The first postoffice was established on December 29, 1824, 
and subsequently removed two and a half miles west of the village to 
the residence of James T. Strong, who was postmaster from January 27, 
1841, to April 12, 1844. It was then again restored to the village and 
has remained there continually since. Following are the names of the 
postmasters who have held the office since 1844: Abner Wells, April 12, 
1844; R. C. Lockwood, September 5, 1849; Mark A. Burt, June 18, 
1853 ; Elias Wyckoff, October 2, 1855 ; Seth Salisbury, April 24, 1857; 
Mrs. Lydia Salisbury, June 6, 1859; Hiram W. Young, October 31, 
1870; Frank Hammond, January 16, 1879; Abner C. Wright, October 
12, 1882; Stephen D. Herman, January 11, 1886; Morris A. Young, 
May 24, 1889. 

There are two telegraph offices, one located at the depot and one in 
the store of Morris Young. The village is also connected by telephone 
with Elmira and other important places. 

The Wellsburg planing factory was originall)- built and operated by 
R. C. Lockwood, who also carried on the construction of wood and iron 
bridges. Since Mr. Lockwood's death, August 29, 1891, his son, Ed- 
mund Caton Lockwood, has carried on the business on the same site. 
The mill employs from eight to ten men. 

The Wellsburg tannery was built on its present site in the year 1859 
under the direction of David and C. S. Decker, who were the proprie- 
tors for one year, when the latter retired from the firm, leaving David 
Decker sole proprietor. He continued the business until the time of his 
death, when his son-in-law, Rutherford M. Losie, assumed proprietor- 
ship and is the present owner. The capacity of the tannery is 28,000 
sides per annum. It is equipped with the latest appliances and the 
Union Crop sole leather is the quality manufactured. 

The Wellsburg steam flouring and saw- mills were erected in 1865- 
66 by Calvin and James West and Miles Roberts. The grist-mill has 



TO WN OF ASHLAXD. 513 

four runs of stone and manufactures flour for custom trade and export. 
Tlie firm above named operated the mills until 1870, when they sold 
their interests to James P. 0'Br\an, who is the present owner and pro- 
prietor. 

Tlie Welisburg creamer)-, located on the east side of the river just 
across the bridge, was erected in 1879 by James Carpenter. He op- 
erated the establishment for three years, since which time its present 
proprietor, Abner C. Wright, has been sole owner. The creamery is 
in active operation nine months out of the j'ear, and averages 400 
pounds of butter and four cheeses per day. The building has not been 
altered since erection with the e.xception of the addition of an ice-house 
and boiler room. The creamery is run by steam-power and employs 
from five tt) six men. 

The Welisburg public school is a commodious two-story frame build- 
ing situated on a quiet street near the center of the village. There are 
three teachers and the average attendance the past year was 13S. Ihe 
school property is valued at $2,200. R. M. Losie is the present trustee. 

The village of Welisburg was incorporated on August 28, 1872. On 
September 28th following an election was held attheWellsburg Exchange 
and the following named persons unanimously elected village officers: 
President, James P. O'Bryan ; trustees, William Hanmer, William C. 
Halstead, and Benjamin Herman; treasurer, Hiram W. Young; col- 
lector, Stephen D. Herman ; inspectors of election, William C. Halstead 
and Matthew Finchcr. The presidents of the village since 1873 have 
been: James P. O'Bryan, 1873-74; William C. Halstead, 1875; Uri 
Smith, 1876; Benjamin Herman, 1877 ; James P. O'Bryan, 1878 ; J. B. 
Davidson, 1879; Joseph Boileau, 1880-81; James P. O'Bryan, 1882; 
Stephen D. Herman, 1883 ; B. F. White, 1884; H. W. Young, 1885 ; 
George S. Lowman, 1886-89; a"d James P. O'Bryan, 1890. The 
present officers of the village are: President, James P. O'Bryan ; clerk, 
Charles L. Straight ; trustees, Ur. Larue Colgrovc, Dr. A. F. W. Huff, 
Monroe Merriam, and Harold Bevins ; collector, Stephen H. Murjjhy. 

There are three church edifices in the town of Ashland, ail of which 
are located within the corporate limits of the village of Welisburg. To 
the Welisburg Baptist Church attaches a history full of sympathetic in- 
terest. Hardly had the settlers of the early days planted their first 



514 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

seeds or coiistnicted their places of habitation before tlieir thouglits 
turned toward the regular observance of religious rites. Those persons 
who look with intei-est upon the old Baptist Church on the hill at Wells- 
burg see the shrine where Elder Roswell Gofif administered the gospel 
to his meager flock nearh' a hundred years ago. The church was reg- 
ularly organized September 2, 1789. \\'e find this covenant still exist- 
ing, adopted by the little knot of worshipers in that primitive day : 

'■ Whereas, We a number of members belonging 10 different Baptist Churches, hav- 
ing our lot cast in this Wilderness land, in the town of Chemung, do find ourselves 
bound under the obligation of the gospel of Christ, being far di,<tant from the privileges 
of any gospel church, we give up ourselves to the watch and care of each other, and 
covenant to walk together in the rules of the gospel ; and agree to meet on the first 
Tuesday of everj' week for conference, and on the first day of every week for the pub- 
lic worship of God, according to the doctrines of the gospel of Christ." 

For a year and a half their place of meeting is supposed to have 
been in a log house on the east side of the river. Elder Roswell Goft" 
came from Pittstown (iindotibtedly Pittston, Pa.) and took charge of 
the congregation in February, 1791. He was recommended by the 
Baptist Church of Christ of " Pittstown," and a record of the church 
was begun by him dated F"ebruary 3, 1791. Eight members were 
dismissed from the Pittstown church for the purpose of uniting with 
the new church which then consisted of twenty- one members. The 
deacons ordained in 1794 according to the church records were 
William Buck, T. Bennett, and T. Keeney. Three years later a series 
of revivals was experienced, and at the end of the year the church 
membership had risen to ninety one. Every fact and feature of the 
history of this early church gives striking evidence of the zeal and un- 
swerving fidelity to their faith of those hardy pioneers. The church at 
this time was fortunate indeed in having so able a man and earnest a 
worker as Elder Gofif. He completed his regular office as pastor in 1 8 1 2, 
but supplied the pulpit at intervals until the year 1825, when he passed 
to eternal rest. He was greatly loved and respected by his neighbors, 
and all who knew him lamented his death and held his memory sacred. 
The first church edifice was dedicated on the 12th of Jul)', 1S12. A 
subscription of $500 liad been secured for its construction. The trustees 
of the new church were Abner Wells, jr., Stephen Brown, Jesse Moore, 
Henry Wells, Jacob Comfort, and David Ikirt. F"or forty-eight years 



TOWN OF ASHLAXD. 515 

unchanged this building served as a place of divine worship. In 1 860-61 
it was enlarged and remodeled. 

The society was at ditierent times designated by the names Chemung^ 
ICimira and Chemung, Southi^ort and Chemung, and finally the Wells- 
burg Baptist Churcli. The church as it stands to-day, surrounded on 
three sides by the graves of nearly a century's dead, forms a picture of 
quaint beauty and peace not soon to be forgotten by those who have 
once seen it. The ground on which the building stands and that occu- 
pied b\' the cemetery was given to the society January 4, 18 12, by 
Henry W'lils, tiie consideration being fiftj' cents. Tiie first Sunday 
school was organized June 10, 1866. The superintendent was Asa Par- 
shall, with S. H. llildrcth and R. H. Van Gordcr, now of Elmira, assistant 
superintendents, and Ivllen L. Salisbury, secretary. Up to this time the 
children of the different denominations had attended a union Sunday- 
school held in the Methodist Church. 

There had arisen a somewhat serious discussion, jirincipally owing to 
a desire on the part of the Baptists to hold the sessions a part of the 
time at their church. When the Sunday arrived for the organization of 
the new sciiool the officers named did not appear, probably fearing some 
trouble. Realizing the necessity of having a Sunday school in the 
church a few of the prominent members, including David Sweet, organ- 
ized a class of twenty with seven teachers. By perseverance and con- 
stant effort the membership was increased to sixty-si.x on Christmas 
day, 1866. The present pastor is Elder Charles Drake; trustees, 
Asa Parshall, A. G. Hillman, O. T. Comfort, and Addison Roberts; 
deacons, A. G. Hillman, Asa Parshall; membership, 100. The Sun- 
day school has an attendance of si.\ty-two. I. R. Collins is the acting 
superintendent. 

The Methodist Church at Wellsburg occupies a prominent site on the 
corner of Main and Church streets. The first meetings were held early 
in the year 1839 '" the old school-house, the class at this time consist- 
ing of ten members : Henry Watson and Clarissa his wife, Jerusha Com- 
tort, Elizabeth Brown, Lesley Brown, Betsey Brown, Silas Simpkins, 
1-llizabeth Simpkins, and Jesse Simpkins and wife. Mrs. Clarissa Wat- 
son still remains with the church and occupies the distinction of being 
the oldest woman living in the village. The first pastor of the church 



516 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

was Re\'. Charles Davis and the members were organized 'nto a society 
in 1847. The Ke\-. John Caine was pastor at this time. During the 
pastorate of Rev. D. Leisening in 1849 the first church building was 
erected, and Revs. Moses Crow and \V. H. Goodwin conducted the dedi- 
cator}' services. For a quarter of a century this building served as a 
place of worship. In 1874 it was removed and the sightly structure 
which now adorns the site was erected. Thirteen months elapsed be- 
tween the time the old building was removed and the new one com- 
pleted, and during this time services were held in H. \V. Young's hall. 
The seating capacity of the church is about 375. It cost $7,500 and is 
valued, together with the lot upon which it stands, at $8,500. It was in 
the old church building that the union Sunday school services were 
formerly held, but since the organization of a separate school by the 
Baptist denomination the church society has conducted its own Sunday 
school independently of other sects. The present pastor of the church 
is the Rev. Henry B. Troxell, of Big Flats, who is supported by the 
conference. He was preceded by the Rev. Porter McKinstrey, who was 
the last regular pastor and who died August I, 1891. The trustees are 
William Hillman, George Scott, Hiram \V. Young, and R. M. Losie. 
There are three vacancies in the Board of Trustees owing to the death 
of R. C. Lockwood and the departure from the village of Dayton Roe 
and D. M. Sergeant. The present membership is sixty- five. The 
Sunday school now has an attendance of seventy-five with eight teach- 
ers. There is a librar}- connected witli the school consisting of 200 
books. The superintendent is William Hillman. The stewards of the 
churcli are D. M. Sergeant (vacant), Dayton Roe (vacant), George Scott, 
Mrs. Lucy French, Mrs. Russ, Mr. and Mrs. Monroe Merriam ; re- 
cording steward, Mrs. Mary E. Boyce. 

Christ Episcopal Church was organized in 1869, although services 
were held at Wellsburg in the winter of 1S66. The following year a 
regular church was formed and two years later was regularly organized 
under the rectorship of Rev. William T. Hitchcock. Rev. Dr. Paret 
was rector for nearly a year and was succeeded by Rev. F. D. Hoskins, 
who remained until 1875. He was followed by Rev. John Scott, who was 
again succeeded in January, 1877, by Rev. George W. G. Van Winkle. 
In 1880 the latter left the parish and since that time the church lias 



TOWX OF ASHLAXD. .",17 

been conducted as a mission church supplied with \'ai"ioiis rectors from 
Grace Church of Elmira. For nearly six years, however, succeeding 
1 88 1 the church was closed and no services were held. In May, 1 890, 
the cluirch was re-opened by the Rev. J. Prentiss Foster of Immanuel 
mission, Southpoit. He was succeeded on Ma\' i, 1 891, by Rev. Mr. 
Atwell, also of Immanuel mission, who is the present pastor. The 
number of communicants is now forty-two, with ten teachers and fifty 
children in the Sunday school. There are no church wardens at pres- 
ent and new officers have never been elected to fill the vacancies caused 
by the removal of Vestryman Jesse Owen to Elmira and Church Clerk 
Frank Hammond to Rochester. George Griswold is at present a ves- 
tr\-man of the church. The superintendent of the Sunday school is 
Rev. Mr. Atvvell. 

There are a few Roman Catholic families in the town of Ashland, who 
began holding regular monthly services at the house of John Sweeny on 
Pennsylvania avenue on February 5, 1891. Prior to this, however, masses 
were held at Mr. Sweeny's house irregularly. The officiating priest is 
the Rev. Father O'Dwyer of St. Mary's Church, Southport. Some 
efforts have been made to build a church edifice, but as yet no definite 
action has been taken. 

Loivmaiiville is a little hamlet quietly nestled on Baldwin Creek one 
mile northeast of W'ellsburg and one mile southwest of Monument Hill. 
The cluster of houses was probably drawn together at this spot by the 
presence of a grist-mill erected on Baldwin Creek and the settlement 
in the neighborhood of a number of members of the Lowman family. 
Among the earliest settlers were Jacob Lowman in 1796, with two sons, 
George and Jacob. George's sons now living are William, who lives 
just north of the postoffice ; John G., who lives across the creek in the 
town of Chemung; and L\'man, of Elmira. 

In 1 81 5 Martin Lowman came from Dauphin County, Pa., and set- 
tled near his brother Jacob. His sons now living are Frederick, 
George S., of Wellsburg, and William K., of the town of Chemung. 

The first store in Lowmanville was built by George Lowman in 1853 
and kept by John Brown. Afterliaving been re-arranged and enlarged 
it was used for several years as a dwelling, but in 1870 was again 
opened as a store. 



018 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

Tlie postoffice of Lowman's was originally established as West Che- 
mung on June 25, 1840, with John G. McDowell as postmaster. Its 
name was changed to Baldwin, April 5, 1842, when John Goodwin was 
appointed in Judge McDowell's place and the office was kept at the 
present residence of George Lower in the town of Chemung. It was 
removed to a building occupying nearly its present site in 1845. The 
successors of John Goodwin as postmaster with the dates of their ap- 
pointments are as follows: John G. Lowman, June 13, 1849; John S. 
Gunterman, October i, 1853; Hezekiah M. Denton, August 15, 1861 ; 
Lj'man L. Lowman, May 14, 1862 (during the postmastership of Mr. 
Lowman the name of the postofRce was changed to Lowman's) ; Lafay- 
ette Harrington, January 25, 1872 ; George W. Drake, April 30, 1880; 
Fred L. Hoke, March 20, 1890. The last three named, Harrington, 
Drake, and Hoke, kept the store in which the postoffice was located 
during their postmasterships. 

During the early history of the postoffice the mail was received three 
times a wee'tc, but it has been received daily for many years. The of- 
fice is called Lowman's and the railway station Lowmanville. There is 
a strong movement under way, however, to induce the railway com- 
pany to change the name of the station to Lowman's, thus conforming 
to the name of the postoffice and averting the miscarriage and misdirec- 
tion of mail matter intended for Lowmanville which is oftentimes con- 
founded with Lawrenceville. 

A saw-mill, which was the first one erected in the town, was built 
about the year 1799 on the site of the present mill. It served its pur- 
pose well, and when decayed with age and weather it was torn down 
and a new mill was built in its place by Almon Cook about the year 
1S38. Subsequently and prior to 1856 the mill fell into the hands of 
Jacob Lowman, a son of the Jacob who first settled in this neighbor- 
hood, and the same year a distillery was conducted in connection with 
it. The distillery continued in active operation until 1862, when the 
excessive revenues exacted from the distillers of spirits by the govern- 
ment compelled them to close that part of the mill and it was contin- 
ued as a grist and saw- mill. The property was enlarged and rebuilt by 
Mr. Lowman and equipped with new machinery in 1S70. It was sub- 
sequentl)' rented by C. V>. Goodwin, a practical miller who conducted 



TOWN OF ASHLAA'D. olU 

it until 1879, since which lime it lias been rented and operated by Syl- 
van us M. Harris. 

The Wiliiamsport Raiiua)' and Junction Canal was constructed from 
I'llmira to a place called Johnny Cake in 1853, and passed just south of 
Lowman's near the " Hogbacks." It has long since been discontinued, 
but the grass- grown bed and towpath can be easily traced on either 
side of the road leading to Wellsburg. 

Lowman's was without railway facilities until 1882, when the Dela- 
ware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad was extended east of Elniira 
and the first regular scheduled train passed throuj^h this station on April 
2d of that year. The children of Lowman's attend a district school 
across the Chemung line, situated about fifty rods east of Baldwin 
Creek. 

Lowmanville contains besides the gristmill a shingle- mill, a wagon 
and blacksmith shop, a railway station, and telegraph and express offices. 
The principal industry of the farmers of Ashland is dairying, the graz- 
ing lands constituting the larger part of the acreage. Many tons of 
butter and cheese are manufactured annually by individuals aside from 
the large quantities of cream and milk brought daily to the Wellsburg 
creamery. The cultivation of tobacco was first introduced into Ash- 
land in 1858 and has grown steadily to extraordinary proportions. In 
1877 the crop was estimated at from 50,0001060,000 pounds grown 
and prepared for market, while a fair estimate places the product for 
1891 at 100,000 pounds. Among the principal growers are W'illiam 
and I'^dward Lowman, Hammond Matthews, James Carpenter, and, until 
his death, R. C. Lockwood. 

There is at present every indication that petroleum and natural gas 
will be found in profitable quantities in the immediate vicinity of Wells- 
burg. About two years ago Miram W. Young drove a well on his 
premises for the purpose of securing drinking water. After reaching a 
depth of less than a hundred feet the water began to flow from the 
mouth of the pipe in a steady stream. The flow has been incessant 
ever since, and it has been one of the finest artesian wells in the count)-. 
The success of Mr. Young induced Charles E. Van Buskirk, the under- 
taker, to drive a well on his premises on Pennsylvania avenue about 
i\]ay I, 1 89 1, for the same purpose. When he had drilled to a depth 



520 OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

of 137 feet a flow of natural gas began. Being liglited the gas contin- 
ued to burn, witli a flame of several feet in height, for a number of days. 
Suddenly, however, the well was flooded with water and the flame 
extinguished. The prospectors then resumed drilling and a little far- 
ther down struck- a stream of petroleum. This was in turn stopped by 
another flood of water. Later on the drillers struck another volume of 
gas, somewhat stronger and steadier than the first. The flame lit was 
soon, however, for the second time, extinguished by water. The well 
has reached a depth of about 230 feet and operations have been tem- 
porarih' suspended. So confident are the leading men of Wellsburg 
and vicinity that an immense vein of petroleum and gas underlies the 
region that a meeting was called by the representative merchants and 
farmers and a large number assembled at Hiram W. Young's hall on 
Saturday evening, August 28th. The purpose of the meeting was to take 
steps to form a stock company, and an executive committee was selected 
consisting of the following named persons : R. M. Losie, president ; 
E. M. Lowman, secretary' ; H. W. Young, treasurer ; A. G, Hillman, 
Charles E. Van Buskirk, S. D. Herman, and A C. Wright. From this 
number a sub-committee was appointed to draft a charter for a stock 
company to be organized under the State laws of New Jersey, with a 
capital of $100,000, issuing shares at $10 each. As soon as this organi- 
zation is effected leases of property throughout the neighborhood will 
be secured, derricks will be erected, and active operations vigorously 
begun. 

The first town meeting after the organization of the town was held at 
the Wellsburg Exchange, May 14, 1867. These officers were then 
elected : Supervisor, Richard C. Lockwood ; tow n clerk, William E. 
Halstead ; justices of the peace, Lyman L. Lowman and Hiram Rou- 
shey ; commissioners of highways, Alfred Searle and George Rogers ; 
overseers of the poor, Reuben E. Moss and John Fincher; collector, 
William Hanmer; assessors, James Carpenter and Israel O. Scudder ; 
constables, W'illiam Hanmer, Roswell R. Moss, William Woodhouse, 
Michael Roushey, and Lawrence Matthews. 

The present officers of the town are : Supervisor, J. H. Wood ; 
town clerk, J. P. O'Bryan, jr.; collector, James W. Minier ; commis- 
sioner of highways, Miles B. Roushey ; overseers of the poor, David 



TOWN OF VAN ETTEN. 521 

Sweet and R. C. Crane ; constables, Frank Jenkins, George Smith, 
William Draper, and J. W. Minier; assessors, E. G. Gustin, William 
Lovvman, and Daniel Gillett ; excise commissioner, S. W. Cohvell ; 
game constable, B. S. Knapp ; inspectors of election, W.J. Dalton, 
A. T. Rathbone, and C. E. Coleman. 

Ashland has four school districts and four school-houses, one in each 
district. The a\-eragc attendance the past year was 197 and that of 
1888 196, showing a gain of but one. There are six teachers, the num- 
ber having been reduced from thirteen, the number emploj-ed during 
the year 1878. 

The total assessed valuation of real and personal propertj-, including 
$110,915 of railroad and telegraph lines, for the year 1891 is $516,466. 
The population of the town as shown by the census of 1 800 is 9S3, a 
decrease since 1880 of 166. 



CHAPTER VII. 



The Town of Van Etten — The Character of its original Products — First Setllenu-nts 
made liy Hollanders and Scotchmen — Joel Thomas — Gen. Jacob Swartwood — 
His brothers Isaac and Emanuel — His father. Peter Swartwood — The \'an 
Etten Family — Benjamin Ennis and his Sons — The fightinir Weslbrook F'amily 

— "Pony Hollow" — .A Woman who had the Reputation of being a •' Witch" 

— Organization of the Town — Town Officers — Van Ettenville— Its first In- 
habitants — Its business Interests — Its Incorporation — Officers Elected — Be- 
nevolent and other Societies — A disastrous Fire — Churches — A Swartwood 
Church — The first School in the Town — Present Schools — Their fine Character 

— Enterprises that have helped make Van Etten prominent among the Towr^f 
in the County. 

THE territory embraced within the present township of Van Etten 
was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber not unlike 
many other sections along the " Southern Tier," yet inviting to that 
class of settlers possessed of energy and perseverance, and who believed 
that only a fertile soil could produce such growths. Most of the first 
settlers were pre-eminently fitted for the aggressive work necessary for 



522 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the establishment of liomes in a wilderness country. Some of them 
were the descendants of Hollanders who had resisted the waves and re- 
claimed their lands from the embrace of the sea. Some were of Scotch 
descent, tracin<^ their ancestry back to men of vigorous constitutions, 
strong minds, and brave hearts. A few of them were military heroes 
of the Revolution, and were accustomed to all the vicissitudes of war. 

The first settler within the limits of the township was probably Joel 
Thomas, who located on the creek about a mile soutli of the site of 
Van Ettenville village. Here he built a house or properly a cabin in 
1795. But little is known of what he accomplished fuither than this 
and it is supposed that he remained but a short time. 

Gen. Jacob Swartwood, a Revolutionary soldier, came from near Port 
Jervis and settled in Cayuta Creek Valley, near the locality since known 
as "Swartwood," in 1797. He was a stirring old patriot, active in peace 
as well as in war, and immediately commenced the new settlement, har- 
vesting crops in the same year. He also kept the first hotel, which he 
opened as early as I 80 1, and soon after rebuilt upon the same site the 
structure still standing and kept as a hotel by his grandson, Jacob 
Swartwood. Gen. Jacob Swartwood held the office of supervisor and 
was a representative from Tioga County in the legislature of the State 
in 1828. 

Isaac and Emanuel Swartwood, brothers of the general, settled in the 
same locality in 1797. Isaac was well fitted by muscular development 
and determination of purpose for a pioneer; business was his pleasure 
and labor his amusement. He built the first saw-mill in 1800, replaced 
his primitive log house by a frame dwelling in 1802, and the next year 
built the first grist-mill in the town. He quarried the millstones near 
Towanda, Pa., cut, dressed them himself, and drew them to their des- 
tination with ox-teams, crossing Cayuta Creek seven times upon his 
return when there were no bridges and cutting the brush in advance of 
his teams the greater part of the distance. At that time there were no 
mills nearer than Tioga Point. Isaac Swartwood died near Owego at 
an advanced age. John Swartwood, his son who obtained the title of 
captain in the "training days," occupies a part of the farm. 

Peter Swartwood, father of Gen. Jacob, who had seen military serv- 
ice in the French and Indian War, located near his sons in 1797. Mrs. 



TOIV.X OF V.l.y KTTF.X. 523 

Elizabeth AUiiigton, daughter of Peter Swartwood, died soon after tlie 
family settled. This was the first death in tiic town. John Swartwood, 
brother of Peter, and his sons, Jacob, Daniel, Thomas, Isaiali, and John, 
added their numbers to the Swartwood settlement in 1797 or 1798. 
Jacob was a soldier in the War of 1812, was captured by the enemy, and 
died while a prisoner. 

Daniel Decker, who settled north of Van ICttenville in 1801, married 
Nanc)', daughter of Daniel Swartwood, in 1803; tiiis was the first mar- 
riage in the town. Mary Swartwood, a sister of Gen. Jacob Swart- 
wood, married a Mr. Shoemaker. They were the parents of James 
Shoemaker, who died in 1886. Several families settled in 1798. Dur- 
ing this year James Van Htten and his sons, Joshua and James, jr., and 
Emanuel Van Ktten, brother of James, sr., located at the site of the 
present village of Van Ettenville. James, jr., settled west of the others 
near the creek. James, brother of Emanuel, died about two years after 
locating here. The sons of Joshua were James B., Daniel, Joshua, and 
Albert. There was also one daughter, Jemima. James 1?. was identi- 
fied with the business and political interests of the town for several 
years. He was several times supervisor of the old town of Cayuta and 
member of Assembly in 1S52. He died in the midst of his usefulness 
at the age of forty- fi\e j-ears in the year 1 856. The name of James has 
been perpetuated through several generations of the Van Etten family 
and is still borne by one of the number, James C. Van Etten, a grand- 
son of James H. Van Etten, a successful teacher, and a resident of Van 
Ettenville. James C. Van Etten, born Jul\' 11, 1859, was educated at 
Cortland. 

Alexander, John, Emanuel, and Benjamin Ennis settled near Cayuta 
Creek above the Swartwood families in 1798. They were the sons of 
lienjamin Ennis, a Revolutionary patriot who was killed in 1778. His 
father, William Ennis, emigrated from Scotland and settled near Port 
Jervis. The Ennis families inherited those traits of character which 
made them and their descendants worthy citizens of the town and the 
county. 

Maj. Samuel Westbrook settled on Cayuta Creek south of the village 
in 1788 or 1789. He and his brothers, Cornelius and Peter, were sol- 
diers of the Revolutionary war. Cornelius held the rank of colonel 



5'2i OUR COU.XTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and Peter, who was killed in an encounter with the Indians and Tories, 
was a captain. Three sons of lUaj. Samuel Westbrook, James, Daniel, 
and Joshua, settled near the father. The sons of James were Cornelius, 
Peter, and James, jr. Amasa D. Westbrook, still a resident of tlic town, 
is the son of Peter, and was the first enlisted soldier from Van litten in 
the war of the Rebellion. He was then about nineteen years of age, 
enlisted as a private, and afterward received a commission as captain. 
Peter, his father, was a soldier in the War of 1812. Jacob Westbrook, 
long a resident of the town and one of the successful farmers, is the son 
of Joshua. Mrs. Rachel Swartwood, for several years a resident of Van 
Ettenville, was one of the daughters. 

Three brothers, John, David, and William Hill, and their father, who 
died soon after, came from near the Delaware River and settled west of 
the village about 1799. Isaac and Levi Decker settled in 1801. 

One of the first settlers in the locality known as "Pony Hollow" was 
Hiram White from Connecticut, who came about 1800. He repre- 
sented Chemung County in the Assembly in 1838. Gabriel and David 
Jayne located near Hiram White in the same year with him. Henry 
and Abraham Barnes, who were among the first settlers, were sons of 
John Barnes, of Pennsylvania, whose other sons were Thomas, Cornel- 
ius, Jeremiah, John, Nathan, and William. Henry, who settled in Van 
Etten in i8o[, and Thomas, his older brother, were Revolutionary sol- 
diers. Abraham Barnes located in 1803 upon the farm owned by his 
son Abraham and adjoining the farm where Henry settled. Abraham 
Barnes, sr., had twelve children, among whom were Mrs. Hannah Swart- 
wood and Jeremiah Barnes, who settled in the town of Erin. Hala 
Barnes, esq., of Van Ettenville, is a relative of the famih'. During the 
time of the early settlement of this section of the county the delusion of 
witchcraft had a strong hold upon the minds of some of the people. 
Nancy Johnson had the reputation of being a witch, and the proof of 
her unenviable notoriety in that direction lay in the fact of her having 
a peculiar movement of the lower jaw, which some of her acquaintances 
believed to be an indication of sorcery. So far as known they were 
tolerant of her eccentricities and she probably never knew of the susj)!- 
cions against her. 

Of those who became residents of the town at a later date were Sol- 



TOir.y OF VAX ETTEX. 525 

omon White, who settled near Swartwood in 1808; Michael Iliasjins, 
wiio icicated south of \'an Kttenviile in 1825, where he built a mill and 
carried on business several years; and Charles Murra)-, who came in 
1S23 and was a resident physician for several years. Guy Purely, of 
Spencer, Tiojja County, born in 1808, came to Van Ettenville in 1839. 
I le was one of the prominent men of the town. He held the offices of 
■supervisor, justice of the peace, town clerk, justice of sessions, superin- 
tendent of schools, and was instrumental in securing the incorporation 
of the village. 

Jacob Van Auken settled in Van Ktten in 1S22. lie was nurtured 
amid the stirring scenes of the Revolutionary struggle and imbibed the 
war spirit of 1812, standing in readiness to resist British invasion from 
Canada. He lived to be nearly lOO years of age. Cyrus Bloodgood, aged 
eighty- three (1891), and his wife, a year younger, have been residents of 
the town for twenty-five or thirty years. They have been people of in- 
dustrious habits and exhibit a marked degree of vitality for persons of 
their age. 

The territory embraced within this township was within the limits of 
Montgomer)' County as formed in 1788, Tioga County as organized in 
1 79 1, and Chemung County as constituted in 1836, and became a town 
.\pril 17, 1854, being formed from the towns of Erin and Cayuta. The 
name was given in honor of James B. Van Etten, the member of As- 
sembly two j-ears before. The first election of town officers was held 
May 9, 1854, at which time the following officers were elected : George 
R. Hall, supervisor; John S. Swartwood, town clerk; Daniel Swart- 
wood, James Ennis, Nicholas Richards, assessors; Lauren J. Stewart, 
Uriah Osborn, and Seymour Burchard, commissioners of highways ; 
Emanuel Ennis, superintendent of schools ; Guy Purdy, justice of the 
peace ; William Campbell, John Swartwood, John S. Ennis, inspectors 
of election; Benjamin D. Sniffin, H. Vandenberg, overseers of the poor; 
John Banfield, collector; John Banfield, Asel Nichols, John Swart- 
wood, Cornelius Van Auken, Nelson Woolever, constables; Daniel C. 
Van Etten, sealer of weights and measures. Town clerks and justices of 
the peace elected since have been : > 

Town Clerhs.—\Sr,i. John Swartwood; ls.55, Frnncis A. Sniffin; 1S5G-58, Elijah 
Ditnon: Is.'O-fin. Fr.-imis A. Snillin : lS'fil-f.2, Daniel C. Van Ktten; lSG.3-fi4, rinv 



52G O UR CO UN TV A ND I TS PEOPL E. 

Purdy; 1^65-60, Miles Eniiis; 1867, William H. Van Elteii ; ISOS, Francis A. Snillin ; 
1869, Jesse Rosekians; 1870-71, Guy Purdy; 1872, William A. Sniffin ; 1873, Hala 
Barnes; 1874, Sylvester Briggs; 1S75, William W.Warner ; 1870, John C. Clark : 1877, 
Clarence H. Ward ; 1878, Owen S. Clark: 1S7!), no record; 1880, George Ban field : 
l.'^Sl. Jasper S. Wheeler; 1882-83, George Banfield; 18S+, B. Frank Burgess: 1885. 
Judd Mabee; 1880, no record; 1887-80, Julian Goldsmith; !«X), WiUier S. Nichols; 
lf<91, Charles F. Cannan. 

Justices of the Peace. — 185-t, Guy Purdy: l>^o5, Charle.s Patclien, John SwarUvood; 
1850, John Swartwood ; 1857, John C. Hanson, Luther S. Ham ; 1858, Luther S. Ham ; 
1S59, Charles Patchen ; 1860, Jason P. Woolever ; 18G1, John C. Hanson, John .Swait- 
wood; 1S()2, John Swartwood; ISO.!, Jesse Rosekrans; 1864, Ja.son P. Woolever : 1S65, 
James Swartwood, Hala Barnes; 18GG, James Swartwood; 1867, John C. Hanson, 
George W. House; 18G8, Jason P. Woolever ; 1869, George W. House; 1870, James 
Swartwood; 1871, John C. Hanson ; 1872, Jason P. Wooievei-; 1873, Elijah Rugar; 
1874, Guy Purdy : 1875, George W. House ; 1876, Lovvman Ennis ; 1877, Jason P. Wool- 
ever, Edwin A. Nourse. John C. Hanson; 1878, John C. Hanson; 1879, no record; 
IS.SO, Lowman Ennis; 1881, James C. Swartwood; 1882, James Van Etten ; 1883, 
Benjamin Rumsey ; 1884, Lowman Ennis; 1885, John E. Van Dewaker. Owen S. 
Clark; 18S6, no record ; 1887, Albert S. Ward ; 1888, Jason P. Woolever ; 1889, Jesse 
Hobson: 1890, Jackson J. Parke; 1891, Albert S. Ward. 

The first school within this township was established in 1803 and was 
taught by Mrs. Ann Baker, wife of Jonathan Baker, who was one of the 
early settlers in the Swartwood neighborhood. This school was kept in 
Isaac Swartwood's log house, which was probably one of the first build- 
ings in the town, and vacated by himself in 1802, when he built a frame 
dwelling. The next school was opened in 1804 in the Van Etten settle- 
ment, now VanEttenville, and taught by Miss S. Wooden. The town- 
ship includes twelve districts having school-houses in each, and also 
parts of three joint districts with the houses outside the county. The 
principal school is located at Van Ettenville. With the growth of the 
village this school increased in numbers and importance and in 1882 
was organized as a union school. The first Board of Education con- 
sisted of the following members : Henry Huber, Albert S. Ward, John 
E. Van Dewaker, Charles A. Murray, Amos S. Hixson, O. P. Dimon. 
In the apportionment of school moneys for 1891 the district was en- 
titled to four teachers or district quotas and received in the aggregate 
$642.76 Tile acting Board of Education in July, 1891, consisted of Ed- 
win Bogart, president: J. Goldsmith, clerk; A. S. Ward, C. A. MiuTay, 
S. Briggs, H. P. Whitney, George Dunbar, trustees. The amount ap- 
portioned from State funds to all the schools of the town in 1891 was 



TOWN OF VAX ETTEX. 527 

$1,984.18. Few towns iLMiiote from lai<^cr villages have better scliool 
facilities than \'an Fatten. 

For the first twenty-five years after the first settlements were made in 
the town some sections remained almost in their primitive condition, and 
the settlers were annoyed by the wild animals which infested the forests. 
As late as 1831 a book of records pertaining to the part of the town 
then Cayuta contains among other items of disbursement " two dollars 
paid to James Ennis as a bounty on a wild-cat" and " five dollars paid 
to Peter Ennis as a bounty on a wolf." Subsequent to 1 840 the develop- 
ment of the resources of the town was more rapid, and especially after 
the organization of the township in 1854. The erection of the steam 
saw mill of Joseph and James H. Rodbourn at Swartwood a few years 
later gave to that part of the town a prominence in business thrift which 
it still retains. The establi.shment of the saw-mill of Hofi', Thaj'er & Co. 
in 1873, together with other enterprises already mentioned and the rail- 
road facilities of the town, give it a prominent rank among the towns of 
the county. 

Vail Ettenvilk, a village in the east part of the town, is the center of 
the business interests of the township. Adam Schick was the first set- 
tler in the vicinity of the village, but Josliua and James Van Etten settled 
here in 1798 and owned the land occupied by the village. Joshua Van 
Etten built the first house of which there is any record. The first frame 
dwelling was erected in 1818 by James Van Etten. It was occupied 
many years later by Thaddeus Rumsey. The intersection of two of the 
principal highways of the town and the establishment of a store in 1833 
by Eldward Hall gave the place the name of Hall's Corners. The first 
tavern was of logs, built in 1812, and kept by Joshua Van I'ltten. 
The first part of the present commodious hotel was built about 1825. 

There were but few families residing here prior to 1850. Among the 
number were the families of James B. Van Etten, Guy Purdj-, John Hill, 
Daniel Clark, Elijah Dimon, Jacob Allington, and L. Mattice. The 
election of James B. Van Etten to the Assembly in 1852 and the oigan- 
ization of the township in 1854 gave the village some prominence. 
Hall's Corners had become Van Ettenville. Manufacturing interests 
began to locate here. The extensive extract works of J. F. Hixson & 
Co. were started in 1869. This establishment used about 3,000 tons of 



528 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

lienilock bark annually, from which was extracted its astringent qualities 
for tanning purposes. The output of the establishment was about 
30,000 barrels per year. The buildings were burned in September, 
1879. Van Ettenville was established as a postoffice on May 5, 1836, 
with the appointment of James B. Van Etten as postmaster. His suc- 
cessors with the dates of their appointments have been as follows : 
Joseph Giles, July 29, 1841 ; Daniel C. Van Etten, July 7, 1842 ; Albert 
Van Etten, June 25, 1846; Charles Patchin, November 14, 1848; 
Daniel C. Van Etten, December 12, 1849 ; Guy Purd_\-, June 18, 1853 ; 
Daniel B. Clark, Decf^mber 10, 1861 ; Will H. Van Etten, March 18, 
1873 ; Daniel B. Clark, September 19, 1873 ; Albert S. Ward, April 21, 
1881 ; Orville P. Dimon, January 21, 1886; Albert S. Ward, May 31, 
1889. 

The steam saw-mill of J. F. Hixson & Co., erected in 1869, giving 
employment to a number of men, and manufacturing 2,500,000 feet of 
lumber per year, contributed to the growth of the village. The mill was 
sold to David W. Lounsbury in 1885 and John Banfield became the 
owner in 1888. 

The town and village have abundant railroad facilities, being upon the 
lines of three roads. The town was bonded for $25,000 to aid in the con- 
struction of the Geneva, Ithaca, and Sayre Railroad, completed in 1871. 
The Utica, Ithaca, and Elmira road, now known as the Elmira, Cortland, 
and Northern, constructed in 1874, also has a station at Van Ettenville. 
The extension of the Lehigh Valley, in process of construction in 1891, 
crosses the town near the village. Following the growth of the village 
several prominent citizens became interested in its incorporation. 
Among these were O. P. Dimon, Guy Purdy, J. C. Hanson, Isaac 
Knettles, C. H. Ward, E. Handy, M. Van Valkenbtirg, N. Rumsey, L. 
Clark, Isaac Hyman, W. M. Robinson, S. Briggs, Levi Bowers, E. A. 
Nourse, John Banfield, S. Hoff, D. B. Clark, W. W. Clark. Edwin Bogart, 
A. D. Westbrook, C. A. Crawford, A. B. Clark, and Solomon Barnes. 
At a meeting held October 24, 1876, a majority of sixty-one votes were 
cast in favor of incorporation, which was consummated under the gen- 
eral law November 27, 1876. The officers elected were : Amos S. Hix- 
son, president; John Banfield, A. B. Clark, O. P. Dimon, trustees; 
G. Smith Carmon, clerk ; Alfred Burchard, J. Devendorf, Pldwin Bo- 



TOIVX OF VAX ETTK.X. 529 

gait, police. K. A. Nourse was the first police justice. The presidents 
of the incorporation have been: 1S76-80, Amos F. Hixson; 1S81, 
William \V. Warner; 1882-85, Amos F. Hixson ; 1886, Enos Canfield; 
1887, Charles A. Murray; 18S8, Levi Rowers; 1889-90, George Ban- 
field; 1891, Enos Canfield. 

On December i, 1879, the village board purchased Mount Hope 
Cemetery lying within the corporation for the sum of $460, pursuant 
to a special act of the legislature passed April 6, 1879. 

Canfield Hook and Ladder Company, consisting of thirty members, 
H. G. King, chief, was organized in January, 1889. The village owns 
the hook and ladder truck and the company consists of volunteer 
members. 

Van Kttenxillc is the home of a number of benevolent and other 
societies. Mount Lebanon Lodge, F. and A. M.,vvas instituted July 12, 
1877, with Amos S. Hixson, W. M.; Alfred Burchard, S. W. ; George 
W. Banfield, J. W. ; past masters, Amos S. Hixson, O. P. Dimon, Isaac 
Knettles, C. A. Murray, Dr. J. W. Gee, James McGivens. Officers 
A. L. 5891 : Alfred Swartwood, master ; Aaron Hammond, S. W.; 
Julian Goldsmith, J. W.; George Banfield, treasurer; Henry G. King, 
secretary; David Lindsay, S. D.; J. C. Knettles, J. D.; Sanford Blake, 
S. M. C; James Gunderman, J. M. C; J. J. Parks, chaplain; James 
McGivens, marshal ; Isaac Knettles, tyler ; trustees, J. J. Parks, Isaac 
Knettles, Alfred Burchard. 

\'an Etten Lodge, Knights of Honor, was instituted April 19, 1879, 
with twenty-five charter members. The membership has increased to 
forty. Five deaths have occurred since the organization. The Rev. 
C. M. Jones was the first dictator of the lodge; others have been W.W. 
Warner, J. C. Knettles, A. S. Ward, G. F. Dunbar, O. P. Dimon, J. B. 
Dimon, F. B. Shelton, H. G. King, G. A. Sabin, C. L. Nichols. Ofl[icers 
of 1891 : W. I-". Nichols, dictator; G. W. Harvey, vice-dictator ; G. A. 
Sabin, assistant dictator; J. C. Knettles, reporter; J. B. Dimon, finan- 
cial reporter; O. P. Dimon, treasurer; C. L. Nichols, chaplain ; W.W. 
Warner, guide ; Frederick Hotchkiss, guardian ; W. L. Stewart, sentinel ; 
J. B. Dimon, deputy grand dictator in charge of lodge. 

A lodge of Knights and Ladies of Honor was organized in 1883. 
There are sixteen members. One death has occurred in the member- 
ship, that of Mrs. Bowers. ''" 



o.iO OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The Van Ettenville ICqiiitable Aid Union was organized in 1880. It 
has thirty-three members and its officers are: Mar\' Bartholomew, 
cliancelor ; O. P. Dinion, advocate ; W'ilham Warner, president ; Jacob 

A. Westbrook, vice-president ; L. L. Briggs, secretary and treasurer ; 
Patty Thayer, accountant. There have been eight deaths in the mem- 
bership. 

The Provident Shield, a beneficial organization under the Supreme 
Lodge of Philadelphia, was chartered July 9, 1880, the charter members 
being Harry Banfield, Julian Goldsmith, O. S. Clark, Henry Huber, 
Ciiarles F. Carmen, John Rochford, O. P. Dimon, F. B. Shelton, J. \V. 
Gee, Samuel H. English, Frank Staples. Henry Huber is the president 
of the organization and Harry Banfield secretary. 

Maxwell Post, No. 454, G. A. R., was organized in March, 1884, with 
the following charter members : Jesse W. Cornell, Albert J. Whitley, 
Joshua Westbrook, Loren O. Cooley, Albert S. Ward, Edgar L, Bogart, 
George A. Sabin, George W. Harvey, Abram Shoemaker, Jacob A. 
Westbrook, John C. Sims, Alonzo Bunnell, John C. Knettles, William 
Kelley, Abram C. Decker, Charles P. Harvey, Charles Gilmore, Levi 

B. Card, John Callahan. Its past commanders are : J. C. Knettles, 
A. S. Ward, George W. Harvey, J. C. Sims, George A. Sabin, O. P. 
Dimmock. Its present officers: John C. Knettles, Com.; Albert S. 
Ward, S. V.-Com.; Albert J. Whitley, J. V.-Com.; George A. Sabin, 
surgeon; Joshua Westbrook, Q. M.; Abram C. Decker, O. D.; Jacob 
Westbrook, O. G.; George W. Harvey, adjutant; Loren O. Coole\-, 
S M.; Edgar L. Bogart, O. M.-S. 

A disastrous fire swept away the better part of the village February 
2, 1888. The buildings of an entire square adjoining Front street were 
destroyed. Among these were the Knights of Honor, Masonic, and 
Equitable Aid Halls and several stores and shops. The loss was esti- 
mated at $75,000. During the same year the Clark block was erected 
in another part of the village. This contains two stores, several offices, 
and Clark's and Masonic Halls. The first new building on the burned 
district was the village hall for the use of the fire department and village 
officers, built in 1891. Dimon & Dunbar started business in the eleva- 
tor warehouse in 1886. The business is now managed by O. P. Dimon. 

The Baptist Church at Van Ettenville was organized in 1841 as a 



Toiv.y OF r.i.y ettex. 53i 

brancli of the Spencer clnirch, and so remained for about twenty-seven 
years, when it became independent. Some of the first members were 
Samuel English and wife, John C. Hanson and wife, George Bennittand 
wife, James Brink and wife, Sc\moiir Burcliard and wife. William W. 
Clark and wife became member.s afterward. The original number was 
fourteen. About the time the church became independent of the 
Spencer church, in 1868, the Revs. Taylor and Kimball held protracted 
meetings, which resulted in increased membership, the number reaching 
ait one time nearly forty. The church was erected in 1852 and was 
afterward repaired at an expense of several hundred dollars. The pas- 
tors have been Re\s. Lewis, Fox, Huntley, Van Dorn, and C. M. Jones. 
In 1878, during the pastorate of Rev. C. M. Jones, the church was re- 
organized and had a flourishing existence for several years, liut few of 
the members now remain and they have no regular services. 

The early history of the Methodist Church in the village is somewhat 
obscure. The society was probably organized about 1830. The first 
church was built in 185 t. The society was re-organized in 1857 and 
the church was subsequently repaired. This church and the parsonage 
belonging were burned in April, 1882. The fire was probably of in- 
cendiary origin. The buildings were worth about $3,500. The work 
of rebuilding was commenced soon after the fire. A commodious brick 
structure was erected at an expense of $6,000 and dedicated in June, 1 883. 
Among the pastors who have labored here are Revs. Burgess, Wetherwax, 
Samuel Barter, George W. Reynolds, O. McDowell. J. W. Jenner, J. W. 
Mills. The church and parsonage were burned during the pastorate of 
Rev. C. E. Mogg. Those who have succeeded him as pastors are Revs. 
M. C. Coyle, U. S. Hail, H. King, and John N. Sackett, the last of whom 
commenced his labors with this church in 1890. The membership of 
the church has been about 100 during the past ten years. The Sunday 
school has largely increased in numbers and general interest. The 
number of children in attendance is about 150. 

The Hedding Methodist Church at Swartwood had its origin soon 
after the first settlement of the town. Religious meetings were held at 
private houses. A class was formed about 1805. John Shoemaker, 
Emanuel luinis, Benjamin Ennis, John Iannis, and the wives of each of 
the four were some of the first members. In 1826 Benjamin and Ale.x- 



532 Of/A' COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE, 

aiider Ennis erected a church which was first used as a place of free 
worship. Ten years later it was purchased by the Metliodist Society. 
It was remodeled in 1883 at a cost of $1,000. This is a part of the Van 
Ettenville charge, one minister having the two appointments. 

Swartivood. — The postofifice of Swartwood was established as Van 
Etten with Jacob Swartwood postmaster on February 27, i860. Its 
name was changed to Swartwood, November 17, 1875, with George B. 
Pompelly as postmaster. His successors have been as follows : John 
Nichols, April 17, 1878; Eli Adams, October 24, 1881; William R. 
Van Horn, September 12, 1889; C. B. Snyder, January 15, 1891. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Town that gets its Name from the Baldwin Family — Its Situation — Neither a 
Railroad nor Telegraph line within its Borders — Early Settlers — The Granger 
Brothers — Henry Tice — The Hammond Family — Elisha Hammond — Ham- 
mond's ''Corners" — '' Uncle Jerry " McCumber — John Collson and his Sons — 
The Inman Family — Alfonso Lathrop — Levi Little — The original name of Low- 
nianville — A time when there were no Roads in the Town — How the early 
Settlers got to their new Homes — The Coopers — Most of the early Settlers of 
Baldwin soldiers of the War of 1812 — The first Houses in the Town — Other 
first Events — County oflFicers from the Town — North Chemung Village— Tlie 
Postmasters located There — • Paul Collson — Aged men of the Town — The Un- 
ion Church — Methodism in Hammond's Corners — Its early Beginnings — The 
Grangers — Hicks Postoflice — The first town Meeting — Town Officers. 



T 



HE town of Baldwin is situated directly east of the town of Elmira 
and has a long narrow portion extending from its northeast cor- 
ner to the county line between Chemung and Tioga. The boundaries 
are the towns of Erin and Van Etten on the north. Barton in Tioga 
County and Chemung on the east, Chemung on the south, and Elmira 
on the west. No streams are used as boundary lines and the frontiers 
are therefore as straight as they are imaginary. The town contains 
15,909 acres, most of wliich is under cultivation. The surface is com- 
posed of high hills broken by deep valleys or ravines. There are no 



V 



TO WN OF BALD WIX. 533 



flat lands of any considerable dimensions within its limits. In the val- 
leys the soil consists of a gravelly loam, while on the hills the loam is 
intermingled with more or less clay. There is an extensive area of 
grazing land and many farmers devote themselves to dairying pursuits. 
When put under cultivation the land produces good crops of oats and 
buckwheat, which may be called the chief cereal products. Unlike the 
southern tier of towns in the county Baldwin produces no tobacco for 
market, its soil being entirely unfit for its profitable growth. It is in- 
tersected bj' Baldwin and Wynkoop Creeks. 

Baldwin was erected April 7, 1856, from the town of Chemung. It 
was therefore the last town but one to be formed in the county, and 
next to Ashland is the smallest town. It derived its name as did also 
its principal waterway from the Baldwin family. Of few towns nowa- 
days can it be said as it is said of Baldwin, that there is not a rod of 
railroad or telegraph line within its limits, and the farms and villages re- 
main intact and unbroken except by the ordinary wagon roads, which 
are in places extremely steep and difficult of passage for heavy loads. 

The first white settlers were the Granger brothers, Charles and War- 
ren, who located on the present site of Hammond's " Corners " in the 
year 18 13. They both built houses, Charles on the northwest corner 
of the roads on the site formerly owned by the heirs of Elisha Ham- 
mond. Warren's house was on the west side of the main road about 
midway between the " Corners" and the first bend in the road on the 
way to Elmira. The brothers remained but a very short time and none 
of their descendants are living in the vicinity. 

F"ollowing close in tiie wake of the Granger brothers came Henry 
Tice and family from Ulster County, N. Y. He was a soldier of the 
Revolutionary war and had settled in Chemung township in 1800. He 
removed to the present limits of Baldwin in 18 14 and built a house on 
the lot where lives Martha Elston, a daughter of Reynolds Elston. He 
died in his ninetieth year, and of his twelve children none are now 
living. 

Jason Hammond, togetlier with his five sons, Elisha, James, David, 
Robert R., ? .d Cornelius, settled in the neighborhood in 1815. They 
also came trom Ulster County and purchased the property originally 
owned by the pioneer Granger brothers. The most prominent of the 



534 OUR COU.XTV AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Hammonds was Elisha the eldest, who represented the family in public 
affairs and was influential in the welfare and settlement of the community. 
He was a soldier of the War of 1812. His family consisted of fifteen 
children, some of the descendants of whom are yet living in the town. 
William, a younger brother of Elisha, was also a soldier of the War of 
18 1 2. He suffered from wounds received in battle and died a prisoner 
in the hands of the enemy. A Mr. Marshall and Francis Drake also 
located in the vicinity of the " Corners " in 181 5. 

In 1816 Peter McCumber settled on Baldwin Creek about two miles 
below the " Corners." He came from Providence, R. I. The same 
year Phineas Blodgett settled at the " Corners " and a Mr. Haywood 
and Simeon Kent settled in the southwest corner of the town on what 
is known as the ridge. In 18 16 also came Charles Dunn and Thomas 
Baldwin from the southern part of Chemung. They settled at the 
" Corners," which at that time had assumed the proportions of quite a 
village. 

In 181 7 the population was greatly augmented by the arrival of some 
twenty-seven or more families from various New England States, New 
Jersey, and the eastern part of our own State. Jeremiah McCumber 
was one of these colonists and came from Middletown, Rutland County, 
Vt. Mr. McCumber settled on lot No. 50 of the old Lenox tract, and 
was subsequently appointed sub-agent for the sale and care of this tract 
of land and continued in this capacity for a long term of years. He 
was a man full of activity, with, a thoughtful regard for the best interests 
of his fellowmen, beloved by his family, and respected by the entire 
community. His name was a household synonym of good cheer and 
his familiar features were long pictured in the memories of the old resi- 
dents of Baldwin, with whom he gained the soubriquet of " Uncle 
Jerry" McCumber. He died some twelve j-ears ago aged nearly ninety. 

In the year 1817 also came John CoUson and his sons, John, Jona- 
than, Anthony, Philander, Sprague, DavidT and Daniel, and a daughter 
Sally. They came from Dorset, Vt, and settled on the farm now owned 
by the CoUson heirs and occupied by the widow and two daughters of 
Philander, who died in the fall of 1881. Of the eight children only one 
is now living, Sprague, who resides on the Breesport road three miles 
from the " Corners." John, a son of John and a grandson of the elder 



TO WN OF BALD U 7A'. 535 

John Collson, and Abner, a son of Philander, are prominent residents 
and farmers of Baldwin. 

In the same year Stephen Inman with his son^, J\Iartiii, George, 
James, Stephen, jr., and Charles, also came from Dorset, Vt. They 
settled in the north part of the present town and were highly respected 
farmers. George Inman, a son of Martin, is the only lineal descendant 
of the family now living in the town. He is now filling the office of 
commissioner of highways. During the same year Alfonso Lathrop 
and his sons, Edward and John, from Kingston, N. Y., came and located 
at the " Corners." At the present time there is one member of the 
family, a grandson, Alfonso, who was a son of John, living at Ham- 
mond's Corners. 

Jesse and Josiah Brooks came in from Connecticut that year, and 
among others who settled there at or about the same time were Daniel 
Higgiiis, John Blandin, and Gilbert Salnave. 

In 1818 Isaac Brown, who came from Orange County, N. Y., located 
on the site of the house now occupied by his son Aaron A. He had 
twelve children, of whom there are now living Aaron A. at the "Cor- 
ners," Nathaniel in. Steuben County, N. Y., and William T. in Baldwin. 
In 1 8 19 Levi Little and family came from Monroe, Orange County, 
and settled near the mouth of Baldwin Creek, a locality then designated 
as Stumptown, now called Lowmanville, and in the present limits of Ash- 
land. He remained there scarcely a year, on April i, 1820, proceed- 
ing with his family farther up the river and settling in the present town 
of Baldwin at a place then designated as Hemlock Garden. It is the 
site of the Little homestead, about two miles northeast of Hammond's 
Corners. At the time Levi Little came there were no roads up through 
that section, the nearest thoroughfare being the old river road. He 
made his way to the new home as did the other early settlers by means 
of trails and marked trees in the woods. He brought with him from 
below the flour from nine bushels of rye, five bushels of wheat, five of 
buckwheat, and two and one-half of corn. He died in the spring of 
1862, and of his twelve children only four are now living, viz.: Johnson, 
a farmer, lives in the town of Erin ; Fanny S. lives on the old homestead ; 
J. Smith Little, a store-keeper at the " Corners"; and Levi Little, who 
lives on the homestead with his sister. 



530 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Another early settler coming later on \\as Paul Whitaker, who was 
born at Richmond, N. H., January 27, 1794. In 1822 he came to Bald- 
win and settled on lot 16. Prior to this, however, he had lived at 
Orange, Mass., where he went when still a boy, afterward removing to 
Vestal, Broome County, from which place he moved to Baldwin. He 
died April 10, 1881, at the age of eighty-seven years, and many friends 
and relatives cherish his memory. He was a soldier in the War of 
18 1 2. His two sons are still living in the town, Sprague, the eldest, a 
mile and a half from Hammond's Corners and Silas H. at the " Cor- 
ners." 

In 1828 the Coopers, James and his nephew John, came to Baldwin 
from Enfield, Tompkins County, N. Y. They had settled at the latter 
place in 1818, coming originally from the State of New Jersey. James 
was a soldier of the War of 1812 and upon coming to Baldwin, then a 
part of the town of Chemung in Tioga County, located about three 
miles east of the "Corners." Joseph Cooper, a brother of John, is still 
living in the village. Thomas, another brother, died suddenly of heart 
disease at the last town meeting of Baldwin. 

The first house built by a white man within the limits of Baldwin was 
so built by Charles Granger in 18 13. Before this was completed War- 
ren Granger, his brother, had another already in process of construction. 
Both houses have long since disappeared. The Granger brothers also 
harvested crops in the fall of 181 3 and were therefore the first white 
men to reap the products of the soil of Baldwin. The first white child 
born in the township was Simeon Hammond, a son born in 181 5 to 
Jason Hammond and wife. 

The few pioneers who had gathered together in this spot up to the 
year 1 820 busied themselves mostly in clearing away the pine and roll- 
ing the logs down to Baldwin Creek, thence to the river below. As 
fast as the'trees were felled and the ground cleared of stumps crops were 
sown in the open spaces. The first church society was formed by the 
Methodists in 1818, and in the following year, 1819, John Tuthill, jr., 
taught the first school in a primitive log house owned by John Brooks. 
The first wagon was brought in by John CoUson in 18 1 7. Prior to that 
time it would have been impossible to get a modern wagon through the 
woods. In 18 18 John Blandin built a frame barn, which was the first 



TOWN OF BALDWIX. 537 

one erected in the new settlement. In the same year the first marriage 
ceremony was performed in the town, that of Nicholas Patterson and 
Miss Anna Tice, and two years later in 1820 was the first death, that 
of Thomas Wheeler, who was instantly killed by a falling tree. In 1S21 
the first school-house was built: The first saw mill was put up by Elisha 
Hammond in 1S28 and Levi Little built tlie first frame dwelling-house 
in 1835. The latter was located on the Little homestead two miles 
northeast of the village. The first physician to locate in the town was 
Dr. J. W. Moore in 1836 and the first regular store was kept by Miles 
Covell and Jacob Tice in 1840. A Mr. Ikck worth was 'the first sur- 
vej'or to locate permanently in the town. 

From 1840 to i860 quite a large number of families came into the 
town, and taking advantage of the good farming land to be had on the 
surrounding hills settled on almost ever}' accessible spot. The comple- 
tion of the Erie Railroad to lUmira brought an influx of immigrants to 
all parts of Chemung County and that portion now within the limits of 
Baldwin received i.ts quota. Of course many of these came and went. 

Internal improvements were not rapid nor e.xtraxagant in Baldwin, the 
only advance in this direction being the construction and betterment of 
highways. The first tavern was kept by Daniel R. Harris in 1845. The 
first regular mail carried into the town was in the year 1846 by Elijah 
Ruger, who carried a route from Elmira through to Van Etten. The 
first church edifice was built by the Union Society in 1852. The first 
grist-mill was erected by Charles J. Hutcliins in 1875 on the site of the 
mill now operated by Calvin Woodhouse. 

Baldwin has furnished several county officers, among whom were Rob- 
ert Cassady, justice of sessions in 1856-59; John S. Gunterman, justice 
of sessions in 1866; Allen Cooper, now a resident of Michigan, who was 
sheritT from 1873 to 1876 and from 1885 to 1S88 ; and Levi D. Little, 
sherifTfrom 1879 to 1882. The last named is the present chief of police of 
Elmira city. John T. Smith is one of the county school commissioners. 

Hammond' s Corners (^ox\\\ Chemung postoffice) is a village situated 
west of the center of the town. It lies but a few rods east of Baldwin 
Creek and is seven miles byroad from Elmira, although the air-line dis- 
tance is but five and a half miles. The early settlers on this site were 
the Granger brothers, Menry Tice, and Jason Hammond. The growth 

G8 



5HS OUR COL'A'TY AiVD ITS PEOPLE. 

of a settlement at this particular spot is due to the available water sup- 
ply of Baldwin Creek for mill power and the accessibility of the loca- 
tion. Prior to 1843 the settlers were without convenient mail facilities, 
but on June 29th of thit year a postoffice was established at Hammond's 
Corners and called North Chemung, by which name it is still desig- 
nated. The first postmaster was Anthony Collson. He moved to 
Steuben County in 1849. He was followed in the office of postmaster 
on February 22, 1849, bj' Jacob Tice. The other postmasters with the 
dates of their appointments are: Johnson Little, November 16, 1852; 
Elisha Hammond, jr., January 10, 1857; Elisha Hammond, July 28, 
1858; Hezekiah !\I. Denton, May 14, 1862; William Collson, Febru- 
ary 5, 1863; Jonathan W. Jones, March 27, 1866; Paul Collson, July 
9. 1867; Amasa R. Herrington, August 25, 1885. Of these it will be 
seen that Paul Collson held the office for eigliteen years. He was ap- 
pointed commissioner of the United States deposit fund for Chemung 
County in 1873 by Gov. John A. Dix, an office he has held continu- 
ously since. One mail is received each day b\- carrier from Elmira. 

Elisha Hanimond originally built the store now occupied by the post- 
office and conducted business there for many years. W. H. Tice car- 
ried OP. business there in 1878 and John \V. Collson in 1879. A. R. 
Herrington came from Erin township in 1880 and purchased the prop- 
erty, putting in a general stock of merchandise, and has continued the 
business ever since. He is the present town clerk of Baldwin. 

J. Smith Little first opened a store April 4, 1864, in part of his pres- 
ent residence. In June of the same year he moved the stock of goods 
into the present store, where he has continued to carry a line of general 
merchandise. He has upon several occasions held prominent town 
offices, among them that of town clerk, road commissioner, and super- 
visor. In the latter capacity Mr. Little served six dift'erent terms, during 
the years 1874, '80, '81, '87, '88, and '89. 

Silas H. Whitaker has a blacksmith shop opposite the postoffice that 
was first built and conducted by John Cooper. He was followed by 
Robert Cassadj', and he by his son Charles. Mr. Whitaker assumed 
proprietorship April i, 1891. 

One of the oldest men now living in Hammond's Corners is Archi- 
bald H. Tice, who came from Orange County to Baldwin in 1865, and 



TO n W OF BALD IV/X. ,".30 

has since that time been a familiar figure to its towns- people. Another 
old and well known man is Chaiincey E. Yaple, who settled here in i860. 
He was a soldier of the Mexican war and also of the late Civil war. 

J. A. Cortri^ht & Co. carry on a butcliering business at Hammond's 
Corners wliicii they established four years ago. They convey their 
meats to Elmira for market. 

Hammond's Corners is the seat of district school No. i and also of 
the union church edifice. This structure was erected in 1852 and made 
free for the use of all denominations. The Board of Trustees were se- 
lected from the Christian, the Methodist, the Baptist, and the Presby- 
terian denominations, with three non-denoniiiiationalists, making seven 
in all. The fund for building the church was raised by subscription 
and amounted to $1,100. The Rev. Dr. David Murdoch, of Elmira, a 
Presbyterian clergyman, preached the dedicatory sermon. The present 
trustees are Paul Collson, Charles Fox, James Woodhouse, Calvin 
Woodhouse, Charles Cassady, A. M. Collson, and William T. Brown. 
The only church organization now using the building permanently is 
the Metiiodist Society of North Chemung, which was organized asacla-s 
in the year 18 18. Among the pioneer members were Jesse l^rooks 
and his wife, Henry Tice and his wife Huldah, Susan Collson, Abigail 
Fox, Mrs. Sally Baldwin, Mrs. Fanny Dunn, and Jason Hammond and 
his wife Mary. The first class-leader was Jesse Brooks. The so- 
ciety was first served in pulpit ministrations by the Rev. Hiram War- 
ner and the Rev. Mr. Birge, who were circuit clergymen. On May 20_ 
1878, a regular church organization was eft'ected, although the society 
had been regularly supplied by ministers since 1856. The pastors since 
the latter date have been: 1856-57, William Selley; 1858, William 
Armitage ; 1859-60, J. Robinson; 1861-62, J. J. Turton ; 1863-64, 
J. L. S. Grandin ; 1865, William E. Pindar; 1866-68, M. F. De 
Witt; 1869, S. A. Chubbuck and P. J. Bull; 1870, S. A. Chubbuck ; 
'87'-73. Walter Statham ; 1874-75, J. W. Ikown ; 1876, Tiiomas 
Jolly; 1877-79, A. p:nsign ; 1880, G. W. Moxcey ; 1881-82, J. Mar- 
ring; 1883-85, Dewitt Myers; 1886-87, O. A. Retan ; 1888-90, J. J. 
Turton; 1891, H. H. Hyde. The membership of the church at present, 
including those persons living at Hicks and the Greatsinger school- 
house district, which are on this charge, is 108, and di\'ided as follows : 



5-iO OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Seventy-four at Hammond's Corners, tu-ent\--four at Hicks, and ten at 
Greatsinger school-house. There arc five probationers. 

The society at Hicks was removed from Double Mills four years ago. 
The class-leaders at Hicks are Hiram Whitehead and Jesse Roberts and 
at the school-house Giles Stannard. There is a Sunday school with a 
membership of sixty five scholars, and Mrs. Mary Little is the superin- 
tendent. The society owns the parsonage, which is valued at $i,000. 
The Rev. H. H. Hyde is the present pastor and the trustees are James 
VVoodhouse, Charles Fox, and Abner M. Collson. The church stew- 
ards are Charles Fox, William l^lauvelt, James Woodhouse, Mrs. Julia 
Lathrop, Mrs. Abbie Denton, and Mrs. Elmira Brown. 

The North Chemung Grange, No. 227, was formed in July, 1874, with 
thirty charter members. The first ofificers were: Miles S Nixon, master; 
J. Collson, jr., overseer; N. Cooper, steward; E. M. Little, assistant 
steward; G. S. Little, lecturer; John E. Smith, treasurer; William R. 
Hammond, secretary ; and A. R. Brown, chaplain. The society flour- 
ished for about six years, but was discontinued some time during 1879 
or 1880, and no meetings have been held or ofificers elected since. 
There are also located at the Corners a saw and grist-mill, owned and 
operated by Calvin R. Woodhouse, and two creameries. 

Hicks is the only other postoffice in the town and is situated in the 
northeastern part in the valley of the Wynkoop Creek. It has mostly 
been settled since the Civil war. Among others living there in 1867 
were the Hicks and Banfield f.miilies, which have been prominent in the 
growth and advancement of the settlement. Frank Sayre kept the first 
store. The postofifice is in the store of Jacob Banfield and the present 
postmaster is Andrew Barnes, who succeeded W. H. Blauvelt. There 
is a Methodist Church Society which belongs to the North Chemung 
charge, and meetings are held in a hall built by contribution and owned 
by residents in the neighborhood. The pulpit is supplied fortnighth- 
by Rev. J. J. Turton. 

The first town meeting was held May 6, 1S56, one month after the 
town's formation, at the house of Daniel R. Harris, innkeeper. At that 
meeting the following named officers were elected : William H. Little, 
supervisor; Johnson Little, town clerk; Daniel R. Harris, commissioner 
of highways; William R. Drake, William McCumber, and Jeremiah Mc- 



Toiv.y OF /i.-i/.Dir/.y. 541 

Cumber, justices of the peace ; Schuyler Smith, collector ; Schuyler 
Smitii, EHolly W'estbrook, John Bright, Willis Jenkins, constables; Tim- 
otliy J. Smith, overseer of the poor; and Robert Hammond, inspector 
of elections. 

The town clerks from 1856 to 1891 have been : 

1856-57, Jolinson Little; 1858-60, IT. M. Denton; 'Slil, Wanen M. Coll.'^on ; 1S62, 
H. .M.Denton; 18G3. Charles Tii1>bs ; 1864, Neliemiah Denton; 186.5-08, Cliarles Cas- 
sady ; 1809, John S. Little ; 1870-71, George B. Cas.'sail.v ; 1S7L', William II. Cassady ;• 
lS7.'i, .Vniasa R. Ileiringlon ; l.s74, AVilliam R. Hammond ; 1875-76, Charles Cassady ; 
1877, Willam R. Hammond ; 1878, G. S. Little; 187!), Jacob Banfield ; 1880-81, Will- 
iam W. Cassady ; 1882, WilHam M. Beckhorn ; 1883-85, Amasa R. Herrington; 1880, 
Frank M. Hammond; 1887-91, Amasa R. Herrington. 

Following are the names of the justices of the peace who have served 
during a like period : 

1850, William R. Drake, William McCiimber, Jeremiah JloCumber; 1857, Robert 
Cas-sady, Jeremiah McCumber; 1858, William H. Little; 18.59, Samuel P. Elston, Dan- 
iel Vail ; 1860, William McCumber, Isaac Hicks, Lewis Jenkins; 1861, Robert Cassady, 
William McCumber; 1862, Daniel Vail ; 1863, James De Witt, Sanmel P. Elston ; 1864, 
John S. Gunterman, William H. Little; 1805, Robert Ca.ssady, William H. Little ; 1866, 
Daniel Vail, James De Witt; 1867, Israel P. Griswold, Joseph Cooper: 1808, John S. 
Gunterman; 1S09, Robert Cassady, Marion Vail ; 1870, Charles Dearborn; 1871, Cor- 
nelius Stiles ; 1872, John S. Gunterman, James Banfield, Israel P. Griswold ; 1873, Rob- 
en Cassady : 1874. Isaac Hicks; 1875, H. K Smith ; 1876, Paul Coll.son; 1877, John W. 
Blauvelt; 1878. William H. Blauvelt; 1879, Robert Cassady; 1880, Paul Collson ; 1881, 
John Doohttle; 1882, Isaac Hicks: 1883, Charles Cas.=ady ; 1884, Frank Wade ; 1885, 
Rodney Osborn ; 1886, Smith Drake; 1887, Charles Cassady; 1888, Lloyd Cooper; 
1889, Rodney Osborn; 1890, Smith Drake, Abiain Havens; 1891, Charles Cassady. 

Tiie present town officers are : 

Gideon G. Smith, supervisor; A. R. Herrington, town clerk; Charles Cassady, Abram 
Havens, and Smith Drake, justices of the peace ; George S. Inman, commissioner of 
highwayo ; William Olin. Lewis Jenkins, overseers of the poor ; Frank Wade, Levi S. 
Little, J. J. Drake, inspectors of election: Charles V. Little, collector; Byron Lamp- 
heai-, William Cooper, W. H. Jenkins, Lavern Loomi.s, B. D. Hall, constables; Isaac 
Inman, game constable ; George W. Breese, e.xcise conmii.ssiouer : Harvey Hngg, George 
Fish, and Hiram Whitebread, as.sessor.s. 

John T. Smith, of this town, is the county school commissioner. 



0-12 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Town that was named from a \'eteian of two Wars — Its Location and Peculiar- 
ities — Preserved Cooley, the first Settler — Green Bently, the Veteran — Local- 
ities settled by New Englanders — Elder Ebenezer Mallory — An early Woolen 
Manufactory— Organization of the Town and its Officers — The Road that Gen- 
eral Sullivan laid Out- — Other Highways — Pine Valley — Its Earlier Industries 
— Its Churches — Other Societies — Millport, originally Millvale, almost a rival 
to Elmira — Startling events in its History — Its Churches and Schools — Its be- 
nevolent and secret Societies — Sullivanville — Enterprises at Ridge Farms — Post- 
offices of Veteran and Terry's Corners — A Township deserving of the Name it 
Bears. 

THE town of Veteran lies upon the northern border of the county 
east of Catlin. The surface is mostly upland, the hills reaching an 
altitude of 500 to 700 feet above the lower valleys. The soil is princi- 
pally gravelly loam with some clay, and is of good qualitj'. The assessed 
area of tiie town is 22,775 acres with a valuation of $537,220 in 1890. 
Catherine Creek flows through the town, furnishing power for the 
mills which have been erected upon its banks The original growth of 
timber was mainly heavy pine, which has given place to cultixated 
farms rich in cereal wealth. In the earlj- days of lumbering this prod- 
uct was hauled by teams to Havana, the choicest pine bringing only 
three to four dollars per thousand feet! The construction of the Ciie- 
mung Canal in 1833, wiiich extended along the valley of Catherine 
Creek, gave an easier outlet and a better market in Utica, Albanj', and 
New York. 

A little more than a century has elapsed since the earliest grants of 
land or certificates of location were given by Gov. George Ch'nton to 
Preserved Cooley. These were three tracts, the first of sixty acres and 
the others of twenty-two and one-half acres each, granted March 23, 
1 79 1. Other grants were tliree lots of 200 acres each to John Pazle)', 
August 8, 1793 ; 200 acres to John Carpenter and Henry Wisner, Jan- 
uary 28, 1794; 700 acres, partly in Cath'n, to John Nicholson, Novem- 
ber 15, 1792. 

In 1798 Green Bently, a native of Rhode Island who had previously 



TO WX OF I ■£ TKRAX. 543 

settled near Wellsburg, purchased 300 acres of land in tiie west part of 
the town in tlie vicinity of the present village of Millport, where he 
built a log house opposite the dwelling of Mrs. Oliver Greene in recent 
years, which was built bj' Green Bently, jr. The name of Hubbard is 
associated with that of Hubbard's Run, a stream flowing into Cathe- 
rine Creek. Hubbard built a log house near the site of the old Par- 
sons Tavern and lived alone. He either met death tragically in an 
attack by wild animals or died in his seclusion, his body being afterward 
torn to pieces by them. Abiard Latten and two sons from Fairfield, 
Conn., settled in 1803 upon the farm latterly owned b\' Harvey Turner. 
In 1805 a settlement was made on the middle road east of Millport by 
families from Vermont and Connecticut. Among these were Elder 
Ebenezer Mallory, Daniel Parsons and his sons-in-law, David Banks, 
Nathan Bedient, and Zacheus Morehouse, and Augustus Lyon, David 
Coe, John Dailey, Asa Coe, Luther Coe, Hawkins Fanton, John Mc- 
Dougal, and Eli Banks. These were all sturdy people, ideal pioneers. 
While Elder Mallory wielded the "sword of the Spirit " he could also 
wield the axe and the bush hook. He cleared the first fallow, and one 
Sunday when his neighbors had assembled to listen to his preaching 
and his son had set the brush on fire he cut short his exhortation and 
pressed his hearers into the service of fighting the fire to avert the de- 
struction of his house. The echo of his closing words on this occasion 
seemed to be, " without works is dead." 

In this neighborhood the first frame houses were erected, one or more 
of which have withstood the wear of long succeeding )'ears. Here was 
the first distillery, which was soon succeeded by a school-house in the 
neighborhood; and then another distillery, as with only one there was 
an unequal balance between supply and demand. Few accessions 
were made to the new settlements for several years and the changes 
were unimportant. 

Soon after 1820 a new impulse was given to the growth and prosper- 
ity of the town. In 1823 Myron Collins from Chenango County, N. Y., 
erected a woolen factory at Millport. This was afterward used for the 
manufacture of furniture. In 1825 James Gififord purchased a part of 
the Bently farm and began the foundation of a village which he called 
" Millvale." Here he built a dwelling-house and a tannery. During 



544 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

this year Erastiis Crandall built tlie first store. About two \'ears prior 
to this David Coe and Thomas McCarthy built the first grist-mill on 
the site of the Hoffner & Sherman mill. .Soon after 1825 Eber Cran- 
dall, Amos Crandall, David Turner, Har\ey Turner, John Turner, Allen 
Kendall, and William Van Duzcr settled on the ridge road. Morris 
Hewitt, Welcome Mosber, and Welcome Moslier, jr., located on the 
middle road. About this time came others to Millport Valley, among 
whom were Richard Dearborn, John Egbert, P. S. Tanner, Benjamin 
Hackney, Jeremiah Hackney, Horton Frost, Ebenezer Longstreet, and 
Dr. Horace Seaman. J. D. Mandeville, Jervis Langdon, William H. 
Phillips, and Patrick Quinn came soon after. The first settlers in Pine 
Valley were Elijah and John L. Sexton, William Bently, and Jabez 
Bradlej'. Elijah Sexton was the first postmaster at Pine Valley in 1828 
with the office located at the lower valley. The succeeding postmas- 
ters of Pine Valley, not otherwise and heretofore referred to, are as fol- 
lows : Bennett J. Denson, June 16, 1851 ; Samuel Everett, October 9, 
1852; Samuel Soper, August 24, 1853; Curtis Miles, September 26, 
1854; Asa D. Smith, June 15, 1857; Hiram M. Lattin, May 9, 1866; 
William H. Banks, January 24, 1870; Dewitt C. Crawford, June 2, 
1873; Henry Lattin, September i, 1873; Robert P. Mosher, April 19, 
1875; Adell M. Dilmore, April 29, 1879; William C. Palmer, March 5, 
1880; Chauncey Palmer, December 30, 1886; William C. Palmer, Jan- 
uary 5, 1887. 

Other early settlers of the town were B. B. Parsons, Ransom Lattin, 
Jacob Weller, Oliver Greene, Caleb Allen, Miles Curtis, Levi Mallette, 
Uriah Hail, L. Compton, Nathan Botchford, Diedrich Shafer, John 
Burch, Reuben Tifift, Moses Cole, Richard Dilmore, John Denson, Solo- 
mon Bennett, Thomas C. Sleeper, Henry Taj'lor, sr., William Duscam, 
Chauncey Taylor, James M. Van Duzer, Samuel A. Beardsley, William 
Christler, sr., Ezra Mallette, Henry Hall, John Deane. 

Veteran was formed from Catherine on April 16, 1823. The name 
was given to the town to signalize the distinguished services of Green 
Bently, the first settler. He had served in the French and Indian war, 
enlisted in 1775 in the Revolutionary struggle, and served through it to 
the end. The names "Bently" and "Veteran" are synonymous terms 
in the history of the township. 



Toirx OF r/:Tj:A\i.\: 545 

The town clerks since 1851 have been : 

1S51. Joseph C. Stoll; 1852-53. Gabriel Smith; 1854, Theodore V. Weller; 1855. 
Lutlier P. Lyon; 1850. Dana White; 1857-5'J, Heiirv II.iIl; 18G0, l"nah Hall; 1861- 
G6, John Densoii: 18G7. S. R. l'a<?e ; ISGS, Jolm Den.-;on ; 1 8G0- 76, Charles C. Coston ; 
1877, Dexter White; 1878. A. T. King.<ley : 1879-83, Dexter White; 1884, Roswell 
Gofi; jr.; 1885-91. Dexter White. 

The justices of the peace were as follows : 

Theodore V. Willen, Kvans P. Carr, Renben B. Newlmll, Volney Sawyer, William P. 
Ciiaille, John .Shafl'er. 8. R. Page, Cnrtis Miles, Bela B. Crane, Mose.<! Cole, Isaac V. 
Thompson, James iluMillen, Wilham II. Bank.s, Mo.ses Cole, Robert Ilosie, Henry H. 
Worden, DeWitt C. Crawford, John C. Fanton, William Buriell, H. H. Worden, John 
W. Dilmoie; 1875, Mo.se.'; Cole; 1S7G, George McKinney and Charles T. Hill ; 1877, 
H. H. Worden ; 1878, John W. Dilmore; 1879, Charles T. Hill ; 1880, George McKin- 
ney ; 1881, H. H. Worden; 1882. George W. Wood ; 1883, C. T. Hill; 1884, Lewis B. 
Jackson ; 1885, Nelson Bedell ; 188G, John M. Hanks; 1887, L. W. Bailey; 1888, John 
Hamilton ; 1889. A. W. .McKcy ; 1890, Charles K. Soper: 1891. L. W. Bailey. 

The first road built in tiie town was constructed by General Sullivan 
on his march against the Indians in 1779. Its traces are nearly obliter- 
ated. The valley of Catherine Creek throu<^h which it extended has 
since been the main thoroughfare leading from Elmira toward Seneca 
Lake. Local and other travel during the time when hinibering was ex- 
tensively carried on ; the establishment of a line of daily stages which 
were then driven over this route ; the activities of trade and travel on the 
Chemung Canal ; the friendly ri\alry between the then busy villages of 
Pine Valley and Millport, w here scores and hundreds of boats were in 
process of construction ; and the travel upon the Northern Central Rail- 
road have given to the valley an importance and interest which have 
not attached to other sections of the town. The middle road, extending 
from the valley toward Johnson settlement, was opened in 1 800 and was 
for sexcral years the only highwa\- east of the valley road. About 1826 
a post-road was established between Elmira and Seneca Lake extend- 
ing through the valley; a postoffice was kept at Daniel Parsons's hotel, 
of which Llijali Sexton was the first postmaster. Another route, also 
starting from Elmira, left the main road at Horseheads and followed the 
ridge road to Johnson settlement. There was an office at the house of 
William \'an Duzeii, who kept a hotel and was the postmaster. There 
was also another hotel on the same road kept by John Turner. John 
Deane settleti on the valley road in 1812, where he kept a public house 
for many years. '•'' 



54G OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

A section of Catherine Valley in the vicinity of the present village of 
Pine Valley was fust known as the "Swani[)." Soon after the construc- 
tion of the canal it was called the " Summit," from the fact that here was 
the upper lock in the canal or the "summit- level" reaching southward 
The first buildings in I'ine Valley were of logs, among which were a 
school house, which stood a short distance above the village, and a dis- 
tillery on the present site of the creamery. Later there were a few 
buildings of better construction, among which were a plank school- 
house which stood near the present Methodist Church, the " stone " 
mill, still occupied, built by William Bently about 1830, and afterward 
the red school house which was replaced by a better structure in 1865. 
The construction of the canal gave an impetus to business and Pine 
Valley was the scene of life and activity. 

A short distance above the village was a boat landing where build- 
ing timber, lumber, shingles, tan-bark, and wood were transferred to 
boats for eastern and other markets. Several saw- mills were located 
below the village. These witii four or five locks above the lower valle\' 
and the boat building interests of Curtis Miles, William M. Banks, and 
Hiram Lattin furnished employment for mechanics and laborers who 
found homes in the valley. Business has changed, but Pine Valley has 
a railroad station, two churches, two stores, a good school-house, a 
grist mill, creamery, carriage shop, blacksmith shops, and, though not 
the life and activity of former j'ears, the quiet of pleasant homes. 

The Baptist Church was organized in 1867 and was first known as 
the " Free Religious Society " of Pine Valley. A church edifice was 
erected in 1871. About 1873 the name was changed to the " Free 
Baptist Church " of Pine Valley. The Rev. E. C. Roilins was the first 
pastor. He was succeeded by Revs. Andrew Johnson, S. C. Weath- 
Ciby, O. S. Brown, and H. H. Ream. There are forty-eight members 
and about ninety attend the Sabbath school. Henry Stoll and John 
Reaves are deacons. 

John Vaughan was one of the Methodist preachers who held meetings 
in the vicinity of Pine Valley about 1825. Meetings were held at his 
house on the Allen Barnes place, where he impressed his hearers by 
the power of his zeal and earnestness. In 1858 a class of about fifteen 
members was organized at Pine Valley under the charge of the church 



TOWN OF VETERAN. 547 

at Millport, and services were held in the school-house and afterward in 
the Baptist Cluirch. A church building was erected in 1888 ami dedi- 
cated November 15, 18S9, under I\I. P. Blakeslee as presiding elder, as- 
sisted by the Revs. U. S. Boebe and C. L. Connell. There are about 
forty members. This is a branch of the Millport church. 

The first cemetery at Pine Valley was upon a knoll near the Baptist 
Cluirch. A few members of the Goldsmith family and some otiiers 
were buried there. A new plot of about two acres near the village and 
just within the lineof Catlin was subsequently selected and is under the 
control of the Pine Valley Cemetery Association, incorporated May 5, 
1883. Trustees: Charles K. Soper, president; H. H. Tax'lor, secretary ; 
H. M. Lattin, George K. Smith, T. C. Dilmore, Lorenzo Pike. 

[•"idelity Lodge, No. 81 1, I. O. G. T., was chartered February 5, 1869: 
Sidney A. Palmer, C. T.; Mary A. Weller, V. T.; Monroe Andruss, 
chaplain ; John W. Dilmore, treasurer. 

Pine Vallej' Lodge, No. 157, G. T., was organized in January, 1891, 
with nineteen charter members. Twenty-one members were added in 
the next si.\- months. William Barnes, C. T.; Emma Rose, secretar}'. 

Pine Valley creamery was started and operated about eight years by 
Ur. George K. Moke, who erected the building in 1867. It was pur- 
chased in 1885 by H. M. Lattin, who manufactures both butter and 
cheese for a co-operative company of sixty-two members, with Martin 
McCauley, president; George M. Parsons, vice-president; Thomas C. 
Dilmore, secretary; J. M. Stoll, superintendent. 

Millport is situated near the west line of the town two miles north of 
Pine Valley. Once the scene of business activity and the ainiost suc- 
cessful rival of F.lmira it now sits silent and serene, closely environed 
by the towering hills which circumscribed and limited its early growth 
and cast their shades as a pall over her decline. It retains enough of 
its former self to be both pleasant and interesting. The original name, 
'• Millvale," was changed to Millport in 1829 by a resolution passed at 
a meeting held for the celebration of the passage of the act authorizing 
tlie construction of the Chemung Canal. The numerous saw- mills 
erected along Catherine Creek, of which Elijah Sexton built three, and 
the building of hundreds of boats constructed in the valley by Pliny S. 
Tanner, Mosher & Williams, James Stoll, and others, contributed to the 
early growth of the village. 



54S OUR COUXTV AXD /TS PEOPLE. 

Although \'eteran has liad a fair share of prosperity, and daring some 
years immunity from disease and accident, yet the people in the vicinit)' 
of Millpoit have passed througli some afflictive dispensations which 
liave brought sorrow to many and consternation to all. Uuring the 
spring and summer of 1841 an epidemic in the form of scarlet fever 
proved fatal to a large number of children. It was followed by a throat 
trouble of dangerous putridity which carried away others of more ad- 
vanced years. In the following year another disease, erysipelatoid in 
its nature, became epidemic, baffled the skill of medical practitioners, and 
was marked by its virulence and mortality. During the construction of 
the Northern Central Railroad in the year 1849 a number of foreigners 
were emyloyed as laborers. In the month of July, during a term of ex- 
cessive heat, cholera broke out among them in the neighborhood of 
Millport and proved alarmingly fatal. It also spread among the citi- 
zens, and by its deadly ravages created the utmost consternation and 
fear. In many cases the attack was so sudden and violent that death 
resulted in three or four hours. Strong men commenced the day's 
labor and died before noon. The shades of evening closed upon others 
in apparent good health and before dawn the\' had passed into the 
night of death. Not less than 375 deaths resulted from this dreaded 
and fatal disease, the ravages of which were checked by the cooler 
weather of the approaching autumn. In June, 1857, excessive and 
long continued rains made the inhabitants along Catheiine Creek and 
the line of the canal apprehensive of damages by flood. Orders were 
received to turn the water from the canal into tlie creek. Obedience to 
the order which was begun at the summit above Millport on the after- 
noon of June 17th, the increasing violence of the rain, and finally the 
breaking of the banks of the canal sent a terrorizing torrent down the 
valley, carrying with it the dams, houses, barns, and other buildings 
which stood in the line of its destructive course. At Millport the only 
safety was in flight to the hills. Navigation was suspended upon the 
canal for some time, but the repairs were made long before the people 
of the village could make the necessary repairs for resuming their accus- 
tomed avocations. 

John McDougall and Ebenezer Mallory,who were early settlers in Vet- 
eran, preached occasionally for several years after the settlement of the 



TOWN OF VETERAN. 549 

town for the Methodists of Millport. A church was regularly organized 
December 31, 1832, ami was for a few \-ears part of a circuit which in- 
cluded Horscheads and Havana. Among the early members were John 
McDougall and wife, Oliver Greeno, Ira Miles and wife, David Banks and 
wife, Diedrich Shafer, and John Daily. A church edifice was erected 
in 1833. David Fellows, William Goodwin, John Champion, and Ralph 
Bennett preached prior to 1843, when it became a regular station with 
E. Colson as pastor. Other pastors were Revs. Henry Wisner and 
Austin Ciuibbuck. In 1867 the church was rebuilt and a session room 
added. The preachers since that time have been W'illiam Bradbury, 
Milton Fellows, J. T. Canfield, C. W. Winchester, M. F. De Witt, Rob- 
ert Townsend, E. D. Thurston, John II. Day, C. L. Connell, J. R. Drake, 
and C. M. Adams. Tiiere are about 220 members, including the Pine 
Valley church. 

One of the prominent men of tlie county was Albert F. Babcock, of 
Millport. He was a merchant there many years, served as clerk of the 
Board of Supervisors several terms, and was elected count)' clerk in 1849. 
One of his sons, although laboring under the disadvantage of entire loss 
of eyesight, became a minister whose preaching was of more than ordi- 
nary interest. Another son was for many years clerk of the State prison 
at Sing Sing. Another son, Erastus Franklin Babcock, finishing his 
education at the Delaware Literary Institute in Franklin, Delaware 
County, N. Y., prepared himself for the bar, and was admitted to the 
practice of the profession. He located in Elmira and has attained much 
prominence and success in his chosen walk of life. He was elected dis- 
trict attorney of the county in 1865 and was appointed postmaster of 
Elmira in 1885. His wife was a daughter of the Hon. John I. Nicks. 
Mr. Babcock excels in literary work, some of his efforts with his pen, 
of which he has never been suspected as having been the author, enti- 
tling him to rank with men whose writings have made them well know n. 

The Millport Baptist Church was organized December 24, 1844, by a 
council from Big Flats, Southport, and lilmira. The first members 
were Pliny S. Tanner, Robert Pcnnell, C. C. Coston, Stephen Owen, 
Isaac Brisco, Chauncey Palmer, Caroline C. Druson, Mary Impson, 
Mary Long.street, Rebecca Buckalew, Mary Pennell, Mar\' M. Coston, 
Flliza Durbon, Susan Brisco, Miranda McAdams, Lovina Palmer, Barbara 



550 OUR COUXTV AND /TS PEOPLE. 

Pratt. Tlie first pastor was Rev. P. D. Gillette, whose annual salary was 
$50. P. S. Tanner, C. C. Coston, and Chauncey Palmer were tiie first 
deacons. Services were held principally in churches belonging to the 
Methodist and Presbyterian societies. Rev. P. D. Gillette was suc- 
ceeded as pastor by Re\s. E. A. Hadley, G. M. Spratt, S. M. lirokeniaii, 
William Sharpe, and Richard Hultz, the last of whom became a soldier 
by enlistment in 1862. About 1867 P. S. Tanner purchased the Pres- 
byterian Church, in which services were afterward held. The Baptist 
Society became a legallj' incorporated body March 27, 1871, and pur- 
chased the church of P, S. Tanner for $1,000, he then contributing 
$600 of that amount. After undergoing repairs the church was dedi- 
cated September 27, 1871. Rev. Mr. Hultz was succeeded by Pastors 
Capron, Whitney, Brown, Phillips, Dean, Worth, Babcock, Baldwin, 
Elweil, Hutchins, Stone, Cameron, Whalen, C. E. Drake, and George 
H. Tliompson. The Rev. Benjamin W. Capron became pastor of the 
church in 1867 and remained two years. He died July 13, 1869, after 
having seen fifty- four \ears of active ministerial labor. 

A Presbyterian Church, of which Myron Collins and Jervis Langdon 
were prominent members, was organized at Millport in 1S36. The 
society became disorganized by reason of the removal of prominent 
families and the church which they had built became the property of 
the Baptists. A Rev. Mr. Jackson was the first pastor. 

St. Mark's Episcopal Church was erected in 1887 and consecrated in 
January, 1888. Services are conducted by the Rev. Thomas Duck, of 
Horseheads. 

The first cemeterj' in the west part of the town was on the old Bently 
farm, and was the burial place of several of the old settlers. The Mill- 
port Cemetery Association, having control of a cemetery east of the 
village, was incorporated November 18, 1870. C. W. Sleeper has been 
prominently connected with the association as secretary for several 
years. The original plot of land consisted of an acre purchased of 
Erastus Crandall. Another purchase was made in 1841 ; another of 
two acres was added about the time of the incorporation. 

Old Oak Lodge, No. 253, F. and A. M., was chartered June 7, 1852, 
pursuant to application made February 12, 1852, by Charles Benson, 
Jonathan P. Crouch, Gabriel Smith, Lemuel Hudson, Erastus Crandall, 



TOIVN OF I'ETERA.y. 551 

Patrick Ouinn, and John Diirfec. Tliere were about twenty charter 
nlembers. The first officers were : Charles Benson. W. M.; Alexander 
Falls, S. \\'.; G. L. Smith, J. W.; Lemuel Hudson, secretary; Erastus 
Cr.indall, treasurer; George Mills, S. D.; Fred R. I'lumb, J. D.; M. Se- 
leckson, tyler. Past masters: Charles Benson, G. L. Smith, D. N. Be- 
dient, F:. W. Howell, T. D. Jones, J. C. Fanton, J. T. Fowler, G. M. 
Beard, C. Brown, A. Tifit. Officers in 1891 : C. Brown, W. M.; J. R. 
Mapes, S. W.; L. \V. Bailey, J. VV.; D White, secretary; T. F. Rhodes, 
treasurer; George Lee, S. D.; W. W. Locke, J. D.; W. Botchford and 
J. Rosekranz, M. of C; C. Crouch, tyler. Brother E. O. Crandali was 
the first brother passed and raised in the lodge. Masonic Hall is 
located in the village of Millport. There were about sixty-eight mem- 
bers in 1891. 

Millport Union Lodge, No. 1 12, L O. G. T., was instituted January 22, 
1879, with twenty-seven charter members; J. G. Pettengill, past chief. 
Officers in 1891 : Asher Frost, C. T.; Mary E. Coulter, V. T.; Clara 
Howell, chaplain ; Ella Briggs, secretary ; Harry Rhodes, assistant sec- 
retary; Frank Kelly, sentinel ; Charles Sterling, guard ; Sarah Coulter, 
marshal ; Mabel Coulter, deput)' marshal ; Dexter White, lodge dep- 
uty; Mrs. S. R. Page, superintendent of juvenile temples; Libbie Frost, 
treasurer; S. R. Page, financial secretary. 

The Women's Christian Temperance Union of Millport was organ- 
ized in 1888 with Mrs. J. R. Drake president. She was succeeded by 
Mrs. M. M. Parsons. There are about twenty members. 

The village school building is an octagonal structure of two stories. 
The school consists of two departments, and the citizens have a com- 
mendable pride in securing thorough and competent instructors. Dr. 
L. W. Bailey, a resident physician, formerly a successful teacher whose 
mathematical talent would honor a college professorship, occupies an 
unsought and gratuitous position as appellate judge upon educational 
topics held in dis[)ute by students and others. 

The Arnot mills, built by Da\ id Coe and Thomas McArthy in 1823, 
were rebuilt by John Burch about iS38and subsequently remodeled 
by David lianks. Tiiey were burned in 1888, rebuilt in 1^89, and 
again consumed by fire in 1890. 

Allen's grist and flouring- mill was erected about 1835 by Henry 



552 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

Crandall. S. C. Allen became proprietor about 1867. A storehouse 
was added in 1870 and another in 1876. The mill was run by water- 
power until 1883, when steam was added. The "roller process" of 
manufacture has been used since 1887. The capacity of the mill is 140 
barrels per day. It is owned by S. C. Allen and operated by S. C. Allen 
& Sons. 

The postmasters of Millport not otherwise or heretofore named, with 
the dates of their appointments, are as follows: Luna White, July 6, 
1853; Mrs Lucretia White, September 22, 1856; Albert F. Babcock, 
March 12, i860; Cyrenus G. Kelton, February 19, 1862; John Sterling, 
August 28, 1866; Moses Pole, May 6, 1869; Jane Cole, June 7, 1875. 

Siillivawiiille, located in the southeast part of the town, is a quiet 
hamlet having two churches, a school-house, two hotels, a store, and 
several shops. L. Compton settled in this part of the town in 181 5, and 
he was soon after joined by Diedrich Shafer and Nathan Botchford. 
A Methodist Church was organized here in 1832. Diedrich Sliafer, 
Sarah Shafer, Peter and Amy Compton, and Ezra Mallory and wife 
were among the members. Rev. Mr. Piersall was the first pastor. 
Among others who have preached since were the Revs. Goodwin, Case, 
Fellows, McElheny, Blades, Day, Matteson, Giles, Northway, Gardner, 
Canfield, Cochran, Watts, and Whitney. A church was erected in 1855. 
This was repaired in 1877 and dedicated, anew under Rev. M. S. Hard, 
June 27, 1878. This church is now an appointment of the Horseheads 
charge. There are about twenty-five members. The Rev. Mr. Ford, 
a Presbyterian clergyman, preached at Sullivan ville about 1827 and was 
succeeded by the Revs. Washburn, Pratt, Williams, Pierce, Riley, Carr, 
and others. A cliurch organization was effected in 1878. The Rev. 
D. D. Lindsley was the first pastor. A meeting-house was built about 
this time. Services are held every Sunday, but there is no settled pas- 
tor. There are about forty members. The school building was erected 
in 1877. 

Excelsior creamery, located near Sullivanville, was built b)' Nathan 
Vary in 1881. It was operated by Edward Vary for three or four years, 
after which it stood idle for two years. It was then purchased by George 
L. Rundle, who operated it until 1890, when it was taken by Tabor 
& Eddy, who manufacture about 70,000 pounds of butter in a season 



roirx OF VKTER.i.y. 553 

of ei<jlit months. Tliey have fifty patrons, itin three separators, and 
feed about 300 head of swine. 

Tlie postoffice of Siilli\anville has had more postmasters since its 
establishment than any other office in the county. It was discontinued 
in 1857 for a little less than a month. Its postmasters and the dates of 
their appointments are: Edward Wing, January 17, 1851 ; Orimel 
I3ean, June 26, 1852 ; Almerin T. Wood, June 18, 1853 '> Reuben Wood, 
.April 8, 1854; John A. Ramsdell, December 21, 1854; John M. Ac- 
moody, January 30, 1855; Simon Bozzaid, March 22, 1855; Sanford 
Bannister, December 27, 1856; Robert F. Stewart, September 27, 185S ; 
Jonathan Ruiidle, March 14, i860; Jeremiah Newton, October 15, 
1863; Orimel Dean, March 25, 1869; William Oakley, April i, 1S75 ; 
tiuy Cronkrite, April 16, 1877; Augusta Voigt, May 8, 1882; Daniel 
R.Tunis, January 15, 1883; Ezra Hammond, June 4, 1883; Gu}' 
Cronkrite, September 10, 1883 ; Alexander Hummer, January 18, 1889. 

Ridge ]''arnis creamery, run by William Van Duzer, was started in 
1866 as a cheese factory, was rebuilt in 1887, and manufactures 250 
pounds of butter per day. Sevent}'-five head of swine and about the 
same number of calves are fed. 

The Ridge I*'rce Baptist Church was organized November 19, 1836. 
-Among the first members were Ephraini B. Kendall, Levi Mallettc, 
Jared Strait, Joshua Kendall, Erastus Andrews, Philip Aber, and Silas 
Bates. Samuel Dean was the first pastor. The church was built in 1837 
and first occupied in March, 1848. The society was incorporated Maich 
30, 1840, and John Turner, Uriah Hall, and Jacob Weller were elected 
trustees. The Rev. Mr. Hazen was one of the early pastors and was 
succeeded by Rev. O. S. Brown for about four years. S. C. Wetherby 
preaclied about fourteen years. Other pastors have been the Revs Mr. 
Beebe, J. W. Brown, J. J. Hoag, S. S. Lee, E. B. Rollins, W. H. Rus- 
sell, James Kettle, and E. B. Collins. The Rev. O. S. Brown returned 
to the church, preacliing in 1868-69 ^"<i again in 1889, and is the pres- 
ent pastor. Nathan Vary is deacon. An incorporated cemetery used 
in connection with this church is the principal one in the central part of 
the town. 

Veteran. — The post-town of Veteran in tliis township, established in 
1824, was discontinued on December 6, 1866. Tlie postmasters of the 

70 



5o4 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

place not lieretofore orotlierwise named, with the dates of their appoint- 
ments, are as follows: Nathan Vary, Alarch 2, 1852; Samuel C. 
Wetherby, June 2, 1853 ; Lorenzo J. Worden, March 3, 1855 ; George 
L. Worden, September 21, 1855 ; Joseph Howen, November 18, 1858; 
Isaac J. Hoag, June 29, 1861 ; Joseph Allen, June 16, 1864; Edward 
B. Rollins, July 21, 1865; Ely A. Owen, August 2, 1866. 

Terry s Corners. — The post-town of Terry's Corners in this township 
was established July 21, 1862, with the appointment of Ezekitl Terry 
as postmaster. He was succeeded by Jay McKinney, May 20, 1865, 
and the name of the postoffice was changed to East Grove. Jeremiah 
Green succeeded Mr. McKinney as postmaster on February 14, 1873, 
and he was succeeded on March 3, 1873, by John Hamilton. The office 
was discontinued on January 26, 1874. 

The people of Veteran may congratulate themselves on the part borne 
by her citizens in the Civil war. No other town in the county so quickly 
responded to the first call for 300,000 men, and subsequent calls were 
filled with an alacrity begotten of the purest patriotism and undying 
devotion to country. " Veteran " is not an empty name. 



CHAPTER X. 

The situatinn, soil, and productions of the Town of Erin — Its early .Settlers — Most 
of them Soldiers of the War of 1812 — A roll of the taxable Inhabitants in 1823 — 
Town Officers — Postoffices and principal Settlements — Early religious hifluences 
— The Methodist Church — Erin's Schools, past and present — Business Enter- 
prises — James H. Rodbourn — Secret and Charitable Societies — Cemeteries — 
Scotchmen in Erin — Sotne interesting Facts worthy of Record. 

ERIN is a hilly section of the county and is well adapted to grazing. 
It is situated north of Baldwin and extends to Schuyler County. 
The settlement of the town was commenced soon after the close of the 
War of 1812, in which some of the early settlers had been partici- 
pants. A densely wooded country, abounding in wild animals fierce and 
destructive in their nature, it became the home of men and women pos- 
sessed of unusual determination and endurance. 



TO WN OF ERIX. 555 

Basil Sperry was probably the first who settled in the town, coming 
from Tompkins County in 1815 and locating upon land owned by Sjl- 
vanus Smith sixty years later. He built the first house, made the first 
clearing, and rais,^ii-tTie first crops. 

The year 1816 was one of increased settlement and manful struggles 
of the pioneers against the discouragements incident to the establish- 
ment of homes in an unbroken forest, penetrable only by the use of the 
axe in advance of the teams, which were loaded with household goods 
or implements of husbandry. It was during this \ear that John Banfield, 
Abraham Elston, James Kh'a, Daniel Curtis. Gabriel Curtis, Philip 
Thomas, James Van Houter, and Thomas Van Houter his brother came 
from Tompkins County and settled in tiie northwestern part of the town- 
ship. Delaware County, this State, contributed to the settlement made 
near Erin Center : Isaac Shoemaker, Alexander McKey, John McKej' 
his son, Thomas Haker, James McMillan and se\eral sons, William 
Stewart, Robert Stewart, Jeremiah Barnes, and Levi Decker. Robert 
and Alexander Park from New Jersey and Robert and Varnum Mc- 
Dowell from Vermont located north of the central part of the town. 
Ardon Austin. Samuel Vaughn, and his brothers Daniel and James set- 
tled on Austin Hill and Jesse White in the northwest section. Richard 
Walker came also about this time. Isaac Boyer, a Revolutionary soldier 
from Pennsylvania, and his sons Israel and James located in 18 17 on 
what was afterward the property of Charles McMillan. David Herring- 
ton from Rutland County, Vt., settled at the place afterward known as 
I lerrington's Corners during the same year. A tract of land in the south 
part of the township was taken up by Col. Jolm Tuthill and his son 
John in 18 17. Anthony HoUenbeck, a .soldier of 1812, and his brothers, 
Henry and John, settled in 18 19. They were from Schoharie Count}-, 
N. V. David Caywood, a Revolutionary soldier, and William, his son, 
who was a soldier in the War of 1812, removed from Orange County to 
Ithaca about 1800 and to Erin in 1S28. Of those who came later, 
about 1832, were Cornelius Becker from Delaware County and Abraham 
and Peter Blauvelt from Orange Count)'. There were no frame build- 
ings in the town until about 1825, when Thomas Baker built the first 
frame house. Others were erected soon after. In 1824 James and 
Joseph McMillan built a saw-mill, the first in town, on Newtown Creek. 



550 OUR COUNTY A.Xl) ITS PEOPLE. 

Eiiii was formed from territory within the township of Chemung on 
March 29, 1822. Pursuant to the provisions of tliis act a meeting for 
the election of town officers was held on the third Tuesday of May fol- 
lowing at the house of John Banfield. The officers elected were : Alex- 
ander McKey, supervisor; Ardon Austin, town clerk; Daniel Vaughn, 
Thomas Baker, and Ebenezer Brown, assessors; John A. McKej'. Jared 
Fatchen, David Swartwood, commissioners of highways ; John Tuthill, 
Robert McDowell, William D. Stewart, commissioners of common 
schools ; Alexander McKey, Ardon Austin, Francis Banfield, insjjectors 
of common schools ; John Tuthill, Robert McDowell, overseers of the 
poor; Varnum McDowell, constable and collector; Thomas Baker, 
John Banfield, fence viewers; John Banfield, pound-keeper. The term 
of office was to expire on the first Tuesday of March, 1823. The tax- 
able inhabitants in the town in 1823 were: 

John McK(;y. John Tuthill. John Tuthill. jr.. Alexander McKey, Green JI. Tuthill, 
Allen Hin'lburt, David Uerrington, Eli Sommers, Kan.'soni L, Wade, Ira Sinnnon.«, Julius 
Siinrnonp, Abraham Shoemaker, Isaac Shoemaker, Daniel Swartwood, Al>rahani Swart- 
wood. David Swartwood, Joseph Mcliityre, Jonah Osborn, William Mclntyre, Thoma,s 
Lewis, Brewster Goldsmith, Christopher Hedges, Christopher Hedges, jr., Uobert ilc- 
Dowell, Farrell Hedges, William Hoyt, Daniel Deeker,Varniim McDowell, Thomas Mc- 
Dowell, Francis Banfield, Michael Robinson, Joshua Clark, Thomas Baldwin, James 
Relyea. John Boyer, Oliver Relyea, John IloUenbeck, Henry Ilollenbeck, Anthony 
IloUenbeck, James HoUenbeek. Abram Elston, James Van Houter, Philip Thomas, 
Thomas S. Van llouter, John Banfield, Gabriel Curtis, Daniel Curtis, William Groom, 
David Jackson, John W. Watkius. John Elston, Lewis Catlin, Nathaniel Campbell, Mat- 
lliew N. Norris, Jared Patohen, Richard Walker, Ephraira Bennitt, Daniel Bennitt, 
Jedediah Bennitt, Daniel Howell, Caleb Curtis, Elias Billington, James Bishop, Morris 
Dean, Henry Clear, John Walker, Charles Chapman, Herman Sawyer, Horace Sawyer, 
Smith Pared. Nicholas Pared, Alexander Park, Robert Park, Jacob C. Swartwood, 
David Park, Jeremiah Jared, John B. Andrews, James Vaughn, Ardon Austin, Andrew 
H. Everett, Cornelius We.^tbrook, Samuel Vaughn, James Boyer, Silas Valentine, 
.Joseph Bennitt, Zachariah Valentine, John McMillan, Isaac Van Tyle, John Hartgrove, 
Joseph Mills, Levi Decker, James Decker, Isaac 'Brown, Silas Brown, William Brown, 
Joseph Frost, Daniel Vaughn, Benjamin Smith, Henry Decker, William Smith, Elijah 
Shoemaker, Jeremiah Barnes, John Cooper, W. D. Stewart, John IJunows, Robert 
.Stewart, James McMillin, jr., Elihu Everitt, George R. McMillin. 

The supervisors of the town up to the time of the formation of the 

county were : 

1S-J2-24, Alexander McKey; 1825-liU, Michael Robinson; 1827, John Tuthill, sr.; 
1.S2S-29, Michael Robinson ; 18.30-34, Ardon Austin; 1835-36, Robert Stewart. 



TO WN OF EKIX. 557 

The town clerks for tlie period from the formation of tlie town to tlie 
present time have been : 

1822-24^. Anion Austin; 1S25, Thomas Baldwin ; 1S26-20, Rol)eit Stewart ; IKIO, 
JnniesV. Baker: ls;Jl, Robert Stewart; 1832-37, Daniel Vanf;lin ; 1S38, Ardon Austin ; 
1839-40, Isaac Saunders; 1841-42, Peter McKey ; 184:!-44, .lames McMillan ; 1845-48, 
Zephaniali Kiclimond ; 1849-51, Alexander H. Park; 1852-54, Charles Haker; 1855, 
Jiuson Frost; I85G-58, John Cay w cod ; 1859, Peter Blauvelt ; 1860-61, A. H. Mc- 
Dowell ; 1802-06, Alvah B. Rosenkrans; 1807-09, Charles Baker; 1870-71, James Dib- 
ble; 1872-73, Sidney L. Dibble; 1874-77, Giles Hollenbeck ; 1878-79, A. II. Van Gor- 
den; 1880-81, Hmlson L. Kox ; 1882, W. J. Churchill; 188,3, H. L. Fox; 1884, S. M. 
Dibble; 18So-80, James Wakefield; 1887, A. H. Park; 1888-90, W. 11. Hollenbeck; 
1891. Mahlon 1.. Van Gorden. 

The justices of tlie peace for the same period were : 

Harmon Sawyer held the otlice in 1822; other incumbents prior to 1)^40 in the order 
of election were: Green M. Tuthill, Daniel Vaughn, Ardon Austin, Charles Chapman, 
Ardon Austin, William D. Stewart, John White, Hiram Tuthill, Ardon Austin, Philip 
Thomas, Charles Chapman, Samuel G. Stage, John A. McKev, Ardon Austin, Philip 
Thomas: 1840, Peter Blauvelt ; 1841, M. Everitt ; 1842, Joshua Baker ; 1843, .Tacob Ban- 
field ; 1844, Peter Blauvelt ; 1845, Jeremiah Rumsey and Samuel Roberts ; I84G, Joshua 
Baker and Allen C. Lott ; 1847, Samuel Roberts; 1848, Peter Blauvelt; 1849, 
Zephaniali Richmond; 1850, C. C. Humphrey; 1851, Samuel Roberts; 1852, Peter 
Blauvelt and J. B. Moore; 1853, Jason P. Woolever; 1854, Cornelius Hammond and 
Francis Beveridge : 1855, Johnson Haw-ley and William Chapman : 185<i, Charles Baker ; 
1857, Ardon Austin; 18.58, Charles 11. Lewis ; 18.".9, Philip Thoniiis : 1800, Peter Blau- 
velt ; 1801, Alexander H. Park; 1802, John F. Hill.aker: 18(;3, Albert H. McDowell ; 
1.964, .\raasa R. Herrington ; 1865, William Chajmian ; 180(>, Charles H.Lewis: 1807, 
Albert H. McDowell; 180.8, Amasa R. Herrington ; l.'^OO, William Chapman; 1870, 
John F. Hillaker and Peter Blauvelt; l.'<71, A. H. McDowell ; 1872, Peter Blauvelt ; 
1873, William Chapman ; 1874, John F. Hillaker and William Kendall ; 1875, Albert H. 
McDowell ; 1870, Amasa R. Herrington and John F. Hillaker; 1877, Alexander Shoe- 
maker; 1878. Joshua Stephens; 1879, Sylvester Jaynes; 1880, R. C. Colegrove ; 1881, 
J. J. Park; 1.882, W. H.Stephens; 1883, David Jaynes; 1.884, R.C. Colegrove; 1885, 
James R. Mitchell; l.S.Sti, .Toshua H. Stephens; 1887, Wallace Hanson; 1888, R. C. 
Colegrove: 1889, James R. Mitchell and -fohn G. Cowan ; 1890, George E. McMillan; 
1891, AV. W. Hanson, 

The postoffices of the town are Park in tlie northeast, \iv\n near the 
center, and South Erin in the south part of the town. 

The postmasters of Park have been as follows : Henry E. Beckwith, 
November i 2, 1874; Lewis N. Wheeler, July 24, 1889. 

The post-town of lirin was established early in the history of tiie 
county. Tlie first postmaster, aj^pointed January 2, 1833, was William 



558 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

D. Stewart. I lis successors and the dates of their appointments arc as 
follows: Duncan J. Stewart, June 17, 1837 ; Joshua Baker, October 5, 
1847; George K. McMillan, May 30, 1850; Josiah Bcnnitt, November 
29, 1851 ; John Caywood, September 15, 1853; James Hollenbeck, 
October 2, 1855 ; Jason Frost, December 8, 1855 ; Francis Hollenbeck, 
April 22, 1856; John Cooper, February 5, 1858; Francis Hollenbeck, 
May 23, 1863 ; William H. Blauvelt, September 26, 1863 ; James Hol- 
lenbeck, May 23, 1864; James H. Rodbourn, May 2, 1871 ; Fred 
Cowan, April 19, 1889. 

The postmasters of South Erin in this township have been as follows: 
John Mitchell, March 26, 185 i ; Miss Caroline Mitchell, December 16, 
1859. The office was discontinued July 6, i860, and re-established 
July 7, 1874, Peter Blauvelt being appointed postmaster. He was suc- 
ceeded by Amasa R. Herrington, February i, 1876; James A. Baker, 
December 22, 1879; James R. Mitchell, April 11, 1890. 

The postoffice at State Road in this township was in existence for 
twenty j-ears. It was established on March 16, 1854, by the appoint- 
ment of Alexander H. Park as postmaster. He held the office for thir- 
teen years with the exception of the period between February 25th and 
June 1st of 1859, when Ardon Austin was postmaster. Mr. Park's suc- 
cesstjrs were Chauncey Hollenbeck, F"ebruary 8, 1867; Garrett M. 
Hollenbeck, March 30, 1867. The office was discontinued on January 
2, 1874. 

There was a postoffice in this township at one time called by the 
rather romantic name of Green Hill. It remained such for only a few 
da\s more than five years. Hiram Roushey was the postmaster ap- 
pointed Januarj" 6, 1852, and remained such until January 17, 1857, 
when the office was discontinued. 

There was also another postoffice in the township once called Her- 
rington's Corners. It was established on April 23, 1862, by the ap- 
pointment of Amasa R. Herrington as postmaster. The office was 
discontinued on February 4, 1873. 

Local preachers held meetings in Erin and preached earlier than 
1828. Among them were John Greatsinger, James Taylor, and Jacob 
Alliiigton. About 1828 Rev. Hiram Crane formed the first class, and 
Jeremiah Barnes and wife, C. C. Humphrey, and Abigail Baker (afterward 



TO WN OF ERIN. 550 

Mrs. Hammond) were among tlic members. Cornelius Becker and his 
wife and James Baker and Ills wife were also prominent Methodists. C. C. 
Humphrey was the first class-leader. Rev. Mr. Torrey was the first cir- 
cuit preacher. The circuit including this church was formed in 1832 and 
was called the Spencer charge. Meetings were first held in what was 
called the Scotchtown school-house and afterward in other school-houses. 

During the year 1832 Cornelius Becker and his family came to Erin 
and settled on the farm afterward owned by his son, G. S. Becker. He 
was an active Methodist, and since that time Methodism has had a 
steady and sure growth until the church of Mrin has become strong in 
its active membership. In 1874 James H. Rodbourn and John Had- 
sell as contractors erected for the society a church edifice for the sum 
of $2,500. The church was dedicated in 1875. The trustees then act- 
ing were G. S. Becker, Harvey Houck, Lewis Thomas, William Howe, 
A. H. Park, and Charles Baker. The minister in charge was Rev. P. J. 
Bull. Presiding elder, Thomas Tousey. 

The Baptist Church of Erin was organized in 1864. Among the orig- 
inal members were Melzor Kellogg, Miles Ennis, James Dibble, and 
their wives. Otlicr members were George Rumsey, E. W. Baldwin, 
Alexander Shoemaker and his wife, Charles Early and wife, and John 
Hawley and his wife. The church was a branch of the Breesport 
church and the same clergymen oflficiated at the two places. Meet- 
ings were first held in a school-house. In 1871 a church was erected 
at Erin village at a cost of about $2,500. Rev. Mr. Whitney was the 
first pastor. Alexander Shoemaker has been prominent in Sabbath 
school work. 

The first ciuircli erected in the town was by the Presbyterians in 
1836. The society disbanded and the building was taken down in 
the year 1874. 

Erin was bonded for $30,000 to aid in the construction of the Utica, 
Ithaca, and Elmira Railroad, which was completed in 1874. This rail- 
road crosses the township and has Park and Erin stations. 

In 1823 the commissioners of common schools reported three school 
districts in the town. There were then 126 children between the ages 
of five and fifteen years, and 61 had attended school. The same 
report mentions the books in use: Webster's Spelling Book, American 



5(!0 OUJi COU.XTV AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

Preceptor, Holy Scriptures, and Pike's, Daboii's, and Root's Arithmetics. 
In 1847 'li^' 'inniber of cliildren of school age was 472 and tlie facilities 
for a common school education had correspondingly increased. The 
number of districts has increased from three to thirteen and there are 
twelve school- houses in the town. By the report of 1890 there were 
26,299 days of attendance at the public schools of Erin. The State 
appropriation has increased from $25.77 '" '823 to $1,600.91 in 1891. 

Erin village, located on land originall)' owned by Alexander McKey 
and Jercmiali Barnes, is near the center of the town on Newtown Creek 
and the line of the Elmira, Cortland, and Northern, and is the center of 
the business activity of the township. The village contains two churches, 
a school of two departments, J. H. Rodbourn & Co.'s steam saw-mill, 
creamery, shops of various industries, several stores, about fifty dwell- 
ings, and 200 or more inhabitants. The village is the outgrowth of the 
successful business enterprises of James H. Rodbourn started in 1865. 
The steam saw-mill erected in that year was burned June 7, 1 88 1, and 
rebuilt during the same year. The first store was established in 1867 
by Mr. Rodbourn and the creamery in 1882. The sawing done at the 
mill has been 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 feet per year, and it has nearly 
exhausted the supply of timber within the township. The creamery 
has a separator and manufactures 6, GOO to 7,000 pounds of butter per 
month. 

The school building is of two stories and occupies pleasant grounds 
upon which nearly sixty trees were planted on Arbor days in 1890 and 
1 89 1. The churches already named are in the village. 

William M. Gregg Post, No. 430, G. A. R., Department of New 
York, was organized December 14, 1883, and mustered in on January 4, 
1884. There have been fifty-four names on the roster; about forty re- 
mained in July, 1891. Past commanders: Joseph McMillan, G. W. 
Moxcy, H. F. Snow, Chauncey Hollenbeck, J. G. Erhaidt ; com- 
mander (1891), Sylvester Blauvelt ; trustees, D. B. Vosburgh, A. Shoe- 
maker, C. Hollenbeck ; relief committee, C. Hollenbeck, Harry Hugg, 
A. Shoemaker; relief committee for Horseheads, M. H. Humphrey, 
O. A. Jakway, J. Jansen. 

The Equitable Aid Union, chartered in 1884, has fifty-three members. 
The charter members were A. li. Park, Mrs. A. H. Park, Lewis Thomas 



TOVVX OF ER/.X. 5G1 

and wife, Theodore Smith and wife, S. II. Van Gorden and wife. Ward 
Vredenburg, Isaac Tiiomas and wife, John Thomas and wife, Mrs. A. H. 
Hummer, Kngene Hummer. The famih'es of deceased members liave 
received $4,325 prior to July, 1891. Officers elected in June, 1891 : Lewis 
Tiiomas, chancellor; Julia Haker, advocate; Ed Karl, president; Jemima 
Van Gorden, vice-president; Theresa Robinson, secretary; Flora I.. 
Coleman, accountant ; J. W. Coleman, treasurer; Mary Robinson, chap- 
lain. 

A lodge of the I. O. G. T. was organized November 14, 1890; J. W. 
Coleman, C. T. 

Erin W. C T. L'. was organized on Februar)- 26, 1S89, with thirteen 
members and Miss H. D. Fox as president. She was succeeded by 
Mrs. Vie Parke and Mrs. Lucetta Hinman. Officers elected in August, 
1890: Belle F"inch, president; Mrs. Flora Coleman secretary; Mrs. 
E. O. Dibble, treasurer ; Miss H. D. Fox, superintendent of social 
purity department; Miss Hclle Fincli, superintendent of scientific tem- 
perance instruction. The union consists of twent)'-four members. 

The Scotchtown Cemetery Association was incorporated February 
II, 1881. Nine trustees were elected, of whom Ira R. Jones, John 
Ilollenbeck, and William Ormiston constituted the first class for a term 
of one year ; G. S. Becker, William A. Lewis, and M. H. Humphrey 
the second class with a term of two years; Andrew H. Neisli, B. Bur- 
gess, and E. W. Hawley the third class with a term of three jears. 
On February 19, 1881, William Ormiston, Andrew Neish, Ira R. Jones, 
Arthur Chase, and John S. Harding as trustees of the Erin and Brees- 
port Church Society, formerlj' the Associate Reformed Church of Erin, 
deeded to the Cemetery Association the land formerly occupied by the 
Associate Reformed or Presbyterian Church together with the adjacent 
burying ground of the society for cemetery purposes. About this time 
the trustees of the association purchased one acre and one-eighth of 
land adjoining the cemetery from the farm of George Humphrey, from 
which farm the original plot was held as reserve by the original owner 
and deeded for church and burial purposes. The cemetery contains 
about two acres. The locality is called Scotchtown in memory of prom- 
inent Scotch families who settled in the vicinity. There are several 
other cemeteries in the town, but none of them are incorporated. 

71 



562 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

David Neish, Margaiet his wife, and Mrs. Ann Humphrey were the 
last surviving members of the Scotchtown I'rcsbyterian Church. All 
were born in Scotland. Alexander Shoemaker, born in F-rin, April 21, 
1823, has resided in the town over sixty years and in Chemung County 
nearly his whole life. Of the whole number of men who were drafted 
in tlie town in 1863 only Nelson Smith, Levi Decker, and Sylvester 
Blauvelt went into the service. Smith was wounded. Decker died of 
ch'sease, and Blauvelt became crippled for life from the exposure and hard- 
ships of war. Abraham Blauvelt, born November 25, 1S02, and James 
Hollenbeck, one of the early settlers, born October 7, 1801, both resi- 
dents of Erin in July, 1891, exhibit a marked degree of bodily vigor 
and mental activity. 



CHAPTER XI. 



The Town of Catlin — Its Situation — Pioneers of the Town — A Locality the latest set- 
tled in the County — Those coming early not staying very Long — Others who re- 
mained — The first Log House and the first School-House — The first road laid 
out. the first Birth, Death, and Wedding — Officers of the Town — Peculiar reso- 
lutions passed at Town Meetings — Roads and Railroads — Schools and Churches 
— Cemeteries — Principal Settlements — Postoffices and Postmasters — The chief 
Industries of the Town. 

\\ ANY of the hills and valleys of Central and Soutliern New York 
/ \ were resonant with the sound of the axe, the cabins of the pio- 
neers dotted the landscape, and hamlets sent forth tlie hum of industrial 
pursuits while the territory embraced within the township of Catlin 
was yet an unbroken forest. It lies in the northwestern part of the 
county and consists of hilly uplands diversified by narrow deep-cut val- 
leys. An active and restless industry has denuded the hills and shorn 
them of their once crowning glory, the pine, hemlock, maple, and beech. 
The soil is best adapted to grazing, although abundant crops of some of 
the grains are produced. The elevation of some of the hills, being 
in height from 300 to 500 feet above the valleys, are not especially 



TOWX OF CATL/.y. 563 

adapted to the growtli of wheat and corn. The principal streams are 
Sing Sing Creek and Post Creek, which discharge their waters into tlie 
Clieniiing River. Some of the smaller streams reach Seneca Lake 
tlirough Catiicrine Creek. 

Catlin was taken from the town of C;itherine, and organized April i6. 
1823, about seven years after the initial settlement. Tiie first town 
meeting was held at tiie house of Uzal Dickerson, May 13, 1823. Hor- 
ace Tupper was elected supervisor ; George Lewis, town clerk. 

Early settlers of the town were John Mai tin, Aaron Davenport, Ben- 
jamin Cure, Charles King, I'lrastus Heard, Jacob King, Horace Tupper, 
ICdward Beebe, Abel N. Sweet, Andrew Phineas, William Rowley, Da- 
rius Wood, Dennison Herrick, Jacob Bucher, James I. Smith, Benjamin 
Lewis, William Haynes, Uzal Dickerson, Peter Ostrander, John P. Cor- 
nell, Orange Hubbell, Ebenezer Close, Elder Thomas Sheardown, Will- 
iam Looey, Alanson Owen, Jeduthan King, David Johnson, Mathias 
Backer, Jonathan Woodruff, Benjamin Cure, jr., James Wheeler, Ste- 
phen B. Munn, John L Kimball, Washington Savor)-, Abram Kimball, 
Willis Savor)', IClijah Shoemaker, Alanson G. Evarts, Lucius Trac)-, 
Claudius Townshend, William Masters, De Witt C. Talmage, William 
Teeter, Johnson Carter, Samuel Sterling, Abram Primmer, Lewis 
Thompson, Timothy Wheat, Seth Rice. 

Capt. John Martin, a soldier in the War of 181 2, settled in the south- 
west part of the town about 1816. After making improvements for a 
few years he sold his property to Cliarles King. Aaron Davenport and 
Benjamin Cure came a year or two later and settled near Martin. 
The)' also removed from the town some years later. Horace Tupper, 
Erastus Beard, Edward Beebe, and Darius Wood settled in 1820. 
Horace Tupper settled upon the farm long owned by William J. Carter. 
Andrew Phineas and William Rowley settled in the valley of Post Creek 
in the same year. Abel N. Sweet and Dennison Herrick from Con- 
necticut came in 1821. Sweet settled upon the farm occupied by liis 
son, the late Dennis Sweet. James L Smith settled upon the farm after- 
ward owned by his sons Philip and Sanford in 1823. Jacob Bucher 
located in the valley of Post Creek in 1824. He had a large famil\-. 
Samuel, one of his sons, afterward owned the farm where Jacob Bucher 
settled. Benjamin Lewis, Uzal Dickerson, and John P. Cornell settled 



564 OUR COUXTV AND ITS PEOPLE. 

about this time. William Haynes settled farther up the creek than 
Jacob Bucher and afterward sold to Thomas Kniffin. Peter Ostrander 
settled on Reeser's Hill not far from .1825, but soon located at I'ost 
Creek. Orange Hubbell built the first house north of James I. Smith, 
near Catlin Center, on the middle road. About 1827 or 1828 William 
Loce\', libenezer Close, the Rev. Thomas Sheardown, Alanson Owen, 
Jeduthan King, Miles Gregg, and David Clemens located on the mid- 
dle road. In 1828 David Johnson settled in Johnson Hollow, where he 
built a frame house. In 1832 Mathias Backer purchased where Jona- 
than Woodruff had settled in the previous year. 

The early settlers of Catlin were not daunted by hardships, but 
labored bravely to estabHsh homes and secure fortunes in a wilderness 
country. The original dwellings were built of logs, but the activities of 
progressive industry soon gave them homes of modern architecture. 
John Martin built the first log house in 18 16. A log school- house was 
built in 1820 on Martin's Hill. Eunice Bartram was the first teacher. 
The first road was laid out in 1823 and extended from Martin's Hill to 
Post Creek. Horace Tupper built a furnace on his farm about 1825 
and James I. Smith furnished the charcoal for the fuel. De Witt Tal- 
mage built an ashery in 1826. Stephen B. Munn erected the frame for 
a grist-mill at Post Creek about the same time, but it was never com- 
pleted. Jacob Bucher built the first tavern on Post Creek and occu- 
pied it for several years. John Ostrander, who was probably the first 
carpenter in the town, built the first grist-mill in 1827 ; it was afterward 
owned by William G. Northrup. A saw- mill was also erected on the 
creek above the grist-mill in the same year by James Wheeler. John 
Ostrander built a blacksmith shop for Jacob Harmon, first blacksmith 
at Post Creek, in 1837. The first marriage in town was that of Benja- 
min Cure, jr., and Miss Betsey Doty in 1826. The first recorded death 
w-as that of Horace Tupper in 1827. 

The town of Dix was formed from the north part of Catlin, April 17, 
1835. The name of the town was from Judge Phineas Catlin, who was 
appointed one of the commissioners in 1797 to lay out a road from 
Catskill Landing on the Hudson River to Catherine's town near Sen- 
eca Lake. He was the first supervisor of the tow n of Catherine from 
which Catlin was formed. 



» TO IV. y OF CA TLIN. 565 

The supervisors of Catlin up to the time of the formation of the 
county were : 

. 1823-2(i, Horace Tiipper: 1827-31, Claiutius Townsend: 1S32, Peter Mills; 1833. 
Claudius Townseiul ; 1S34, Lucius Tracy; 1835, Alanson G. Evarts ; 1830. Timothy 
Wheat. 

The town clerks from tlie formation of tiie town to the present time 
have been : 

1823, George Lewis; 1824-2,5, John P. Cornell ; 1S2G, John Woolsey; 1837, Daniel 
Lane; 1838-41, Abraham Primmer; 1842-43, Henry Backer; 1844-45. John Small; 
184G, Caleb S. Upson; 1847-48, Sidney L. Ptinger: 1849-50. Nelson Colgrove; 1851, 
Robert H. Thayer; 1852, John Cooper: 1853-55, Milo P. King; I85G-57, Lewis 
Hornbeck ; 1858, Amos F. Curry ; 1859, Luther Palmer ; 1800-01, Samuel Sherman ; 
1802-64, Horace Burns; 1865, Joseph J. Cooper; 1806, Nelson Colgrove; 1867, Na- 
thaniel Owen: 18Ci8, Calvin J. Barbour; 1809, Nathaniel Owen; 1870, C .L. Ten- 
l.rook; 1871-75. James H. Bennitt; 1870-79, J. J. Cooper; 1880-82, E. H. Cummings; 
188.3, J. J. Cooper: 1884, J. D. Kimball: 1885, George Smith; 1880, A.D.Wright; 
1887-88, John Spencer; 1889, A. D. Wright; 1890-91, George Smith, 

The justices of the peace during the same period were : 

Lucius Tracey, Alanson G. Evarts, Jacob King, Lucius Tracey. John P. Cornell, Be- 
nona Peck, John D. Myers, Daniel Tracey, Ira Cole, Abraham Hyatt, Ezra Southworth, 
John D. Myers, Seth Rice, Samuel M, Hastings,' Ira Cole, J, King, A. N. Sweet, Sam- 
uel M. Hastings. John Woolsey, Abraham Primmer, Daniel Lane, La Cole, John Wool- 
sey. Johnson Carter, A.sa D. Smith, Ira Cole, Abram Hyatt, Samuel Jf. Hastings, A. N. 
.Sweet, Henry Stewart, Henry Hall, John N. Beers, N. Colgrove, Daniel Lane, Alan- 
son Owen, Cornelius L, Tentirook, Nelson Colgrove, Henry H. Peck, James M. Wood- 
worth, Watson Cole, Joseph Cartwright, Philip M. Wight, Walker V, Personius, 
Riciiard Hou.se, Joseph H. Price, John H. Bedford, Asa D. Smith, Philip M. Wight, 
Amos F. Curry, John F. Mosher, William Edminster, Sidney A. Palmer, William H. 
Shaw, Pliilip M, Wiglit, James Ros;s, Martin Baile}', Levi B. Edminster, William Dil- 
Miore, Ebenezer Nye. John Chaniller, Charles R. King, Jo.se[]h H, Price, Philip M, 
Wight, George Wesllake, Andrew Saylor. Cornelius L. IVnIirook, William J. Carter, 
Martin Bailey, Isaac L. Knillin, Cornelius L. Tenlirook, Jacob Gould, Philander A. 
Wool.'iey, Alexander D. Wright, EInathan Personius, William McPayne, Joseph H. 
Price, James Smitli, EInathan Personius, Is.iac L. Kniflin, Morris Edminster, Nathaniel 
Owen, EInathan Personius, Isaac L. Knillin (1891), 

The following are among the resolutions passed at town meetings 
several ye.irs after the organization of the township, and will call to 
mind the scenes and conditions of life as remembereii by some of the 
old residents : 

1836, — " Voted to pay $20 for each wolf killed in town." 

•■ Voted that fence shall be 4 ft 6 inches high, and six inches between the rails." 
1837. — " It was ordered by the electors present that cattle be free commoners." 
1838, — •' Voted to pay fifty cents for each fox killed in town." 



5U6 OUR COlWrV AM) ITS PEOPLE. 

Tlie " act " relative to cattle, passed in 1S37, "'«*s repealed at the an- 
nual town meeting in 1850. 

Much attention has been paid to the roads of the town and they are 
usually good during the summer and fall ; but nature sometimes inter- 
poses her restrictions; excessive rains make frequent repairs necessarj', 
and heavy snows blockade some of them for several weeks during the 
winter. The office of highway commissioner is one of responsibilit)' 
and is in Catlin, perhaps, the most important office in the town. Pat- 
rick Murphy was elected to that position in 1891. A portion of the 
Northern Central Railway, constructed in 1849 by the Elmira and Jef- 
ferson Railroad Company, extends near the east line of the town. The 
Syracuse, Geneva, and Corning Railroad, completed in 1877, extends 
through the western part of the town in the valley of Post Creek. 

The common schools of Catlin have been largely instrumental in the 
development and strength of the county. The district boundaries 
have been changed from time to time as convenience required ; new and 
better school- houses have taken the places of the primitive structures 
of earlier times. The first school building was occupied in 1820. 
There are eleven school-houses in the town and parts of thiee districts 
having their houses in Schuyler County. In 1840 the amount of State 
funds apportioned to Catlin for school purposes was $196 50 and in 
1891 $1,405.99. The aggregate number of days of attendance during 
the last preceding j'ear was 26,768. 

A branch of the Baptist Church of Big Flats held religious services 
in this town in 1836 and after, and were supplied by niinisters from 
other places. There ha\e also been several Methodist classes in tlic 
town. A few families known as Seventh- Day Baptists have resided 
here for several years. They have held few if any religious meetings, 
but have walked circumspectly according to the dictates of conscience 
and their religious belief A flourishing union Sabbath school has been 
conducted for several years in the school-house at Catlin Center. 

The First Methodist Church of Catlin is the only church edifice in the 
town. The corner-stone was laid Jul}' 16, 1 88 1, and the church dedi- 
cated March S, 1882. Ministers are supplied from the church at Big 
Flats. 

The principal cemetery of the town is at Post Creek on land given 



TO n:V OF C.I TLIX. 567 

by Steplieii B. Miinn for burial and school purposes. The first one was 
near Smith's Corners, wliich was the place of inttrment of some of the 
early settlers, but from the fact of the graves being uimiarktd it is sup- 
posed that the first burials were in the cemetery on Martin's Hill. 
There is also one in Johnson Hollow, which has received considerable 
care and attention from the people of that locality. Pine Valley Ceme- 
ter)' is in the eastern part of the town. 

Post Creek, — The principal settlement is Post Creek in tiie western 
part of the town, on the line of the Syracuse, Geneva, and Corning Rail- 
way. It has a railroaa station, postoffice, school, hotel, grist-mill, black- 
smith shop, and grocery. The postmasters here not otherwise and 
heretofore named with the dates of their appointments are as follows : 
Jacob Bucher, July 19, 1854; George Fero, June 23, 1863. 

Tompkins Corners, near the south line of the town, has a postoffice, 
church, school-house, grocery, blacksmith shop, and general repair shop. 
The postoffice was first established under the name of Tompkins Corner.s, 
and Joseph H. Price, appointed April 6, 1870, was the first postmaster. 
The name was changed to Catlin and Mr. Price was re-appointed as 
postmaster on January 25, 1872. He was succeeded by Horace B. 
Owen, December 30, 1885; William Upson, May 2, 1889; Nathaniel 
Owen, August 6, 1889. 

Catlin Center was named as a postoffice with the appointment of Jo- 
seph Cooper as postmaster on June 22, 1854. He was succeeded by 
Nelson Colgrove, December 22, 1855, who held the office until April 
13, i860, when the office was discontinued. 

Fero. — Another postoffice was established at Fero, near the center of 
the town, on Jul)- 15, 1889, by the appointment as postmaster of James 
H. Bennitt. 

Kendall Station, near the northwestern !)art of the town, was estab- 
lished as a post-town July 14, 1879, by the appointment of Merrick 
Kendall as postmaster. It was discontinued March 29, 1882; re-estab- 
lished May I, 1882, with Mr. Kendall re- appointed as postmaster. He 
was succeeded on May 13, 1887, by John D. Chambers and the name 
of the office was changed to Chambers on December 18, 1890. 

Persons residing in the eastern part of the town receive their mail at 
Pine Valley and Millport in the town of Veteran. 



568 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

In the early history of the town and the existence of the Chemung 
Canal lumbering was a leading pursuit. Several saw-mills were located 
in different parts of the town, on Post Creek, Sing Sing Creek, and a 
steam mill at Catlin Center. " Forests fell before their force " and the 
little remaining timber is sawed by portable mills. The business of to- 
day is agricultural, and the staples are hay, buckwheat, oats, and dairy 
products. Two creameries, one at Sing Sing in Big Hats and the 
other at Pine Valley in the town of Veteran, receive considerable of their 
patronage from the farmers of Catlin. The grist-mill on Post Creek, 
owned and operated by Johnson Bucher, does custom work, especially 
for those residing in the western part of the town. 



PART VI. 

Biographical. 



Bel ween two breaths whnl crowded mysteries lie — 
Tlie first short gasp, the last and long-drawn sigh I 
Like phantoms painted on the magic slide. 
Forth from the darkness of the past we glide. 
As living shadows for a moment seen 
In airy pageant on the eternal screen ; 
Traced by a ray from one unchanging llame, 
Then seek the dust and stillness whence we came. 

— Oli-'er Wendell Holmes. 







y^"^^-'- ' 



-// (^//i^C^ 



'/^ 



PART VI. 

BlOGRAI'HICAL. 



GRAY, IIIRAM, was of Scotch descent, his ancestors going from 
Argyleshire, Scotland, early in 1600 and locating near London- 
derry, Ireland. The family came to this country in the year 1718, set- 
tling first at Worcester, Mass., and about twenty years afterward re- 
moving to Pelhain. John Gray, jr., grandfather of Hiram Gray, was 
born in Worcester, Mass., in 1724. and married in Pelhain in the same 
State in 1755 Martha Savage, a descendant of a French Huguenot 
family who lived for a time in the North of Ireland and came to this 
country in I" 17. John Gra\-, fatlier of Hiram Gray, was bom in Pel- 
ham in 1758, his family removing to Salem, N. Y., in 1767, where he 
lived until his death in 1836. Hiram Gray, the ninth child in a family 
of ten children born to John Gray and Margaret Sloan, his wife, was 
born in Salem, N. Y., Jul)' 10, 1801, and died in Elniira, May 6, 1890. 
His preparatory education was obtained in the Salem Academy, which 
he entered at nine years of age, going thence into the sophomore class 
of Union College in 181 8 and graduating in 1821. Having determined 
upon following the profession of the law he studied in the office of Judge 
Savage in Salem during a part of his senior year in college, and con- 
tinued there until the fall of 1822, when Judge Savage was appointed 
comptroller. Upon the advice of the latter he then went to Cortland, 
N. Y., to study in the office of Judge Samuel Nelson. He arrived in 
Cortland on the 22d of September, 1822, and was admitted to practice 
at Albany in October, 1823. In the following month he obtained a few 
books from Judge Nelsoti and repaired to Dr\dcn, Tompkins County, 



574 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

N. Y, a field which probably yielded him professional business suffi- 
cient to defray his expenses for about a year. In 1824 he formed a 
partnership with Townsend Rose, of Homei', Cortland Count)', N. Y., 
where he remained until the spring of 1825. He then received an invi- 
tation from Theodore North, sr., a lawyer of high standing, to come to 
Elmira, a village of 600 inhabitants. He adopted this counsel and soon 
after his arrival was admitted to the Court of Common Pleas of Brad- 
ford County, Pa. Both members of the firm of North & Gray were 
elected justices of the peace in 1827, but on opposite political tickets, 
which event led to adissolution of the firm. In 1828 Judge Gray was 
nominated on the anti- Masonic ticket for member of Assembly, but for 
personal reasons he declined the nomination. In 1830 his marriage to 
Aurelia Covell, daughter of Robert Covell, took place. In 1836 he was 
elected to the Twenty fifth Congress, where he was placed on the Com- 
mittee on Claims and served his constituents to their entire satisfaction. 
After his election to Congress he received into partnership a former stu- 
dent in his office, Samuel G. Hathaway, jr. Judge Gray was appointed 
by Gov. Silas Wright to the office of circuit judge and vice-chancellor 
of the Sixth Judicial District, the appointment being immediately rati- 
fied by the Senate without the usual reference to a committee. This 
office was abolished by the new constitution of 1846 and its duties con- 
ferred upon the justice of the Supreme Court to be elected in June, 
1847. Judge Gra\- was elected one of the.se justices of the Supreme 
Court, drew the four years' term, and was afterward elected for the full 
eight-year term, which expired in 1859. 

In 1867 Union College conferred upon him the honorary degree of 
Doctor of Laws. Under the constitutional changes of 1 869 a new Court 
of Appeals was organized and such cases as were pending in the Court 
of Appeals on the ist of January of that year were ordered heard and 
determined by five Commissioners of Appeals, to be composed of the 
four out-going members of the Court of Appeals and a fifth commis- 
sioner to be appointed by the governor and the Senate. Judge Gray 
was nominated for this position by Governor Hoffman, and the nomina- 
tion was confirmed. He served in this capacity from July, 1870, to 
July, 1875, when the business before the commission was completed 
and its existence termiitated. Judge Gray was actively engaged in his 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 575 

profession until liis eiglitieth year, mostly in referee cases. After this 
date he lived in the retirement of his home, devoting much of his time 
to agriculture, but never to the last losing interest in his profession. 

Such is a brief record of the active life of one of the most eminent 
jurists and most honorable men that tlie Empire State has produced; 
but while it tells the story of his advancement from his modest profes- 
sional beginning to the highest judicial station in the State it gives but 
very little of the private life and characteristics of the man who has been 
so often held up to the young as most worthy of emulation. It is not 
often that the peculiar qualities essential to a successful advocate are 
joined with the same traits of intellect indispensable to the full equip- 
ment of the model jurist. But Judge Gray combined these elements in 
such measure as to adorn either office. On the bench of this judicial 
district he shone conspicuously with such colleagues as Mason, Balcom, 
Parker, Shankland, Crippen, and others. In the Court and Commission 
of Appeals he ranked with the best of his great associates. His written 
opinions as an appellate judge, many of which are reported in the books, 
are models of their kind. As a lawyer he was deservedly eminent and 
successful. In the course of his long and varied practice at the bar he 
successfully contended with many of the strongest men of the profes- 
sion. When after long and faithful service he descended from the 
bench the ermine he had so worthily worn in that exalted station was 
as stainless as when he put it on years before. Judge Gray was not in 
any ordinary sense a politician, but he always felt a profound interest in 
public questions of importance and kept abreast of the times in that 
field. He belonged to the Jeffersonian school and believed in a strict 
construction of the Federal constitution. He was a . Democrat from 
principle, and lived and died in that political faith. Outside of his pro- 
fessional life it has been written of Judge Gray by one who knew him 
well that "he brought with him to this community virtues as severe as 
those of the pilgrim fathers. Hut he brought more than their sever- 
ity. He had a genial nature and a warm heart for those he loved and 
trusted. He was emphatically a manly man. Physically of heroic 
mold his fine native endowment added a broad culture that made him 
one of the most able, interesting, and companionable of men. His con- 
victions, once deliberately formed, were as firmly rooted as the oak. He 



57G OUR COl'XTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

lived and illustrated in his daily walk and conversation a morality as pure 
as the piety of the devout believer. He possessed in a marked degree for 
an active man of the world that vein of veneration for sacred tilings 
which characterized the Scotch ancestry from whicli he descended. He 
could not consciously wrong any man." 

At the death of Judge Gray the earnest and heart-felt tributes of his 
brethren of the profession were laid upon his grave. In the course of 
the eloquent remarks made at his funeral it was said : " It seems that in 
this day of conventionalism, of unreflecting imitation, and of weak, wil- 
lowy character there is a demand for men who, in obedience to con- 
science, have examined causes for themselves, have decided them for 
themselves, on the basis of a well-defined line which divides right from 
wrong without regard to foe or friend, without regard to fear or favor, 
recognizing only obligation to that God who appeared to Abraham 
away off in the dawn of history and said unto him : 'Walk before Me 
and be thou upright.' It certainly will not be necessary to indicate 
the suggestion, the purpose, and drift of these words to this gathering of 
sympathizing friends who have come together in a spirit of sincere re- 
spect for the memory of one who, for more years doubtless than any 
one present, has illustrated this character of which I have spoken. Go- 
ing in and out before you all these years if Judge Gray has been 
marked for any one thing more than another it has been for this thing. 
A man of strong convictions, a man true to those convictions no matter 
what the personal cost, he was a type of man of which there is great 
need to-day. With convictions deeply in-wrought in the very fiber of 
his strong nature he believed in one Almighty God, in obligation to 
that God which prescribed the line of duty to him, and he obeyed those 
convictions. A striking feature of Judge Gray's character was his re- 
spect for the written law. In his mind the law was made to be en- 
forced so long as it remained on the statute books. This belief influ- 
enced him in his relations to religion and religious truth. It was in tlie 
study of that deep, and by some regarded as unintelligible, epistle of 
Paul to the Romans that his legal mind found the food it required, tlie 
law it wanted, and the direction it sought. Nor was there lacking amid 
the more striking and sterner characteristics of Judge Gray the ten- 
derer element of affection and love. In his own home, among the ac- 



lilOGRAPHlCAL. 077 

quaiiitances of his professional life, in the numberless instances in \jhich 
it is given to such a man to turn out to a younger and struggling cui- 
didate for position and honors in the same calling, the tender side of a 
heart too large for jealousies, too true for meannesses, and too noble for 
unkindness, he was never found wanting. It was not done in an os- 
tentatious vvay nor in a careless way, but with kindly helpfulness and 
just discrimination. And it is this in iiim which will serve to keep 
green a memory, now tiiat he is gone, which shall bring to mind a char- 
acter whom it was a privilege to have known." 



ROBINSON, H()\. LUCIUS.— This eminent lawyer and states- 
man was born in Windham, Greene County, November 4, 18 10. 
His father was Capt. Eli Palmer Robinson ; his grandfather, Reuben 
Robinson, the son of Thomas Robinson, the son of Peter Robinson, 
whose father, Isaac, was a grandson of the famous Dr. John Robin- 
son, of Leyden, whose two sons came to America with the pilgrims in 
the Mayfloivcr. Lucius Robinson was thus the seventh in descent 
in direct line from father to son from the great Leyden divine. Mr. 
Robinson's father was a substantial farmer and gave his son the best 
education obtainable in the common schools and academies of those 
days. After leaving the Delaware Academy in Delhi he began the 
study of the law in the oflfice of Gen. Erastus Root and finished with 
Amasa J. Parker in that village. He was admitted to the bar in 1833 
and began practice at Catskill. Reared amid Democratic surround- 
ings he early imbibed that political faith and evinced a deep interest 
in politics from the time he entered upon professional life. His first 
vote was cast for Andrew Jackson for President and for William L. 
Marcy for governor. His first political ofiice was tendered him in 
1837, wlien he was appointed district attorney of Greene County, which 
position he held three years, when he sought a broader field of profes- 
sional activity in New York city. His practice in the metropolis was 
eminently successful, and in 1843 Governor Bouck appointed him mas- 
ter in chancery. Soon afterward he formed a partnership with the 
distinguished ciiancery lawyer, David Codwise, after whom his son. 
Col. D. C. Robinson, received his name, and in 1846 was re-appointed 



67S OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

master in chancery, holding the office until it was abolished by the new 
constitution. From that time until 1855 he enjoyed a very large and 
exacting practice, and besides gave a portion of his strong mental pow- 
ers to editorial writing from about the year 1842. He was paid what 
was in that time the large salary of $2,000 a year for one editorial a day 
in the New York Sun, a price that clearly indicates the value and force 
of his work. A little later, when he had removed his office into the 
Evening Post building, that journal sought his services and for many 
years William Cullen Bryant, John Bigelow, and Lucius Robinson made 
that paper a power throughout the country. He remained a close and 
valued friend of Mr. Bryant until the death of the latter. 

In 1855 Mr. Robinson's health became much enfeebled through his 
arduous labors and it was feared that he was permanently broken down. 
Physicians ad\'ised him to leave New York and seek a more healthful 
climate, and with that purpose in view he came to Elmira and built his 
residence on Maple avenue, where he passed the remainder of his life 
excepting when absent on public service. He began practice in a quiet 
way in order to favor his physical condition, but from the first his im- 
provement in that direction was rapid and ere long he had fully re- 
gained his health. Soon after his ai-rival in Elmira the anti-slavery 
agitation began to assume a serious aspect. Though a vigorous Dem- 
ocrat Mr. Robinson was at the same time a good hater of the institu- 
tion of slavery, and when the Missouri Compromise was repealed he 
declared his indignant protest against such action, and his speeches 
made in that period are remembered as of the most eloquent, impas- 
sioned, and convincing character. It was this conviction that finally 
took him out of the Democratic party for a time and into the ranks of 
the Republicans ; he could not support the former party in its favor 
toward slavery and its extension. The Republicans nominated him 
for the Assembly in 1859 without his knowledge or consultation, and 
he decided that it was his duty to accept. The county was strongly 
Democratic, but he was elected over the regular Democratic nominee 
by a large majority and re-elected in the following year, when he was 
made a candidate for the speakership against De Witt C. Littlejohn. 
The contest was a close and spirited one, and Mr. Littlejohn was suc- 
cessful. Mr. Robinson was therefore made chairman of the Committee 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 579 

of Ways and Means and afterward chairman of the Committee on Fed- 
eral Relations. In the first of these important positions his was prac- 
tically the guiding hand in the financial affairs of the State at a time 
when a broad knowledge of finance, strong convictions, and the firm- 
ness to act up to them were imperatively demanded. He held to the 
doctrine that hard money was the only safe financial foundation, and 
when during the early years of the war it became evident that views 
differing from his own were to be put into practical form he bent all his 
energies to the task of shaping the new measures in a line with safety, 
trusting to the future to prove his safeguards adequate. Among the 
most elaborate and brilliant intellectual eft'orts of his life were his let- 
ters and public papers at this time in defence of a hard money standard. 

There were three State conventions in the fall of 1861. The first, 
called a People's convention, was held on the lOth of September and 
it nominated Mr. Robinson for comptroller; the Republican conven- 
tion, held the next day, also nominated him for that high oftice. He 
was elected by a very large majority, the largest ever given in the State 
up to that time. During his term he came somewhat into opposition 
to some of the measures put forward by the national government re- 
garding financial matters as before alluded to, and there arose some dis- 
satisfaction with him on the part of certain leaders of the party ; they 
refused to present his name for renomination, placing on the ticket the 
name of Mr. Robinson's life-long friend, Hon. Thomas W. Olcott, of 
Albany. The latter gentleman, firmly believing Comptroller Robin- 
son's nomination essential to the welfare of the State at that critical 
period, promptly declined the nomination and the storm of protest that 
arose from all parts of the State over any change in t!ie comptrollership 
forced the leaders to consent to the nomination of Mr. Robinson for a 
second term. After careful consideration he accepted the nomination 
and was re-elected by a majority of 29,637, and was the first State 
comptroller elected for a second term. On his renomination by the 
Democrats in 1865 he was defeated with the rest of the ticket. 

In the meantime Mr. Robinson was earnestly in favor of the Union 
cause, the prosecution of the war, and the extinction of slavery. Al- 
though ditl'ering with the administration in its general financial policy 
he rendered all the aid in his power to the government, and was a tower 



580 OUR COUXTV AiVD ITS PEOPLE. 

of strength in this State in tlie raising of troops, equipping them, and 
forwarding them to the front. It was largely through his efforts tliat 
Elmira was made a military rendezvous. In all this work and through 
the period of the great struggle he was known as a war Democrat, and 
was also credited with the title of " the war comptroller." At the con- 
clusion of the war Mr. Robinson was left where he had been before the 
contest — in the Democratic party. Retiring from politics and public 
station at the end of his second term as comptroller he resumed practice 
and various business relations, in all of which he was successful. He 
was chosen a trustee of the Mutual Life Insurance Company in 1853, 
continuing as such until his death, and was for man)' years its counsel. 
He was also first vice-president of the Erie Railway under President 
Watson, and during that gentleman's absence in Europe served as 
president of the company. In 1871 Governor Hoftman named him as 
a member of the Constitutional Convention and the Republican Senate 
confirmed the nomination. In 1875 his retirement from politics was 
interrupted by his nomination by the Democratic part}- for comptroller, 
and once more he was elected to that office. The next year he was 
placed at the head of the State ticket and was elected governor. Dur- 
ing his administration he became involved in political antagonisms 
within the party, and wlien he was renominated in 1879 a factional con- 
test led to the nominati-on of a second ticket with John Kelly at its 
head. The Democracy were defeated and Mr. Cornell was elected gov- 
ernor. 

Having then reached his seventieth }'ear Mr. Robinson determined 
that his retirement from political life should be coincident with his re- 
tirement from active labor in professional and business life, and there- 
after he lived in quiet, surrounded by devoted children and grandchild- 
ren. With a memory richly stored, with mind alert and active, with 
a keen sense of humor he was a delightful conversationalist and com- 
panion, and conferred untold pleasure upon those who enjo\'ed his soci- 
ety in tlie later years of his life. At the time of his death it was writ- 
ten of him by one who knew him well: "The distinguished success 
achieved by him was not tlie result of remarkably advantageous circum- 
stances, of fortune's favoritism, or of chance. It was the natural result 
of a strong combination of personal characteristics. The ability, the 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 581 

honesty of purpose, the laudable ambition, the well fouudeH self-confi- 
dence or reliance, the unswerving integrity, the fearlessness, the faith- 
ful performance of duty, the steadiness of pur[)ose which were illus- 
trated in his life and work as a young man starting in his professional 
career stood out in clear light when, forty years later, he reached the 
pinnacle of fame and power in the State of New York with the plaudits 
of its citizens." The domestic relations of Governor Robinson were 
always of the most delightful and tender character, and his affection for 
his family was marked and sincere. The first wife and mother of his 
children was Miss P2unice Osborn, of Windham, Greene County, whom 
Mr. Robinson married in 1833. Three children were born to them, of 
whom two, Miss Nellie Robinson and Col. D. C. Robinson, are living 
and held in universal respect in Elmira. The third child, Aurelia, died 
in Albany. Mrs. Robinson also died in that city in 1861. Mr. Rob- 
inson was again married in 1864 to Mrs. James D. Burt, who died eight 
years later. Col. D. C. Robinson was married in 1875 to Miss Emma 
De Voe, of Elmira, and the home life of both families under one roof 
was of the most agreeable and model character. 



BENJAMIN, SIMEON, was born in the town of Riverhead in what 
was called Upper Aquebogue, Long Island, May 29, 1792. His 
father was a plain substantial farmer, highly respected, and an earnest, 
active Christian. Simeon Benjamin was the third son in a family of six 
sons and two daughters. He was accounted of rather a feeble physical 
constitution, and was allowed some special advantages for an education, 
which in those days consisted chiefly of extra time from farm work for 
attendance at the district school, and an early initiation into clerkship in 
a country store in his native town followed. At the age of sixteen he 
went to New York city and served as a clerk in a store on Broadway for 
about two years, returning then to his native town, where he went into 
business for himself This was in 1 8 1 2, just at the beginning of the war. 
His favorable location drew to his store the trade from an extensive 
country and there began his success as a business man. It was also in his 
favor that other parts of Long Island found trade greatly disturbed by the 
British cruisers which intercepted the goods on their way to New York. 



582 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

In a few years the young mercliant found himself with a handsome cap- 
ital, gained by close attention to his business and an uncommon faculty 
of preventing losses. A few years later he gathered up his capital and 
went to New York city. There, with long- practiced economy and piu- 
dence, willing to avoid ostentation, having no taste for hasty and perilous 
speculation, he steadily and surely added to his wealth, enlarging his 
business only as fast as actual gains and the soundest credit would allow. 
Passing over the subsequent period of his business experience in the 
metropolis, in which he trained several clerks who have since become 
distinguished business men, he was next found investing considerable 
of his amassed capital in Elmira with a sagacious forecast of the later 
growth of the place. 

He came to Elmira in the spring of 1S35 and purchased considerable 
-real estate. The bulk of his large fortune was derived from the rising 
value of his village property, the erection of buildings, and the constant 
growth of improvements. Both a sound and honorable policy and the 
dictates of a generous public spirit led him to take a deep and liberal 
interest in public improvements, in building churches, school-houses, 
hotels, and especially in connecting Elmira with Seneca Lake by rail- 
road. He was the first president of the Chemung Railroad, and per- 
haps it is not too much to say that he was its chief manager and its 
success was chiefly owing to him. He was also somewhat largely en- 
gaged in banking, for which his peculiar style of business in some re- 
spects eminently fitted him. He was the son of pious parents and had 
the covenant blessing of a godly ancestry. He was first a communicant 
in the church at Aquebogue. In the city of New York he united with 
the Presbyterian Church in Vandewater street, then under the ministry 
of the celebrated Hooper Cummings. He resided for a time in New- 
town, L. I., where he was an elder in the church of Rev. John Gold- 
smith, who was an uncle to Mrs. Benjamin. His next church relation 
was with the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn under Joseph San- 
ford and afterward under Dr. Carroll. 

The next year after coming to Elmira he was chosen trustee of the 
First Presbyterian Church, and continued by re-election to hold the 
office until his death September i, 1S68. lu November, 1836, he was 
elected an elder and was always an efficient member of the session, abl 



le 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 583 

in counsel, and fully identifietl w ith the prosperity and progress of the 
church. 

Mr. Benjamin began early a system of beneficence, but lie never gave 
ostentatiously, and probably no man in Southern New York did, dur- 
ing the thirty-five years preceding his death, give so large an amount 
to religious, cliaritable, and educational objects, besides even his gifts to 
the college. He was for many years a trustee of Auburn Theological 
Seminary and also of Hamilton College, to both of which institutions 
he made hberal donations of $10,000 each, and in his will devised $10,- 
000 to the former and $20,000 to the latter. For more than ten years 
he was a corporate member of the American Board of Commissioners 
for Foreign Missions, and took a deep but quiet interest in the great 
missionary work. The last and crowning object of his Christian liber- 
ality was the IClmira P'emale College. From tlie first he was the finan- 
cial manager as treasurer and president of the Board of Trustees. His 
donation of $5,000, the largest amount then subscribed by any one, 
fixed the location, changing it from Auburn, where it had been located 
and for whicii a charter had been granted as the Auburn Female Uni- 
versity. \W act of the legislature the charter was amended, the name 
changed, and the institution removed to Elmira. The college opened 
with a debt of nearly $40,000, mostly owed to Mr. Benjamin. After a 
few years he proposed to give to the college $25,000 by releasing so 
niucii of the amount due him on condition that the college be placed 
under the Synod of Geneva, with the provision that the evangelical de- 
nominations be represented in the board, and also with the condition 
that the interest every year of the sum so released should be paid into 
an endowment fund for the endowment first of the presidency and then 
of professorships and the increase of the librar\'. The college accepted 
the generous proposal and has since tiiat time remained under the care 
of the Synod of Geneva. Yet Mr. Benjamin never designed to narrow 
its boundaries or diminisli its liberal catholicity. In the later effort to 
raise $50,000 by subscription to improve and endow the college and 
meet the condition of the State appropriation he at once subscribed 
$25,000 in addition to his previous gift, making a total of $55,000, and 
in his will he provided for the payment of $25,000 more, the interest of 
which is devoted to the education of poor and deserving young ladies, 



584 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

making a total for the Mlmira College of $80,000. He also gave $30,- 
000 to the Presbyterian Board of Publication and $2,000 to the Klmira 
Orphan Asj'lum besides many other munificent gifts to other institu- 
tions. 

Mr. Benjamin was married to Sarah W'ickham Goldsmith, born at 
Mattituck, L. I , sister of Rev. Dr. John Goldsmith, for thirtj'-eight 
years pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Newtown, L. I. They had 
three sons and four daughters. All but one son and one daughter died 
in childhood, and the surviving son, William, a youth of uncommon 
loveliness of character, died immediately after finishing his course at 
Williams College. The remaining daughter was the wife of Hon. John 
T. Rathbun, of Elmira. 



nURDOCH, JOHN, was a Scotchman by birth, having been born 
in the city of Glasgow in the year 1827. His father was Rev. 
David Murdoch, D.D., a Presbyterian clergyman of note who brought 
his family to the New World in 1833, locating in Canada, whither he had 
been sent as a missionary by the Scotch Presbyterian Church. Dr. Mur- 
doch came to Elmira in 1851 and became pastor of the First Presbyte- 
rian Church, holding that pastorate until December, 1859. He died in 
Elmira on June 13, i860, and his wife died here on August 29, 1873. 

In 1 838 the family took up their residence at Ballston Center, Saratoga 
County, N. Y., but a little later removed to Catskill, N. Y. While the 
family resided there John, who had already been givep such educational 
advantages as were possible near the family home, was sent to Union 
College, from which he graduated with high honors as a member of the 
class of 1849. He immediately began the study of law at Catskiil and 
finished in the office of Diven, Hathaway & Woods in Elmira. Before his 
admission to the bar he had attained a standing in the profession which 
enabled him to form a partnership with Hon. H. Boardman Smith under 
the firm name of Smith & Murdoch. He was admitted early in 1852 and 
was soon recognized as one of its most promising and gifted members 
He early evinced a deep and active interest in politics and in the fall of 
1859 was nominated for the office of district attorney by the Democrats. 
On the Republican ticket of that year H. Boardman Smith was nomi- 



niQGRAPHICAL. ' 585 

nated for count}' judge. ]^oth were elected and their [lartnersliip was 
dissolved. Mr. Murdoch was then only a little more than thirty years 
of age, but he made an able and fearless prosecuting officer and in 1862 
he was re-elected by an increased majority. At the expiration of Mr. 
Murdoch's second term 1",. F. Babcock was elected district attorney, but 
being called to New York by other business the duties of the office were 
discharged by Mr. Murdoch. During his legal practice he had several 
partners, the last of whom was Edgar Denton, now district attorney of 
Chemung County. 

While Mr. Murdoch was long prominent in the political fielil,and was 
always recognized as a valuable leader in his party, still he never sought 
any office not connected with his profession. He was willing to work 
for the political advancement of others, but did not look for emolument 
for himself In 1876 he was appointed by Hon. Samuel J. Tilden, then 
governor, as one of the Centennial commissioners of the State ; among 
his associates were Hon. Augustus Schell and the late Frank Leslie. 
Mr. Murdoch practiced his profession about thirty years in Elmira and 
during tliat period was connected as leading counsel with most of the 
important cases in the courts here, whether ci\ il or criminal. His rec- 
ord is one of continued success. He fell dead from heart disease Octo- 
ber 9, 1882. A meeting of the bar of Chemung County was held soon 
after his death, at which Hon. G. L Smith delivered a feeling address 
and a series of eulogistic resolutions were adopted. In the course of Mr. 
Smith's remarks he spoke of Mr. Murdoch as follows : 

".A strong, firm frienri, and a stern, relentless antagonist, he was yet one to be 
loved as few are loved among men. Honest and fearlessly outspoken, no man was 
ever deceived as to his friendship or mistaken as to his dislike. I am utterly opposed 
to the meaningless adulation which is sometimes offered to the dead, and I speak no 
word in his praise which 1 do not earnestly believe to be true. As a lawyer he pos- 
sessed and exerted intellect, learning, and industry which placed him in the verv front 
rank of the lawyers of our State. As a citizen he neglected no duty which was in- 
cumbent upon him, and as a man he was honest and upright in all his dealings, and 
never forgot his promise or failed to perform it. In his professional relations he was 
always fair, and his word once passed was as sacred to him as his written obligation." 

In the court room and before a jury Mr. Murdoch was a power, and 
he became the terror of criminals when in the office of district attoriiey,^ 
although he had not then reached the height of his powers. Some of 
his addresses are remembered as exceptionally great, particularly the 



586 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

one resulting in the conviction of Edward Simmons for killing; a keeper 
in the Ehiiira Reformatory. 

Mr. Murdoch married the daughter of William Andrus, one of the 
firm of Mack, Andrus & Co., of Ithaca, in their day one of the most im- 
portant paper and publishing houses of the old time. There are three 
daughters of the marriage : Agnes, now the wife of Dr. H. De V. Pratt, 
of Elmira; Katharine, wife of Burton S. Chamberlin, of Elmira; and 
Jeannette, wife of Eugene Diven, of Elmira. 



STEELE, Dr. JOEL DORMAN, traced his ancestry back to John 
Steel, who was born in Essex County, England, and settled first at 
Newtown (now Cambridge), Mass., about 1831-32. From him several 
generations later descended Rev. Allen Steele, a Methodist minister of 
considerable prominence, who was the father of Joel Dorman. The wife 
of Rev. Allen Steele was Sabra Anna Dorman, a daughter of Judge 
Joel Dorman, of Jerusalem, Yates County, N. Y. She died October 
29, 185 I, and her husband on January 14, 1873. Joel Dorman Steele 
was born in Lima, N. Y., May 14, 1836. Being the son of a Methodist 
clergyman it necessarily followed that Mr. Steele's early life was passed 
in a variety of places. When he was about nine years of age the fam- 
ily removed to Albany, N. Y., and there his education began. He be- 
came a pupil of Charles Anthon in the Boy's Classical Institute, famous 
in those days for its thoroughness. Two years later the family removed 
to Troy and he there attended the Boy's Academy. There at twelve 
years of age he joined the Methodist Church on probation, and the in- 
fluence of that act colored his whole after life. Soon afterward, his 
health being somewhat delicate, his father purchased a farm near Bata- 
via, N. Y., in order to give his son the benefit of outdoor life; but he 
continued his studies winters and gained needed physical vigor. In the 
summer of 1853 when seventeen years of age he taught his first school, 
going back to his farm work in the fall. In the spring of 1854 the fam- 
ily removed to New York city and the young man became assistant 
book-keeper in the Broadway Bank. The work was uncongenial to 
him and he soon afterward resigned to accept the position of clerk in 
the A ch'oca/e office of the Methodist Book Concern. Here his literary fac- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 587 

iilty began to be developed in the writing of brief reviews of books and 
some otlier unim]:)ortant miscellaneous articles. Influential friends saw 
that he ]50ssesscd natural gifts as a writer and took steps which led to 
his entering college. Within a week from the time the subject was pro- 
posed he entered the freshman class of Genesee College at Lima and 
continued tliere four years, spending his vacations in farm work or in 
teaching to aid in paying the expense of his studies. He graduated 
with honor and tiien went to his father's farm at West Barre, Orleans 
County, N. \ . A little later he received an invitation to teach in the 
Me.xico Academy, then and now a successful educational institution. 
This decided Mr. Steele's future vocation for many years. He went 
to the new field with the strongest determination to succeed and bent 
every energy to that end. Of course he did succeed, studying inces- 
santly in his out-of-school hours and often far into the night to better 
fit himself for his duties. So successful and satisfactory was Mr. Steele's 
work that when, at the close of his first year, the principal of the acad- 
emy resigned he was elected to succeed him. l^efore he assumed this 
responsible position he married Miss h.sther Baker, the accomplished 
teacher of music in the academy, who became of the greatest assistance 
and support to him at a time when he most needed it. 

Mr. Steele occupied that [josition until 1861. The Civil war had be- 
come a tangible and terrible fact and filled his mind with new thoughts. 
In the autumn of that year, when a regiment of Oswego County was 
still lacking one company, he was asked to raise it and accept the cap- 
taincy. He did so and became the captain of Company K of the Eighty- 
first Regiment N. \'. V. It would have been strange indeed if this de- 
voted student had found a military life congenial to his tastes ; yet, 
though the duty of a soldier was distasteful to him and made demands 
upon him for which he was wholly unfitted, he had no thought of desert- 
ing his post througii resignation. But his own expectations were notta 
be realized, for in the battle of Seven Pines he was badly wounded but 
being the only commissioned officer then with the company he retained 
his command for another week amid terrible privations, when he was 
finally taken to Citj' Point, suffering not alone from his wounds, but 
from severe rheumatism. Thence he came on northward to Philadelphia, 
where he received a furlough and went home to his friends in Penn Yan. 



588 OUK COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

He arrived in a very critical condition and his life was afterward de- 
spaired of, but care and skill at last turned the scale in his favor. 

In the autumn of 1862 Mr. Steele accepted the principalship of the 
Newark Union Free School and remained there four years, constantly 
studying for better educational methods and filling up his leisure with 
considerable literary work. This latter employment had ahva\s been a 
great pleasure to him and he studied much to perfect himself in the use 
of the language, and himself said that for twenty years, down to 1874, 
he never declined a chance to write anything from a school composition 
to a long newspaper article or a lecture. During all this period Mr. 
Steele's best work in teaching, perhaps because it was most con- 
genial to him, had been in the sciences, a fact that was to have a power- 
ful influence in after years. In the spring of 1866 he was offered the 
principalship of the Elmira Academy. He accepted and came here at 
once for the spring term. He found the institution in a badly demor- 
alized condition, but he proved equal to the task of placing it among 
the best schools of the State. This was not accomplished without a 
struggle, which went so far as taking a rawhide into the school by him 
in the expectation of being forced to mete out corporeal punishment to 
pupils of both sexes; but his wise and far-seeing management, involv- 
ing the most supreme self-control, averted the impending danger and 
secured the after hearty co-operation of every student. Mr. Steele 
acted as principal of the school si.x years, during which period he be- 
came fully imbiied with the idea that the foundation of all good teaching 
must be self-control and placing pupils wholly upon their honor. The 
results achieved in the school were marvelous and have gone into his- 
tory in lectures repeatedl)' delivered by Mr. Steele by request of teach- 
ers' conventions. After a few years in the school Mr. Steele gave his 
entire time to the classes in the sciences, making all the time, as had 
long been his custom, copious notes of the results of his work. During 
this period he became more fully impressed than before with the dull 
and uninteresting character of the scientific te.\t books and their un- 
wieldy size and volume of matter, as well as many minor deficiences. 
To meet the needs of his classes he gradually selected from the mass of 
each branch the topics which the average pupil should intelligently 
master in a single term, to be afterward developed and applied. Under 



niOCRAPHICAL. 539 

each of these topics he collected experiments of a practical natuic, 
and wrote passages intended to arouse interest among the pupils by 
their rhetorical character as well as by their educational influence. Fi- 
nally, for his own convenience and to gratify many of his pupils who had 
become teachers, he began to prepare his chemistrj' notes for the press. 
At just this time when the printing of tlie work was about to begin Mr. 
Steele was invited by the regents of the university to meet a body of 
teachers from various parts of the State to consider the needs and con- 
ditions of education. There the question of text books in science was 
discussed. The general opinion expressed was that there was demand 
for brief, comprehensive, and practical works of that character. To all 
that discussion Mr. Steele listened intently and returned home resolved 
to prepare a " Chemistry for Academies and High Schools." While the 
work was in progress it was reported through an agent, who was a friend 
of Mr. Steele, to the great publishing house of A. S. Barnes & Co. 
This led to an arrangement by which the book was published by that 
firm and it appeared in the fall of 1867. It sold rapidly and the royalty 
to the author was considerable. The success of this book led to prop- 
ositions from the same firm that Mr. Steele should prepare other similar 
■works in science. A long series of books followed of which Mr. Steele, 
either alone or in co-operation with others was the author, and which 
sold so extensively that he became the recipient of a large annual in- 
come from the copyrights. A list of his works is appended, which 
shows by the dates the industry of their author. 

In 1 87 1 Mr. Steele ventured into a new field — that of historical text- 
book writing — and in the following year gave up teaching to devote his 
whole time to literary labor. In this latter branch of liis work he was 
aided by his wife, she being especially conversant with the subject. The 
volume of United States history that followed was published without 
Mr. Steele's name on the title page, but it was a pronounced success. 
Both himself and his wife visited Europe four times in quest of authori- 
tative data for their work in this department, and spared no effort to 
make their books perfect. In preparing his volumes on geology, botany, 
astronomy, and physics Mr. Steele was aided by several of the most em- 
inent professors in the country. In 1870 Mr. Steele received the de- 
gree of Ph.D. from the regents of the university and in 1872 lie was 



5!I0 OCR COUNTY A.XD ITS PEOPLE. 

made a fellow of the Geological Society of London. He always re- 
mained a consistent member of the Methodist Church. 

Dr. Steele was a sufferer from angina pectoris, a heart affection, from 
which he died suddenly on the 25th of Ma^', 18S6, while in the merid- 
ian of his powers. In his will he left $50,000 to the Syracuse Univer- 
sity to found a chair of theistic science and $8,000 to the First Methodist 
Cliurch of Elmira, which by a strange coincidence was burned the night 
after his death. These bequests illustrate the benevolent side of his 
character. 

Following is a list of Dr. Steele's books: Chemistry, 1867 ; Physics, 
1869; Astronomy, 1869 ; Key to Sciences, 1870; Geology, 1870; U.S. 
History, 1871 ; Fourteen Weeks in Physiology, 1872 ; Zoology, 1872 ; 
Chemistry, first revision, 1873 ; History of France, 1875 ; Popular His- 
tory of the United States, 1875 ; Geology, first revision, 1877 ; Popular 
History of the United States (new administration added), 1878 ; Physics, 
first revision, 1878; Botany, 1879; Excelsior Studies in United States 
History, 1879; United States History, first revision, 1879; United 
States History (new administration added), 1880; History of Ancient 
Peoples, 1881 ; History of Medi:L-val and Modern Peoples, 1883 ; Gen- 
eral History, 1883; History of Greece (with select readings), 1883; 
Hygienic Physiology, 1884 ; Abridged Physiology, 1884; Astronomy, 
first revision, 1884; History of Rome (with select readings), 1885; 
United States History, second revision, 1885. 



DANFORTH, EDWARD.— The ancestry of Edward Danforth was 
eminent in many ways and is clearly traced back to the arrival on 
our shores of the ship Griffin, of London, in 1634. She carried 200 
passengers, among whom were Mrs. Anna Hutchinson, the misguided 
enthusiast; Rev. Zachariah Symmes, afterward of Charlestown ; Rev. 
John Lathrop, who became minister of Scituate ; and Sir Nicholas Dan- 
forth, the first of the name to come to America. The same ship 
brought also the order from the privy council for the surrender of the 
charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company, which order would have 
robbed them of their lands and left them dependent upon the caprice 
of the agents of the town. Sir Nicholas, with characteristic energy and 




/^ <!^ 







,!C«S<^^ 




n/QGKAl'HJCAL. 591 

promptness, came forward to protect the riglits of the colonists. He 
was elected a selectman and afterward deputy to the General Court, 
which office he held until his death. Nicholas left six children, three 
sons and three daughters. Thomas, the eldest son, was chosen treas- 
urer of Harvard and was given the chief direction of its affairs during 
nineteen years. The historian of the college pays high tribute to his 
fidelit)' and acknowledges a valuable gift from him of lands in Framing- 
ham. Ho served two terms as deputy representati\e at the General 
Court and in 1659 was chosen one of the councillors of the executive, 
wliich office he held for twenty consecutive years. In 1684 he lacked 
only sixty one votes of being elected governor, and in reality wielded 
the power belonging to that office though in the position of deputy. 
During the same period of seven years he held the responsible office of 
president of Maine, which had recently become a province subordinate 
to Massachusetts. In the troubled times preceding the subversion of 
the charter Mr. Danforth was an unflinching champion of the rights of 
the people, and thus became obnoxious to the administration and was 
suspended during the brief reign of Dudley and that of the despotic 
Andrus. With the breaking out of the English revolution of i688 Dan- 
forth saw his opportunity and sent a dispatch to Governor Andrus, who 
had retreated to the fortification on Fort Hill to surrender. The fright- 
ened governor obeyed the mandate and was sent by Danforth and his 
associates a prisoner to the castle in the harbor. Danforth and his col- 
leagues were then escorted to the State-house, where they resumed the 
functions of office from which they had been expelled. During more than 
thirty years Mr. Danforth was recorder of Middlesex County and a part 
of that time its treasurer. From 1662 to 1669 he was commissioner 
from Massachusetts to the New luigland Confederacy which negotiated 
treaties with the Indians. From 1690 to 1692 he was lieutenant-gov- 
ernor of New Hampshire. In the latter year he was chosen one of the 
associate judges of the Superior Court and held the office until his 
death. He was the first to protest against condemnation for witchcraft 
and stay the tide of persecution. 

Samuel, the second son of Nicholas, was dedicated to the ministry 
and finished his college course in 1643. He remained as tutor in tiie 
same institution for five years, at the same time pursuing theological 



592 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Studies. In 1650 he was ordained colleague to John Elliot, pastor of the 
first church at Roxbury. He gave much attention to astronomy, pub- 
lished a series of almanacs, and also an account of the comet of 1664. 
His wife was a daughter of the famous Mr. Wilson, the first pastor of the 
Old Church in Boston. In the church record under date of November 
19, 1674, Elliot wrote: "Our revered pastor, Mr. Samuel Danforth, 
sweetly rested from his labors," and after a testimonial to his services 
added, " My brother Danforth made the most glorious end I have ever 
witnessed." 

Jonathan, the youngest son, was one of the first settlers of Bilerica. 
He was credited with being the " father of Bilerica," and for more than 
forty years he followed the profession of surveyor. Many of his plots 
are preserved in the State archives, and his labors extended into the 
State of New Hampshire. He was town clerk twenty-one j-ears and 
few records made to-day are so clear and perfect as his. He was select- 
man, representative, and captain of militia, and his dwelling was made 
one of the garrison houses to which the people could flee from Indian 
depredations. 

Passing over the intermediate generations we come to the father of 
Edward Danforth, the Rev. Francis Danforth, who was born in Hills- 
boro County, -N. H. He was converted early in life, and desiring 
to enter the ministry he completed his course at Dartmouth, studied 
theology at Andover, and began his life work. His wife was a native of 
Royalton, Vt., and was a refined and cultivated woman. The lineal 
connection of Francis Danforth with Sir Nicholas Danforth is established 
by an English watch which the latter brought to 15oston and bequeathed 
to his son. It was carried by Lieut. Jonathan Danforth at the battle of 
Bunker Hill, and was left by him to Francis Danforth and b_\' him to 
Edward. It is still in the family. Edward Danforth was born in Hills- 
boro County, N. H., December 4, 1828, and died in Elmira, N. Y., 
June 13, 1888. His boyhood was passed amid the religious surround- 
ings of his father's household, and his quiet, sensitive, and affectionate 
disposition gave promise of the true, the noble, and the useful man. In 
briefly tracing his career we can do no better than to draw largely from 
a memoir prepared of him for publication in the Annual of the New 
York State Sunday School Association : 



niOGRAPHICAL. 503 

" Kconomical of time and anxious for instruction he pursued liis 
studies with such zeal that at the early age of fifteen, with examinations 
passed, he was ready to enter the freshman class of Dartmouth College, 
of which his father was a graduate. But it was not for him to enter 
college hails. In 1844 he commenced teaching in the public schools of 
Erie Count}', N. Y., and from that time until his death he gave help 
and instruction to others out of a mind well stored by close application, 
keen observation, and extensive reading. With his labors in school he 
combined the teaching of music in his early j'ears, holding musical con- 
ventions which were very successful. The love of music was one of the 
distinguishing traits of his character. 

"Although his early years pictured for him a bright future in the 
legal profession, yet such was his success as a teacher that he abandoned 
the law to fill that sphere for which he was so peculiarly adapted, the 
instructing and ennobling of the young. He was called successively to 
the principalship of the public schools of Le Roy, Batavia, and Clarkson, 
and in 1858 was elected superintendent of schools in the city of Grand 
Rapids, Mich. In five years there he perfected such a system of in- 
struction that the schools were spoken of in the -State Gazetteer as the 
model schools of the State. During these years of testing he made for 
himself a reputation that was not merely local, and manifested an ability 
that would not go unrewarded, as is evidenced by the fact that in 1858 
he received the honorary degree of Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth 
College and a like honor from Hamilton College in 1862. In the latter 
year the Board of Education of the city of Troy, N. Y., elected Mr. 
Danforth as their first superintendent of schools. For six years he 
filled this position so acceptably that when, in 1869, Abram B. Weaver 
was elected superintendent of public instruction for the State of New 
York he was appointed as his deputy. He remained with Mr. Weaver 
during his two terms of office and was then elected the first superintend- 
ent of schools of the city of I'-lmira. For three years he filled this 
position to tlie satisfaction of the citizens and the benefit of the schools. 
Althougli this was the end of his active service as an educator, yet his 
interest in all matters pertaining to the improvement of either teachers 
or scholars was never abated. He became a member of the New York 
State Teachers Association in 1857, was elected as its twenty- seventh 



694 OUR COO' A' TV AND ITS PEOPLE. 

president in 1872, and at the time of his deatli and for several years 
previous was its corresponding secretary." 

But it was not in his relations with educational matters, successful as 
he was in that field, that Mr. Danforth was best known to many of his 
friends. For nearly twenty years of the later part of his life he gave 
his best energies and his unselfish labor to the advancement of the 
cause of religion through the medium of the Sunday school; in fact the 
upbuilding of the Sunday school cause as embodied in the principles 
and aims of the New York State Sunday School Association is gener- 
ally looked upon as his life work. His name first became prominently 
mentioned in the records of the association in 1869, when he was 
elected secretar\'. From that time onward to his death he gave in his 
quiet, unobtrusive, though wontlerfully effective, way his whole heart 
and soul to the work. It is said of him that: "All who are in anj' 
sense acquainted with the workings of the State Sunday School Asso 
ciation will bear record that for nineteen years Edward Danforth as 
State secretary was a living and life-giving force." During all those 
years his services were a free offering to his Maker, for he never received 
any remuneration ; and during the last ten years of his life, after he had 
entirel)' given up his educational labors, his whole time was consecrated 
to that object. He traveled from one end of the State to the other, 
usually paying his own expenses, delivering addresses at Sunday school 
conventions in every county, and attending to all the correspondence 
and detail of liis office with the most scrupulous care and unselfish devo- 
tion. He was often solicited to accept higher station, but always de- 
clined, feeling that where he was working he could accomplish the most 
good. In his death at the meridian of his usefulness he was deeph- 
mourned, not only by the association at large, but by an army of warm 
friends. The highest possible tributes were paid to Iiis memory at the 
annual convention of the State Sunday School Association, which was 
in session at the time of his death. By special request the remains of 
Mr. Danforth were brought into the hall before the association, and 
memorial services of an impressive character were held. A series of 
eulogistic resolutions were read and adopted, and eloquent and pathetic 
remarks were made by several members. On that occasion one of his 
intimate friends said of his personality : " He was a man of untiring 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 595 

zeal. He worked cwxXy and late, often until after midniglit and earl)- in 
the morning. I have urged him to spare himself, but he would say 
no, that he was there and knew all about it and wanted to be faithful to 
his office. He was sincere, devoted, persistent. He was all heart and 
all sympathy, and ever ready to yield to another. His cliaracter was 
pre-eminently unselfish ; and his works will follow him." 

Mr. Danforth was never married. A sister, Miss S. Addie Danforth, 
is a resident of F^lmira. 



ROCKWELL, ABRAM B., was born of English parentage in the 
town of Big Flats (then the town of Elmira), January lo, 1819. 
His grandfather, Jonathan Rockwell, and two brothers emigrated fiom 
England at an early day. Jonathan was bound out to labor to pay the 
price of his passage at Newburgh, Orange County, N. Y. He afterward 
settled at Warwick on a farm. One brother settled in Pennsylvania and 
the other in New York city, where he became a wealthy jeweler. Jon- 
athan and Piicebe Rockwell were the parents of six children : William, 
Jonathan, Benjamin, Esther, Hannah, and Sally. Esther married Abrani 
Vail, a prominent citizen of Orange County and a general in the Revo- 
lutionary war. They were the grandparents of Mrs. Abram Rockwell. 
Hannah married a Mr. Hopper and removed to the West. Sally mar- 
ried Jolin Bennitt, brotlicr of the late Comfort l^ennitt, of Chemung 
County. William Rockwell, father of Abram B., was born September 
16, 1781. When he was ten years old he moved with his parents to 
Sing Sing, a locality in the town of Big P'lats. Tlie journey from Or- 
ange County was made with an o.x-team and occupied a period of five 
weeks. He married Anna Kelsey, November 8, 1801. She died De- 
cember 19, 1806, leaving one daughter, Anna, who married a Mr. Sco- 
field and went to Ohio to live. The second wife of William Rockwell 
was Nancy Bennitt, sister of John and Comfort Bennitt, to whom he 
was married February 15, 1807. She was born August 26, 1791. In 
1822 he purchased the farm where he resided until his death May 24, 
1863. The cliildren of William and Nancy Rockwell were: Daniel ]i., 
born January 6, 1809; Esther V., born October 26, 181 i, died at tlie 
age of seventeen years; Asa M., who died in infancy; Silas B., born 



59G OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

June 28, 1815 ; Mary B., born October 28, 1817 ; Abram B., born Jan- 
uary 10, 1S19; Jonathan B., born March 7, 1821 ; Ezra M., born Au- 
gust 26, 1823; Andrew J., who died in infancy; Cliarles D., born 
August 26, 1827; Isaac O., born August 17, 1829; Phih'iula R., born 
February 5, 1832; and John D., born August 27, 1834. 

Abram B. Rockwell remained with his father upon a farm until the 
age of twenty-eight years, when he ]3urchased a farm and began business 
for himself. He married Mary V. Hawkins, daughter of Ira and Han- 
nah (V'ail) Hawkins, of Chester, Orange County, N. Y., January 2, 1849. 
She was born March 29, 1824. Four daughters were given them: 
Nancy married Morris D. Bennitt, December 19, 1872 (their liviiigchil-- 
dren are Mary L., born December 22, 1874 ; Millard M., born March 2, 
1877; Linna F., born March 12, 1879; and Floyd S., born October 18, 
1887) ; Hannah married Willis B. Sayre, jr., September 30, 1885 ; Lin- 
nie married Albert B. Fitch, January 31, 1877; and Addie married 
John I. Howell, of Goshen, Orange County, N. Y., December 13, 1888 
(their children are Ira Abram, born September 28, 1889, and Mary R. , 
born October 14, 1890). 

Abram B. Rockwell was signally successful as a farmer, accumulating 
property by his tact and industrj', owning at the time of his death a 
large and valuable farm between Elmira and Horseheads. He is remem- 
bered as one of the most successful farmers of Chemung Count). He 
held some of the offices of his town and was scrupulous in the discharge 
of every duty. He sought no emolument of office, but preferred his 
home and farm life, where he exhibited those traits of character which 
marked him as a kind husband, a loving father, and a friend of true and 
noble qualities. He died March 17, 1886. 



DIVEN. ALEXANDER S.— The ancestors of Gen. Alexander 
Samuel Diven were Scotch- Irish and settled, on their coming to 
this country, in the Cumberland Valley, where many of that name yet 
live. His own immediate ancestor was Alexander Diven, who came 
from County Tyrone, Ireland. His wife Margaret was English. Gen- 
eral Diven's father, John Diven, was born in 1752. He was an appren- 
tice to a cabinetmaker in Carlisle, Pa., when the Revolutionary war 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 597 

broke out. His iiuistor, a thorough-going and enthusiastic patriot, per- 
suaded him as well as all the rest of his apprentices and men to enter 
the Continental army. They were all with Washington at Valley Forge 
when the term of their enlistment expired and all had determined to go 
to their homes. The day arrived and they were drawn up in line in 
the presence of the general. I le s|)oke to them as few men could speak, 
with tears in his e)es, and concluded his words by asking all those will- 
ing to re- enlist to step two paces to the front There was a moment's 
hesitation and young Diven stepped forward. One followed, then an- 
other, and another until the whole line sprang to the front with a shout. 
They forgot the privations of the camp, that they had wished to escape 
by going to their homes, in their love for their commander and their 
knowledge of the pressing needs of their country. They served to the 
siege of Yorktown. 

John Diven came to what is now Watkins in 1799, and the farm he 
bought, cleared, and long occupied is on the hill west of the village. lie 
was the first postmaster in that locality. He became interested in the 
Duncan Islands in the Susquehanna River, a large and rich tract of land 
the continued possession of which would have made him an immensely 
rich man, but there was some flaw in the title running clear awaj' bade 
to the time of William Penn.and he could not hold under that given him. 
There was protracted, expensi\e,and e.vhaustive litigation, and in the end 
he lost and came to Watkins. He was twice married, his first wife being 
of the family of Baskins. Her brother was the father of Clark Baskins, 
a well known citizen of Watkins. The four sons of this marriage all 
went West. John Diven's second wife and mother of Gen. A. S. Diven 
was Miss Eleanor Means, a grandaunt of Col. John F. Means, of To- 
wanda. Pa. There were three daughters in the family besides General 
Diven. Fleanor and Charlotte, maiden ladies, arc living now on the 
old farm near Watkins. Elizabeth became the wife of the Rev. Daniel 
Washburn and was the mother of two sons, one of whom, an engineer 
by profession, was killed in an accident not many years ago in the South- 
west, an event still remembered for its peculiarly horrible character. 

Gen. A. S. Diven was born in Watkins on February 10, 1809. and 
was educated at the academies in Penn Yan and Ovid that were flour- 
ishing and well-equipped schools of that da)'. When he was twentj'- 



598 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

one years of age lie came to Elmira, studied law in the office of judge 
Hiram Gray, and taught school. He spent some time in tlie office of 
Fletcher Haight in Rochester, N. Y., and afterward conducted the county 
clerk's office in Owego. From Owego he went to Angelica, Allegany 
County, N. Y. He was here admitted to the bar of the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas. The committee appointed to examine him vverejohn Young, 
afterward governor of the State of New York, and Luther C. Peck, after- 
ward a prominent politician and member of Congress from Livingston 
County. The third member of the committee was a local lawyer. 
Knowing that General Diven had been in Elmira he was asked if he 
knew Judge Gray. He not only knew him, but had a letter from him 
in his pocket containing a general and particular recommendation for 
him to all whom it might concern. The committee read the letter and 
the candidate was asked if he knew how to play whist. He did A 
table was drawn up, cards were produced, and a game entered upon that 
lasted far into the night. The next morning, on motion of the com- 
mittee. General Uiven was admitted to the bar. Great and not mis- 
placed credit was given to the recommendation of Judge Gray. 

In July, 1834, General Diven was married, his choice falling on Miss 
Amanda Beers, of Elmira. She was a woman of unusual capacity and 
strength of character, and had been engaged in business in Elmira 
which she had managed very successfully for some years. She was born 
October 22, 181 1, the daughter of John and Keziah Beers, of kin to the 
family of the same name, some account of which has already been given. 
Her married life of nearly half a centurj' was one that might be taken 
as an example of all that was wifely and motherly, ideal in all ways that 
go to make up a perfect woman. During the war she accompanied her 
husband to the front at one period of his service and the men of his regi- 
ment have a remembrance of her that is full of affectionate respect. She 
died August 18, 1875, but 'ic memory is one that will be preserved for 
many years in the beautiful x'alley and cit\' where happily for them she 
made her home. General Diven remained in Angelica for eleven years, 
for a year and a half in partnership with George Miles, who removed to 
Michigan and became a justice of the Supreme Court of that State. For 
five of these years General Diven was district attorney of Allegany 
County, which then included also the county of Livingston. In 1842 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 599 

lie was appointed a director of tlie New York and Mrie Railroad Com- 
pany, but declined to serve. The next year, however, he was persuaded 
to go to New York and attend a meeting of the board. The ultimate 
result of this gathering was that the road was built. General Diven 
went before the legislature and was successful in having a bill passed 
favorable to it. Me was connected with the company for many years, 
its attorney until 1865, and elected then its vice president, a position he 
held for three years. He drafted the first issues of its bonds and mort- 
gages and was its commissioner of construction during its building, the 
pay of contractors passing through his hands. The company that built 
the road from Binghamton to Corning was organized by him. 

In 1845 General Diven returned to IClmira to live and has ever since 
been a citizen of that place, in the year named organizing the law firm 
of Diven, Hathaway & Woods heretofore referred to. General Diven 
was one of the founders of the Republican party, his earlier political 
affiliations being with the Barnburner or " Free Soil " wing of the Dem- 
ocratic party. As a Republican he served as State senator in 1858-59. 
He was also a member of the Thirty-seventh Con&ress in 1861-63. In 
both of these bodies he took very high rank as a speaker and worker. 
During his term as congressman he returned to his district and was largely 
instrumental in raising the One Hundred and Seventh N. Y. \'., of which 
organization he went to the front as lieutenant-colonel. He distinguished 
himself on the field in the campaigns of 1 862-63 in Virginia, the published 
official records of the war bearing frequent testimony to his gallantry. 
He was commissioned colonel after the battle of Antietam and led his 
regiment on the bloody field of Chancellorsville. In May, 1863, he was 
commissioned assistant adjutant-general with the rank of major and ap- 
pointed to the charge of the rendezvous for troops at Elmira. He was 
soon after breveted brigadier-general and assigned to special duty as 
assistant provost-marshal-general, with headquarters at Elmira, which 
was made a rendezvous of drafted men. His command included the 
whole of Western New York, being the eleven congressional districts in 
that part of the State. It was at a difficult and critical period of the war 
and his conduct of the affairs of the post and department commended 
itself to the favor of the people and the satisfaction of the government. 
General Diven's attention has always been directed to those enterprises 



coo OUR COUNT Y AND ITS PEOPLE. 

that were for the best interests of the cit)' of EIniira. He was largely 
instrumental in the construction of the Williamsport Railway, now a part 
of the Northern Central ; lifted the Water Works Company at a great 
expense from feebleness and uselessness into an organization that makes 
its supply unsurpassed by that of any other city in the land ; and fostered 
if he did not father the street railway. As a contractor for building 
railroads General Diven undertook successful!}' a number of large oper- 
ations. In this line was a large portion of the southwestern branch of 
the Missouri Pacific Railroad, as also many miles of the road now oper- 
ated by tiie Delaware and Hudson Canal Company along the upper 
waters of the Susquehanna River and Lake Champlain. These things 
we have every day to remind us of the energy, ability, and foresight of 
this distinguished citizen of our county. There are other matters that 
deserve not to be forgotten. In his active life at the bar he was one of 
the most eloquent and persuasive men that ever stood before a jury, and 
some of his occasional addresses deserve preservation, notably, and 
who will ever forget it that heard it, his address when the public exer- 
cises in honor and memory of Abraham Lincoln were held in Wisner 
Park on that beautiful yet sorrowful day in April, 1865 ? It was a 
tribute that if uttered in a more conspicuous spot would have com- 
manded universal attention if not assured preservation. 

Busied for nearly half a century with the sterner activities of life as 
they might be called it would hardly seem possible for General Diven 
to have found leisure to cultivate or develop a taste for the more refined 
and perhaps less necessary objects or sentiments that attract men of his 
mental construction. Yet he has done just that. Ever since the pro- 
ject of the Elmira College for Women was conceived General Diven has 
been one of its most energetic, intelligent, and generous supporters. 
For many years he was the chairman of the executive committee of its 
trustees, and held the interests of the institution close to his heart. 
More than this his literary and artistic impulses and judgments are of 
the most delicate and accurate nature. Some may remember when a 
choice few were privileged to hear him at his own home read from the 
older poets and dramatists. They were evenings not easily to be for- 
gotten, for an intelligence was applied to the lines that gave them renewed 
force, strength, and beauty. And still more and better than all this. 



niOGRAPHICAL. COl 

although iiniiiersed for so many years in the liard, exacting, and pitiless 
affairs of tlie world, where the most successful man is not always the 
justest nor the most considerate ; engrossed in a profession that will 
brook no rival ; deeply interested in politics which under the most favor- 
ing circumstances is hardly as clean and clear as muddy water ; always 
at the front in times of peace as well as in war; engaged in enterprises of 
great magnitude, involving immense sums of money and great risks, — in 
the midst of all these and into them all General Diven has carried a 
manly. Christian spirit by which not every one would be willing to have 
all the acts of his life measured. It has not been ostentatious but 
genuine. Ever since he became a citizen of Elmira he has been con- 
nected with the First Presbyterian Church, one of its most efficient sup- 
porters, and for many years one of its officers. 

With these sentiments and cultivated tastes, good health, and an 
abundance of means, although ten years and more beyond the allotted 
span of man's life, General Diven, in his beautiful home just beyond the 
northern limits of the city of Elmira in the summer and in his equally 
delightful place amid the orange groves of Florida in the winter, passes 
his time enjoying an evening of life in which there are some sorrows, of 
course, for what man's life is free of them ? but no shadows cast either by 
the past or over the future. There were eight children born to General 
Diven. The eldest son, George Miles Diven, named for the general's 
partner and warm personal friend, was born in Angelica, N. Y., August 
28, 1835. His education was obtained at the old Elmira Academy, at a 
])rivate school in Geneva, N. Y., and he was graduated from Hamilton 
College with a high standing in the class of 1857. He studied law in 
his father's office and was admitted to the bar in Binghamton in 1862. 
For a few years afterward he was in partnership witii his father under 
the firm name of A. S. & G. M. Diven, and was then alone in business 
until the formation of the present firm of Diven & Redfield. For thirty 
years he has had his office in the one spot where it is now located. F'or 
many years he was the attorney in this region for the Erie Railwa)', and 
he is now as he has been for n)any years the legal representative of the 
Northern Central and Lehigh Valley Railways. He early established a 
reputation as a good and careful lawyer and a sound and trustworthy 
business man He has had the management of matters involving uii- 
76 



602 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

usually large sums of money, and his judgment has never failed him or 
been at fault. Some of the largest business enterprises of Elmira in 
their immature and uncertain beginnings have relied and with safety 
upon his advice and judgment. He has been a director of the Erie Rail 
way and of the Erie Sleeping Car Company that subsequently became 
a part of the great Pullman system ; was instrumental and influential in 
the re-organization of the rolling-mills; managed the affairs of the 
Water Works Company when the change was made in its organization ; 
originated and through most embarrassing surroundings laid and con- 
ducted the street railway ; was foremost in the conception and con- 
struction of the Elmira State Line Railroad, now the Tioga branch 
of the Erie ; brought the La France Manufacturing Company out of 
the slough into which it had fallen into smooth sailing waters ; and en- 
gaged in other but minor matters, all, however, mal<ing for the interests 
of Elmira. For five terms Mr. Diven was president of the Board of 
Education of the city of Elmira, during which time were initiated 
matters of interest to the growing generations of the town, whose in- 
fluence will be felt far in the future. In 1872 he was chosen one of the 
trustees of Hamilton College, his alma mater, an office he still holds, 
and in the winter of 1890-91 he was elected the president of the New 
York State Bar Association, an honor which by itself measures the high 
standing he has attained in his profession. Quiet, unassuming, studious, 
earnest, alwa\'S governed by the most generous and noble impulses, 
scholarly b)' instinct and acquirements, averse to notoriety of any kind, 
loving his home, his books, and his friends, and high in the estimation of 
those whose esteem is worthy the striving after, Mr. Diven has lived a 
life to look back upon which will cause him few if any regrets, and the 
.look ahead from which can cause him no apprehensions. 

On June 3, 1863, he married Lucy M. Brown, of Clinton, N. Y., a 
'lady of exceeding beauty of person and character. To them six chil- 
<lren were born. Josephine, the eldest and onlj' daughter, died in 1872 
in her ninth year. She was a child giving promise of everything that 
would be dear and precious to mother, father, and friends. The 
household was darkened at her passing away and the shadows her going 
cast have never been quite dispelled except by the memory of the 
character and disposition she manifested even at her early age. Clar- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. WA 

ence, the youngest son, died in 1878 when but two years of age. Foiir 
sons remain. Of these Kiigcnc, the eldest, a graduate of Lehigii Uni- 
versity and an acconiplisiied engineer, is connected with the La France 
Manufacturing Company in a responsible capacity. His wife was Jean- 
nette, the youngest daughter of John Murdocii. Of the other sons of 
George M. Diven Alexander S. is in Yale College, Alden is in Lehigh 
Lfniversity, and Louis is at E.xeter, Mass., preparing for a higher insti- 
tution of learning. Mrs. George M. Diven died September 2, 188S. 

Alexander Diven, the second son of Gen. A. S. Diven, was born Jan- 
uary 22, 1841, and became a business man of more than ordinary apti- 
tude and sagacity. Early in manhood he was engaged in the old Elmira 
Bank, where his business education began under the eye of Lewis J. 
Stanchff. During the war young Diven was a paj'master in the army 
with the rank of major. After the war he engaged in business in To- 
wanda, Pa., where he was elected the chief officer of the borough. Re- 
turning to lilmira he took an interest in the Water Works Company, 
and the two reservoirs in the western part of the city were built under his 
supervision. The magnitude and e.xcellence of the work are standing 
monuments to his carefulness and judgment. He was a large hearted, 
noble man, attracting those closely who came in contact with him, and 
was able in the Democratic city of Elmira to be elected its mayor. Re- 
publican as he was himself. He died in January, 1888. He married, July 
13, 1864, Annie McOuhae, a descendant of General Carpenter so prom- 
inent in the early history of the valley. She and their elder son. Max- 
well, a youth of great promise, survived the father but a year or two. 
George, the second son, is connected with the Water Works Company 
and gives indications of following worthily in the footsteps of the uncle 
for whom he is named. A little daughter, Ella, has found a mother in 
the aunt for whom she is named. 

Eugene Diven, the third son of Gen. A. S. Diven, born June 21, 1843, 
was one who left in the home of his birth, youth, and manhood a mem- 
ory pleasant and grateful. He spent one year in West Point, but 
quitted the academy there to join an engineering expedition in Mexico,, 
in which influential friends were interested. He came home from this 
to enter the army of the Union and was appointed to the staff of Gen. 
\\. W. Slocum, his commission being the last one that President Lin- 



G04 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

coin ever signed. He had been on the staff of his father while General 
Diven was in command of the post at Einiira. After the war Eugene 
Diven, engaging in railroad building and other business enterprises, was 
fortunate, and accumulated a competence early in life. He was con- 
nected with the La France Manufacturing Company and repeatedly 
represented his district in the Board of Education of the city of Eimira. 
He married on August 23, 1869, Julia, the daughter of H. M. Partridge, 
and there are tiiree daughters of the family. He died September i, 
18SS. 

John M. Diven, the youngest son of Gen. A. S. Diven, born April 24, 
1852, is largely concerned in the detail and management of the affairs 
of the Water Works Company. In 1891 he was elected president of 
the National Association of Water Works Companies, an office he is well 
qualified to fill. His wife is Susan, a daughter of the Dr. Hepburn in- 
timately associated with the early history of the village of Eimira, who 
was among the first to emigrate to California at the breaking cut 
of the gold fever. Mrs. Diven on the maternal side is a descendant of 
the Baldwins who had also much to do with the early historj' of the 
valley. 

Miss Ella Diven, the eldest daughter of Gen. A. S. Diven, remains at 
home with her father, the mistress of one of the few residences in the 
valley that merits the title of mansion. Amanda Diven, the second 
daughter, is the wife of Henry C. Sillsbee, of Saginaw, Mich , and May 
Diven, the third daughter, is the wife of Maj. Emerson H. Liscum of the 
regular army of the United States. Alice Diven, the youngest daugh- 
ter of Gen. A. S. Diven, was one of the loveliest girls that it was ever 
the privilege of Eimira to call one of its own. She was the life of the 
household, the favorite at home and abroad, her smile sunshine, her 
voice music. She died March 31, 1875, in Fort Lyon, Col., whither 
anxious parents had taken her, hopeful that in the pure health- giving 
atmosphere of the mountains there the ravages of a disease whose at- 
tack seldom means anything but death might be stayed. But it was a 
vain hope. 

Gen. A. S. Diven was married the second time on November 17, 1876, 
his wife being the widow of James Joy, of Brookljn, N. Y. T. 





^/fi^/T/a^ 4:^^^^i/-^ 




BIOGRAPHICAL. G05 

GILLETT, SOLOMON LEWIS —Of the pioneers who settled in 
Ehnira as early as 1830 only three are now living — Judge A. S. 
Thurston, Gen. A. S. Diven, and Solomon L. Gillett. Mr. Gillett was 
born in Colchester, Conn., September 20, 1803. The family was de- 
scended from the French Huguenots in the branch that came through 
Germany and thence emigrated to America. Solomon L. Gillett's father 
was also Solomon Gillett, a native of Colchester and a son of Aaron 
Gillett, the latter born in 1732. Solomon followed farming and mar- 
ried Martha Doolittle, of Russell, Mass., on the 15th of June, 1801. 
He died in Colchester at the age of eighty-three and his wife at the age 
of ninety-three in the year 1871. The children of these hardy New 
Englanders were four sons and three daughters. The eldest is Solomon 
L. The others are Mary Ann, deceased ; Joel D., now living in Addi- 
son, N. Y.; Matilda, living in Des Moines, Iowa ; Aaron G., living at 
St. Michael's Station, Minn.; Charles E., living at Oakland, Cal; and 
one who died an infant. It is noteworthy that of this large family all 
are living but two and all very far advanced in years, Solomon L. being 
almost ninety years of age. His educational advantages were excep- 
tionally good for that period and he remained in school a large part of 
the time until he was seventeen, closing his studies with a few terms at 
the Bacon Academy in Colchester, an institution noted in that day for 
the excellence of its advantages. Leaving school with a good I'nglish 
education he entered the store of Gen. David Deming at Colchester and 
served faithfully as clerk until he reached his majority. After one year of 
absence from his native place he returned, and in compan}' with Charles 
Edwin Bulkeley, under the style of Gillett & Bulkeley, took the store of 
his former employer, he remaining a silent and financial partner. This 
continued with success until the death of General Deming. Mr. Gil- 
lett's ambition then drew his attention to what was in those days in- 
definitely termed "the West." He had but recently married (July, 1826) 
Miss Mary J. Watrous, a young woman of Colchester who shared his 
ambition and faith in the future. Enlisting the interest of a young 
townsman, Joshua B. Wheeler, they entered into an agreement to carry 
on business together when they had selected a promising locality for 
settlement. They spent about a month in prospecting between their 
native town and Elniira, reaching here in 1830. The place was then a 



600 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

mere hamlet and in itself did not offer to the casual observer an exception- 
ally brilliant prospect ; but the act had recently passed the legislature 
under which the Chemung Canal was begun and finally completed. 
Moreover the beautiful Southport and Big Flats region attracted the at- 
tention of the two young men and convinced them that such a country 
would be a source of future wealth through its agricultural value, and 
altogether the prospects were sufficiently enticing to stay the steps of 
the prospectors. They leased a store in a wooden building which then 
stood on the site of the present brick structure occupied by Pettit's drug 
store, and there began a successful mercantile business, embracing in their 
stock almost every commodity used by the farmer, which they exchanged 
for all manner of country produce and sometimes money. The business 
remained at that location until 1836, when Mr. Gillett erected the build- 
ing now occupied by Young's hardware store. Mr. Wheeler had retired 
from the firm in 1833, and during the last seven years of Mr. Gillett's 
mercantile experience he was associated with Alvenus Cone. This con- 
tinued down to the year 1843, when Mr. Gillett retired from trade and 
gave his attention to various enterprises of a public or semi-public char- 
acter. His long mercantile experience had given him a large acquaint- 
ance in this part of the State, and his sterling traits of character and 
genial and courteous manner had drawn around him a host of warm 
friends, while his reputation for business sagacity and sound judgment 
was excellent. These facts led to his selection in the earlier years of 
railroad building for the responsible position of land commissioner and 
assistant treasurer of the Elmira and Williamsport Railroad (now apart 
of the Northern Central), a position which he worthily and capably 
filled until the road was taken in hand by the company from the con- 
tractors. He was for about two years a director and vice-president of 
the Chemung Canal Bank and aided in placing it upon the solid found- 
ation which it has ever since occupied. He was a stockholder, director, 
and treasurer of the Elmira woolen- mill until the property was assumed 
by Daniel and Ransom Pratt, who continued the business until the prop- 
erty was destroyed by fire. He was interested in the railroad from 
Watkins to Canandaigua and a director for about five j'ears. He was 
one of the original stockholders of the Elmira rolling mill and one of the 
executive committee up to the time when the mill passed into the hands 



niOGRAFHICAL. 607 

of the New York and Erie Railroad ; was treasurer of the Elmira Sav- 
ings Bank from 1854 and one of the trustees to the time the bank paid 
off the depositors and closed. He was a director of the First National 
Bank of lihiiira when it started in 1862, and subsequently resigned 
the position. In April, 1S79, in connection with Robert T. Turner, he 
purchased the Elmira Nobles manufacturing property and continued the 
manufacture of augers, bits, etc., until January, 1886, when they rented 
the factory to C. E. Jennings & Co., of New York, who continued the 
manufacture until the factory was destroyed by fire in July, 1887. Mr. 
Gillett has given little attention to politics, though entertaining well es- 
tablished opinions which he has always consistently supported. He was 
a Whig and is a Republican, and in 1850 was chosen by his fellow citizens 
as president of the village, giving its affairs the same care and vigor 
that he devoted to his own business. The early schools of the place 
received his warm support and to the religious interests of the village 
and city he has ever shown a liberal and devoted spirit. His benefac- 
tions in all directions have been numerous and constant, although so 
unostentatious that it can be literally said of him that his right hand 
knew not what his left hand did. He has crowned the liberal and gen- 
erous spirit that has governed his lif^ by a donation in 1890 of $10,000 
to the Elmira College for Women, and the music hall of that institution 
for which the gift was expended will stand forever as a monument to 
his forethought and liberality. Mr. Gillett has been a member of the 
First Presbyterian Church since 1831 and elder and clerk of the session 
since 1842. He has witnessed almost the entire development of Elmira 
from a small village to a large and enterprising city, and in his vener- 
able years enjoys to the fullest the esteem and confidence of the whole 
community. 

Mr. Gillett's first wife was a daughter of Col. Daniel Watrous, of Col- 
chester, and an estimable woman in every sense. This Watrous family 
was a remarkable one in many respects. Daniel, one of the brothers 
of Mrs. Gillett, became a wealthy and prominent citizen of the South, 
and another brother, John Charles Watrous, was a judge of the United 
States Court in Texas. He had a long and bitter political contest with 
Sam Houston that gave him a national reputation, and in the early days 
of the war was driven from his State on account of his strong Union 



COS OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

sentiments and expressions, and sacrificed a fortune that he never recov- 
ered. Miss Nancy VVatrous, a sister of Mrs. Gillett, is still living at a 
very advanced age, much over ninetj', in Elmira. Mrs. Gillett died 
June 12, 1876. Her four children are all dead, three of them hav- 
ing died in early life. On the 8th of December, 1880, Mr. Gillett was 
married to Kate M. Mandeville, of Elmira, who is an Elmiran of Elmir- 
ans, tracing hei descent from John Konkle, her mother's grandfather 
and one of the earliest settlers in the valley. 

Daniel VV. Gillett, son of Solomon L. Gillett, was born in Colchester, 
Conn., June 20, 1829. He prepared for college at Homer Academy 
and Geneva, N. Y., and entered Hamilton College in September, 1846, 
graduating in 1850. He then began the study of law in the office of 
Gray, Diven, Hathaway & Woods and continued with Count Van Dcr- 
lin at Oxford, N. Y., and was admitted to practice in the courts of New 
York and in the United States courts. He began practice in Elmira 
with William Patterson under the style of Patterson & Gillett. Later 
Mr. Patterson left for San Francisco, where he continued in practice. In 
1 861 Mr. Gillett went to Brooklj-n and aided in raising a regiment of 
volunteers, of which he was appointed quartermaster, went to the front, 
and shared in the battle of Antietam. At the request of the governor 
he then resigned to take the office of corresponding clerk in the quarter- 
master-general's office in New York city, and was subsequently appointed 
assistant quartermaster-general, which office he held to the close of the war. 
In the absence of his superior he had charge of the office during the New 
York riot. His duties in that responsible position were discharged with 
ability and fidelity. At the close of the war he resumed his profession in 
New York and thus continued until his death October 22, J 878. 

Lewis W. Gillett, a son of Daniel W. and grandson of Solomon L. 
Gillett, was a young man of promise who had everything in this world 
for which to live. He was highly educated, having been in attendance 
upon the famous Coleridge School in England for a number of terms, 
and enjoyed advantages of travel and the companionship of eminent 
men that fitted him for any station in life. He was very active in the 
Presidential canvass of 1 884 that resulted in the election of Grover Cleve- 
land, and for some time thereafter was a member of the oflfjcial family of 
Governor Hill. He married Carrie T. Loring, daughter of J. H. Loring, 
one of the old-time citizens of lilmira. He died March 29, 1886. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. GOO 

LANGDON, JERVIS. — To recall the names of men of a former 
generation who made a strong impress on the times in which 
they lived ; to contemplate their virtues ; to rehearse their deeds and re- 
flect upon their careers are tasks that have employed the attention of 
tlie thoughtful and wise of all times, that arc always attended with satis- 
faction to tlie intellect and heart, excite emulation, and arouse to efforts 
to follow as near as possible in footsteps that lead so distinctly through 
lives of usefulness and honor to the highest success. Few men in our 
own locality or in the world at large furnished lives so full of lessons 
and examples, or left memories that for so many years have been kept 
fresh and green, as did Jervis Langdon. It is difficult to realize that 
more than twenty years have elapsed since all that was mortal of him 
was laid away in Woodlawn, his name is still so frequently on the lips 
of men, and what he was and did is so often referred to. His was a 
strong personality inherited from one of the most eminent and dis- 
tinguished of the families of New England. One of his race was, about 
the middle of the last century, a president of Harvard College, and 
another, during the early days of the Republic, was an energetic patriot 
in New Hampshire, a governor of that Slate repeatedly, a delegate to 
the Continental Congress, and a member of the convention that framed 
the constitution of the United States. 

Andrew Langdon of the same family lived in Connecticut, having 
been born in that State on April 30, 1774. His wife was Eunice King, 
whom he married on February 8, 1804 Mr. Langdon, early in the 
century, came from Connecticut to Oneida County in this State to live, 
and died there on August 29, iSl i. He was the father of three sons : 
John Ledroit Langdon. born December 15, 1806, who died November 
20, 1861 ; Jervis Langdon, born January 1 1, 1809; and Andrew Lang- 
don, born in December, 18 10. The latter named died in infancy. Mrs. 
Eunice Langdon, the motiier of Jervis Langdon, was destined for a life 
of unusual length. On March 16, 1813, she married for a second time, 
becoming the wife of Jonathan Williams, who, however, died in August 
of the same year. F"or the third time she entered into the matrimonial 
state, marrying on July 17, 1814, Jonathan Ford. Two sons were born 
of this marriage, John K. Ford, of Campbell, N. Y., who died in March, 
1890. and Andrew Jackson Ford, now a resident of Dakota. Jonathan 



CIO OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOl'l.E. 

Ford, the father, died on March i6, 1843, and for some years the mother 
lived with her son, John K. Ford, coming, however, eventually into ihe 
family of Jervis Langdon and remaining a member of it until she died 
on January 14, 1873, when she had nearly completed the ninety first 
year of her age. She lived to see thirteen grandchildren and ten great- 
grandchildren. There are many in Elmira who may yet remember her 
and her quaint sayings, ways, and manners, partaking of tlie character 
of former and far away days and generations. 

Jervis Langdon was born in Vernon, Oneida County, N. Y., which, in 
the year of his birth, 1809, was as remote from the centers of civiliza- 
tion as Alaska is now. What opportunities there existed for eduiation 
were embraced by him, and )iis life, until he vvas eighteen years of age, 
was similar to that of a hundred lads of his day and generation. His 
business life, that was one of exceeding activity, extending over a period 
of more then forty years, was very modestly begun in the town of his 
birth in 1827 in a country store. For a little more than ten years he 
was engaged in similar occupation in several of the towns of the neigh- 
borhood or not very far therefrom. These early years of his were years 
of struggle for the present and of preparation and purification for the 
future, consuming the dross and refining the gold. Mr. Langdon was 
never in any sense a public man, his life being very far removed from 
publicity of any kind except in its latter years, when the magnitude and 
success of iiis business operations attracted the attention of his compet- 
itors and the admiration of his friends. For publicity in any political 
sense he had no taste, and for politics as they are understood in this 
country he had almost an abhorrence, for they contained little that is 
attractive or satisfying to men mentally constructed as was Mr. Lang- 
don. And yet he had deep-seated convictions relating to certain polit- 
ical principles which he never hesitated to express or to act upon, and act 
upon with his whole heart. 

Mr. Langdon's life had three paramount elements in it that were 
always perceptible. They had to do with his business, his home, and 
his religion : if you touched one you were very apt to touch them all, 
and he not only crowned them all with large measure of success as the 
world goes, but gave to each a character that in the hard, realistic age 
in which we live might be called ideal in its completeness, purity, and 



BIOGRAPHICAL. f.l! 

unselfishness. Until 1838 it can liardly be said that Mr. I.angdon's 
business life had begun. For eleven years he was little more than drift- 
wood floating apparently aimlessly between Vernon, Oneida County, 
Ithaca and Knfield, Tom|)lvins County, and Salina, Onondaga County. 
Sometimes his engagements and operations were successful, but the gen- 
eral rule seemed to be that either through some misunderstanding, the 
improprieties or misfortunes ot men with whom he was connected, or his 
own unselfish, self-sacrificing disposition, the sum total of his ventures 
stood rather against than for him, so much so that a number of obliga- 
tions incurred in these years were not entirely i^atisfied until after he had 
removed to Elmiraand many years had elapsed. It should be remem- 
bered, too, that in those years that terrible financi.il depression, culminat- 
ing in the ever memorable year 1837, rested heavily on the wliole com- 
mercial world. There have been other seasons of " hard times " in this 
country, but none of them has got quite so near down to the stony bed- 
rock of absolute distress as did those still remembered as the "hard times" 
of 'ij. To men of foresight and prudence who had reefed everything 
and set their ships all taut for the storm they were a strain that made 
the very foundations of the keel complain and groan, threatening de- 
struction. What must they have been to the new and inexperienced 
who were only just beginning their careers ? The recollection of the later 
generations concerning Mr. Langdon make it seem rather anomalous to 
write that in these early years of his life he stood behind the counter of 
an obscure country store, sold goods by the )ard or bushel, and in their 
turn was a salt-boiler and dealer in cord wood ! Yet this country is full 
of similar instances where from humbler surroundings and less reputable 
employments men have risen to positions of great responsibility and 
honor, and have filled them in such a way as to attract the attention and 
ajiplause of mankind. 

In 1838 Mr. Langdon first came into Chemung County to the little 
hamlet of Millport. The place was small, but great activity prevailed 
there, initiated by the completion of the Chemung Canal. It has been 
said that at that time it aspired to be the rival of Elmira in business im- 
portance and population ! It is certain that there were more boats built 
there than in any other " port " along the line of the canal, and this 
business alone brought many workmen, capitalists, and businessmen to 



fil'2 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

the locality. There was a very promising outlook for the future. Mr. 
Langdon's partner here was at first Myron Collins, a man very highl}- 
regarded all through that region and one whose memory is \'et cherished 
in more localities than that in which Millport is situated Afterward 
there became interested in business with Mr. Langdon Wihiani H Phil 
lips, at one time a well known and enterprising citizen of Elmira, v\ho 
before this had conducted the foundry on Lake street, the first enterprise 
of the kind in the valley. In Millport Mr. Langdon for the first time 
became interested in the lumber trade, not only selling, but manufactur- 
ing, and it is therefore here that his business life really began, for in tiiat 
trade he was engaged for many years, and he developed it to larger and 
more extensive proportions than any other one man or concern inter- 
ested in that line in all that region. But even then the Millport venture 
brought no substantial returns, the lumber trade in that locality being 
only in its infancy, the chief and only gain being a five years' experience. 
Mr. Langdon returned to Ithaca for two years, continuing in the same 
business, but in' 1845, attracted by the growing importance of Elmira 
and by the increasing opportunities for his business, he removed to that 
city and was a resident thereof thereafter until the time of his death. 

Associated with him in business for several years, the firm name be- 
ing Andrus & Langdon, was S. G. Andrus, who had preceded him to 
Elmira by five or six years, a gentleman of generous impulses and 
quick business perceptions and given somewhat to a similar method of 
thought that was Mr. Langdon himself. He had been prominent in 
the social, business, and religious circles of Elmira ever since he had 
become a resident of the village, was a pronounced anti slavery man, 
and was one of the number that broke away from the old Presb)'terian 
Church and formed the organization that has since become Park 
Church. In those old lively lumber days of the valley there was no 
firm more prominent or more active than that of Andrus & Langdon, 
and there must be those in Elmira now who remember it when it was 
in the height of its prosperity, standing among the first if not the first 
for enterprise and push in all the region. There were others besides Mr. 
Andrus engaged at dift'erent times with Mr. Langdon in liis business, 
but his was the name that led, upon him rested most of the responsibil- 
ity for the enterprises in which they were engaged, and his was the 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 613 

brain that conceived and planned the operations to be undertaken. 
Whoever they were appeared simply as the modest Co. after the lead- 
ing name. It has been J. Langdon & Co. now for many years. 

The business capacities of Mr. Langdon from the time that he came 
to Klmira began to have unlimited opportunities to develop and ex- 
pand. He very speedily outgrew the Elmira market that itself after a 
while diminished rather than increased, and he acquired and controlled 
large interests in various other places, notably in Belmont, Allegany 
County, and Hornellsville and Campbelltown, Steuben County, N. Y. , 
and in Lavvrehceville and Williamsport, Pa. Even with all of these and 
more his business life had not as j-et taken on its most important aspect. 
There are other interests closely allied to the lumber business to which 
it naturally and almost necessarily leads up, and many times they are 
united. Those regions in which Mr. Langdon operated in the lumber 
business were not long in yielding up their last stick of timber of such 
qualit)' that it could come into successful competition with that supplied 
from newly oijened sources in the Western country and Canada. But 
at the same time there were uncovered other products, as one might 
say, which were vastly more valuable than all the timber that had been 
growing there. To this new field Mr. Langdon directed energies that 
had been sharpened and quickened by the business he had heretofore 
followed. In the production of iron he was engaged for a brief period, 
having under his control atone time in Spuyten Duyvil on the Hudson 
River a large rolling- mill. But his energies were not directed long in 
that line. He was one of the first in that region to engage in the hand- 
ling and forwarding of coal and he eventually became the owner of 
mines and a miner. To this business the remaining years of his life 
were devoted and with great financial success. His interests became 
widespread and far-reaching and he was the pioneer in the wholesale 
anthracite coal trade from Buffalo through the lakes to Chicago and the 
far West. His was the first load of hard coal that ever drew up to the 
wharves of Chicago, his business developing into a great trade, with 
dealings the extent of which was equal to that of any of the great cor- 
porations of the world. In the middle ages and in the early history of 
the mercantile affairs of the world such a business as Mr. Langdon 
originated, developed, and carried on would have entitlcd_^him to be 



fiU OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ranked with princes and given him the right to stand before kings! 
Men doing much less than did he in more conspicuous locaUties have 
given rise to tlie expression, too common now to be of much meaning 
or value, of " merchant princes !" 

The home life of Mr. Langdon began on July 23, 1832, while he was 
living in Enfield, Tompkins County, when he married Olivia Lewis, the 
daughter of Edward Lewis, a farmer of Lenox, Madison County, N. Y. 
She was born on August 19, 18 10. It was she who made for him the 
home that was always to him an element in his life of great helpfulness, 
force, and strength. Fortunate and hopeful, or depresse'd and in the 
midst of uncertainty and doubt, he was always sure to find at liis own 
fireside hope, encouragement, unbounded trust, and tlie purest aftec- 
tion. And whether at the humbler beginnings of their career, or at its 
close when acquired wealth had surrounded them with almost every 
desire of the heart, it was always the same, contentment, the corner- 
stone of happiness, was the foundation of the home to which he never 
returned without gratification and which he never quitted without 
regret. 

There is a curious coincidence in connection with the houses that Mr. 
Langdon occupied in Elmira that concerns another one of the older 
merchants of the vallej'. When the family came from Ithaca in 1 845 
their first residence was at the corner of Main and West Second streets. 
The house was one built by Anson C. Ely. It was subsequently owned 
by G. M. Nye and on the spot where it was situated now stands the 
residence and otfice of Dr. William C. Wey. In 1847 ^'^i"- Langdon 
bought a house on what is now East Union street. It became after- 
ward the residence of William E. Judson, also with Mr. Langdon one of 
the lumber merchants of the lumber days of the village. It was still 
afterward the residence of Daniel R. Pratt, and was subsequently re- 
moved to the west side of Lake street a little below Clinton, where now 
very much modernized it stands somewhat of an ornament to the thor- 
oughfare. The second time Mr. Langdon moved it was to another 
house that Anson C. Ely built, the present Langdon home at Main and 
West Church streets. As Mr. Ely built it it was at the time one of the 
most noticeable dwellings in the village, but Mr. Langdon altered, im- 
proved, and beautified it and its surroundings, and it now stands one of 



BIOGRAPHICAL. G15 

the most inviting and capacious residences and one of the most com- 
fortable homes in the \alley. 

Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Langdon: Ohvia, on Feb- 
ruary 2, 1870, married Samuel L. Clemens, the " Mark Twain" of our 
American literature. Thej' have three children living. Gen. Charles 
J. Langdon, the only son of Jervis Langdon, was born in Elmira on Au- 
gust 13, 1849. He has had the advantage of a fine education, which was 
completed by an extended tour which comprised a journey around the 
world, at the time it was taken being rather an infrequent experience 
for a young American. He completed his majority only a few days af- 
ter his father's death, and as young as he was took up the thread of the 
large business and has continued, extended, and expanded it with a 
shrewdness, capacity, and judgment that certifies to the world the 
strong qualities of his head and the further fact that there was transmit- 
ted to I'im many of his father's business qualities that had made him so 
successful. He has inherited also the generous and tender hearted ini 
pulses of his fatiier that carry the name of Langdon along the same 
lines that the father bore it so conspicuously and nobly. General Lang- 
don, also like his father, is an eager, zealous, and enthusiastic Republi- 
can in his party faith and affiliations, and so disposed could command 
any public office he chose at their hands. He was connected with the 
One Hundred and Tenth Battalion of the county during its existence 
as major and served on Governor Cornell's staff in 1880 as commis- 
sary-general, from which he gets the military title by which he is known 
all over the State, and he has served many years efficiently and with 
the best of judgment as one of the police commissioners of the city of 
Elmira. On October 12, 1870, he married Ida B. Clark, a daughter of 
the Hon. Jefferson B. Clark, and through her mother a descendant of 
the McDowell family, one of the oldest and in their times most con- 
spicuous families of the county. They have three children, Julia Olivia, 
Jervis, and Ida. Mrs. Jervis Langdon died on November 28, 1890, 
having completed the eightieth year of her age. Few women dying 
leave a sweeter memory than did she, redolent with generous impulses 
and full of Christian hope and love. 

Probably the strongest element in Jervis Langdon's life was the re- 
ligious. It seemed to permeate every corner and crevice of his being. 



eifi OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

I mean by the religious, the underlying principle of Christianity, to do 
to others as you would thej'^ should do to you ; to suffer wrong rather 
than to do wrong. Time and time and time again did this principle 
manifest itself in Mr. Langdon's active business career. In private 
conversation with one whom he loved he has said : "If I can't do busi- 
ness as a Christian I won't do business at all." 

If any man in these latter days ever" went about doing good " it was 
Jervis Langdon. No one with even the slightest or most indistinct claim 
on his attention or generosity ever went to him for assistance and was 
denied the help he asked for, and the cry of distress, necessity, or want 
fell painfully upon his ear with immediate effect, meeting an instant re- 
sponse without thought of further inquiry. And this was as much a 
characteristic of his nature when his means were limited and a gift meant 
some deprivation for himself as it was when a liberal donation was only 
a gratification of his generous impulses. To leave such a memory as 
this alone would be something that it would take many generations to 
obliterate. That it could ever become entirely obscured is doubtful, for 
good deeds have a life in them that seems to be immortal. Men con- 
spicuous, but unostentatiously so, as Mr. Langdon was, for having done 
them, have their names spoken with love and reverence for ages after 
they are gone. 

There was one open manifestation of Mr. Langdon's religious senti- 
ments and liberality that marked his whole career. Whatever result his 
business relations may have brought him in the various localities where 
he lived his presence there was of good intent. In Enfield, by his en- 
ergy, efforts, and such liberality as his means would allow, there was a 
new meeting-house left when he removed from that hamlet, and very 
soon after his arrival in Millport, by the same means, there was a new 
meetinghouse erected there. Elmira has an indebtedness to him of a 
similar character. Park Church, one of the most beautiful and com- 
pletely appointed edifices in the country, and one that has been the pat- 
tern and example of others in other places, while many other loving 
hands and hearts have materially aided toward its erection, would hardly 
have been possible as is in its serene and suggestive beauty and mag- 
nitude, for as it is it is largely, very largely, due to the well-directed 
munificence of Jervis Langdon. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 617 

Mr. Laiigdon died oil August 6, 1870, liaving only reached the sixty- 
first year of his age. His life could hardly be said to have been com- 
pleted. There were cherished hopes unrealized ; plans formed that 
could not be executed ; beneficent actions contemplated that must be 
left undone. The cutting short at near its zenith of such a life as his 
was a sad visitation, whose influence reached far beyond the limited 
circle whose circumference was traced by light from his fireside, and the 
prolongation of it could only have resulted in good wherever the light 
of his countenance might have fallen. But he lived long enough to be 
the means of bestowing much happiness in the world ; to have made it 
all the better for his presence; and to demonstrate clearly that a sincere 
Christian character can govern all of a man's plans and actions, and far 
from being detrimental to his worldly interests can lie at their very 
foundations and aid them in yielding him abundant returns. 

Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Langdon : Susan, born 
February 18, 1836, was on December 7, 1858, married to Theodore W. 
Crane, a son of Hiram Crane, one of the earlier lumber merchants of 
Elmira. Theodore W. Crane died on July 3, 1889. He became con- 
nected in business with Mr. Langdon soon after his marriage and so 
continued as long as Mr. Lanndon lived. After Mr. Langdon's death 
Mr. Crane was one of the most prominent and most valued members of 
the firm of J. Langdon & Co. The other two are Olivia (Mrs. Sam- 
uel L. Clemens) and Gen. Charles J. Langdon already mentioned. T. 



RATHBONE, HENRY WELLINGTON, who for a generation 
was one of the most prominent citizens of Elmira, was born on 
August 14, 1813, in Oxford, Chenango Count)', N. Y. His father, Gen. 
Ransom Rathbone, came of New England stock and was born in Con- 
necticut. He was educated at Oxford Academy, an institution of su- 
perior educational advantages, long evidenced by such graduates as 
Henry R. Mygatt, Ward Hunt, Sherman S. Rogers, and others, who 
were contemporary with Mr. Rathbone. Early in his business career 
was developed a controlling taste for manufacturing, and for several 
years he operated paper-mills near Oxford. In 1859 he became a res- 
ident of Steuben County and soon established a large business in Ratli- 

78 



618 OUR COUNTY A.\D ITS PEOPLE. 

boneville, a prosperous town which received its name from his famil\-. 
There he remained for nearly twenty years extensively engaged in lum- 
bering, mercantile, and milling enterprises. His relations with the mer- 
■cantile and lumbering interests of the State gave him a wide acquaint- 
ance with other representative men with whom his unusual executive 
ability and personal integrity insured a most enviable and lasting repu- 
tation. 

He came to Elmira in 1858, and until his death was conspicuou^lj' 
connected with this city's growtii and prosperity. Soon after his ar- 
rival he with others organized the Elmira Rolling- Mill Company, 1.0 
the success of which he has given his best energies for many years. He 
has largely contributed in placing it among the most important and 
prosperous industries of the State. For years Mr. Rathbone's name lias 
been prominent in the directory of banks, railroads, coal and manufact- 
uring companies, and all have recognized in him a character most ad- 
mirable and to be respected. While his political affiliations were always 
with the Democratic party his individual views on tariff and financial 
questions differed at times from those of his party and induced him to cast 
his vote accordingly. He never accepted public office, although fre- 
quently solicited by his party to do so, and was content with the life of 
a private citizen in the broadest and highest sense. He was a member 
of Trinity Church, iiid to its support and charitable projects his gifts 
have been regular, substantial, and unostentatious. He died on Sep- 
tember 29, 1891. His death removed one of Elmira's best citizens, — 
a man of sterling character and of rare moral substance. In society 
Mr. Rathbone held an exalted position, and was a representative of the 
old school of gentlemen now fast being numbered with the dead. His 
substantial fortune represents the result of intelligent and honorable 
application to large business enterprises, and as a whole his life and the 
name he has left well illustrate the possible achievements of individual 
integrity, intelligence, and capacity in the material affairs of this world. 

On July 14, 1846, Mr. Rathbone married Sarah Elizabeth Bailey, of 
New York city, a daughter of Capt. James Bailey, of the United States 
.army. His children are Mrs. John A. Reynolds, William Henry Rath- 
bone, and James Bailey Rathbone, all of the city of Elmira. 




f '« hEi iCiffwms llBm ^ 




BIOGRAPHICAL. Gl? 

TOWNER, DANIEL AKIN, M.D.— This skillful and successful 
physician was the first one to introduce into Southern and West- 
ern New York the homoeopathic system of the practice of medicine. 
His ancestors came from Wales late in the seventeenth centurj'and set- 
tled on Long Island. His grandfather, Samuel Towner, went thence 
into Putnam County, where he became the owner of hundreds of acres 
of land and gave his name to a postoffice, railroad station, and small 
liamlet, still called thereby Towner's. James Towner, Dr. Towner's 
father, was county judge, county clerk, and member of Assembly of his 
county at times and a conspicuous man always of his locality. Martha 
Towner, one of James Towner's sisters, married Dr. John Hayt, of Ith- 
aca, who became one of the earliest settlers of Corning, N. Y., and was 
the father of the Hon. Stephen T. Ilaj't, still prominent in that locality. 
Another sister of James Towner married James Haviland, father of Ward 
Haviland, one time a prominent citizen and miller of Elmira, and him- 
self father of Addison T. Haviland, also for many years an esteemed cit- 
izen of Elmira, who died in 1891. Judge James Towner's wife was a 
member of the Akin family, also of Putnam County, members of which 
have always been well known in its history. There were ten children 
in the family, seven boys and three girls. One son, James Orville 
Towner, lived many years in Ithaca, N. Y., and married a sister of Sam- 
uel B. Strang, of Elmira. Two other sons, Benjamin A. and Samuel 
Towner, were among the early lumber merchants in Elmira and re- 
moved thence to Albany. Daniel Akin Towner, the second child and 
eldest son of the famijj', was born in Towner's, September 6, 1806. He 
was educated in the schools in the neighborhood of his father's home, 
finishing under the tutorship of the Presbyterian clergyman of the town,. 
Dr. Benedict, a highly cultured gentleman of the old school. After 
some preliminary studies in the office of Dr. Howland, a phj'sician of 
much more than local fame. Dr. Towner attended the famous medical 
school at Fairfield, Herkimer County, N. Y., and was graduated from 
that institution with high honors. He remained for a time in Putnam 
County and then took up his residence in Etna, Tompkins County, 
which at the time, in 1833, was of much more promise than its aspiring 
neighbor, Ithaca. In 1834 he, however, removed to Ithaca. He served 
several terms as coroner of Tompkins County and was prominent ia 



620 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the social, cluirch, and political circles of the region. On January 23, 
1833, he married Maria Birdsall, of Otego, Otsego County, N. Y. She 
was born April i, 18 10, and was the member of a family some of whom 
have been citizens of Elmira, notablj' William Birdsall, who was among 
the early lumber merchants of that city and for many years well known 
there. Mrs. Towner's mother was Wealtliy Webster, of the family to 
which Daniel Webster belonged. A brother of Mrs. Towner, the Hon. 
Ausburn Birdsall, was member of Congress from the Binghamton dis- 
trict in 1847-48, was naval officer of the port of New York during the 
administration of James Buchanan, and married a daughter of the Hon. 
D. S. Dickinson. Another of Mrs. Towner's brothers, Lemuel, mar- 
ried Ophelia, a daughter of Elder Crane, a famous' Baptist minister of 
his day and a cousin of Elder Ezra F. Crane, of wliom something 
has heretofore been said in this record. 

Dr. Towner's family consisted of seven children, three of whom died in 
infancy. The eldest was Emma Ophelia, who married Freeman Cornish, 
a member of the Cornish family, of Plymouth, Mass. She died in St. Louis, 
Mo., on January 28, 1859. Dr. Towner's oldest son was James Ausburn 
Towner, born in Ithaca, May 12, 1836. On January 25, 1870, he married 
Annie Augusta Fassett, of Albany, N.Y., and their children are : Ausburn 
Fassett Towner, born in Albany, December 3, 1870; Mabel Fassett 
Towner, born in Elmira, April 12, 1873 ; Neile Fassett Towner, born in 
Elmira, August 11, 1875; and Isabel Louise Towner, born in New 
York city. May 24, 1884. Dr. Towner's second daughter, Louise, was 
born in Elmira, N. Y., Januarj' 7, 1843. She was married to Edward 
Birdsall Youmans on February 25, 1868, and their children are Edward 
T. Youmans, born in Elmira, November 11, 1869; Grace Louise You- 
mans, born August 24, 1876; Elizabeth May, born in Elmira, August 
15, 1878. E. B. Youmans, descended from Holland Dutch stock, was 
born in Otego, Otsego County, N. Y., on May 15, 1836, and was edu- 
cated at the Delaware Literary Institute, Franklin, Delaware County, 
N. Y. He studied law in the office of his brother, the Hon. William 
Youmans, of Delhi, N. Y. On his admission to the bar lie practiced 
for a time in Otego, removing in 1872 to Elmira, where he has since 
resided. His practice has been successful and remunerative. Soon 
after coming to Elmira he was elected secretary of the Board of Edu- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 621 

cation and served as such for tliree terms. He was afterward a member 
of the board from tlie first commissioner district for four years, from 
iSSi to 1885. He has always been a firm and consistent Democrat, 
working in the ranks with earnestness and zeal, often with vehemence 
and impetuosity. In tlie presidential canipaign of 1884 he was the 
chairman of the Chenuing County Democratic Committee, and in July, 
1 885, he was appointed chief clerk of the Treasury Department at Wash- 
ington. He served as such throughout the Cleveland administration, 
retiring from the office in May, 1889. He is at the head of the prom- 
inent law firm in Elniira of Younians, Moss & Knipp. 

Dr. Towner's youngest son, Charles Frederick Towner, was born in 
Elmira on December 31, 1848. On December 3, 1873, he was mar- 
ried to Elizabeth Beales, of Brooklyn, N. Y. One daughter, Leslie 
Towner, was born to them on September i, 1874. She died November 
I, 1889. Charles F. Towner is now a resident of New York city. Dr. 
Towner removed from Ithaca to Elmira in the spring of 1837 '*"<^ fo*" ^ 
time was engaged in the mercantile business, but becoming interested in 
the new method of medical practice just then beginning to gain ground 
in this country, convinced of its excellence and sincere in the belief that 
by its means he could make his life a useful one, he resumed the practice 
of the profession for which he was especially fitted by nature and lor 
which he had been trained by a long course of study. He was emin- 
ently successful and won for the new and scientific discovery of Hahne- 
mann in all the region where he practiced a place and a hold that time 
has only widened and strengthened. He won also for himself friends 
on all sides, such as a sympathetic physician is always sure to win, and 
in a great many families in the valley he is yet remembered and his name 
yet spoken with tenderness and respect. He died August 28, 1857, in 
Lyons, Iowa, whither he had gone on account of certain real estate op- 
erations into which he had entered in that State. His widow is now a 
resident of Washington, D. C. T. 



C22 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

DECKER, DAVID.— The late David Decker was born in Rox- 
bury, Delaware County, N. Y., January 15, 1816. His father 
was Gilbert Decker, a farmer, and he was the second of the four sons 
and three daughters who grew to mature age. His early life was 
spent on the farm at Roxbury and in Cortland County, N. Y., where 
the family subsequently moved. He was educated in the common 
schools of that day. In the year 1848 he took charge of a store and 
tannery at Summitville, Sullivan County, N. Y., and for a number of 
years continued in the tanning business there. In 1854 the lease of tiie 
tannery was transferred to his brother, Casper S , and David moved to 
Elniira, where he engaged in the grain business. In 1859 he began the 
construction of a tannery at Wellsburg, N. Y., his brother Casper S. 
joining him in its management; they continued as partners until 1863, 
when David purchased entire control. He kept his home in Elmira 
while doing business in Wellsburg and was interested in many enter- 
prises there, being president of the Nobles Manufacturing Company, of 
the Southern Tier Savings Bank, and of the First National Bank at 
various times. He was supervisor of his ward and very active in Re- 
publican politics. He was greatly interested in education and served on 
the city board, at one time as president, and was officially connected 
with the seminaries both at Ovid and Lima and with Genesee College, 
which afterward became Syracuse University, of which he was a trus- 
tee at the time of his death, September 27, 1890. He served as man- 
ager of the State Reformatory at Elmira and of the State Custodial 
Asylum at Newark, N. Y., and in many other ways was of service to 
the city and State. His generosity was well known and freely drawn 
upon for charity in the city, and for many benevolent causes and enter- 
prises beyond its limits. He was one of the leading Methodists of 
Elmira, president of the Board of Trustees of Hedding Church, and 
several times a delegate to the general conferences. 

Mr. Decker was married twice, first in 1846 to Cordelia Schultz. 
Eight children were born to these parents, six of whom survive them, 
namely: Morris S., of Orange, N. J.; Abrani I., of \Vaverly, N. Y. ; 
Mrs. R. M. Losie, of Wellsburg, N. Y. ; Mrs. J. H. Pierce, of Elmira ; 
and two younger daughters who reside in Elmira. Mrs. Decker died 
early in the year 1 872. For his second wife Mr. Decker married in 1 873 
Mrs. Lucinda Burlingame, who died in 1888. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. G23 

ROr-:, JOHN CHARLES.— The Roe family can readily and accu- 
rately trace its descent away back to the ninth century and to the 
famous Northmen, who were great sailors and rovers of the sea. One 
of the name in tliat far away time must have been of noble birth, for he 
had a coat of arms which bore the motto " Tramitc Recti," meaning " in 
the way and rightly there." His descendants eventually settled in Eng- 
land and France and in all the records seemed to have lived up to the 
motto of their ancestor, serving their king or their country without fear 
or favor. The first representative of this family to come to this country 
was John Roe, who settled on Long Island in 1640. He appears as one 
of the signers to the treaty of sessions of Long Island with the Indians, 
by which it is set forth that every acre of land occupied by the whites 
was fully paid for. Two of John Roe's family were engaged in the 
French and Indian wars, one of whom gave his life in the service of the 
English king. During the Revolution many of the family served in the 
cause of the colonies as privates, corporals, minutemen, and captains. 
In the War of 1812 the name appears frequently again among those in 
arms both on sea and land. And in the Civil war the old viking spirit 
of the family seemed yet to be alive, witnessed by the number of those 
who bore the name of Roe who served as sailors, artillerymen, and com- 
manders of vessels, several of them rising to high distinction. This ap- 
plies to the local branch of the family as we shall see. 

The descendants of John Roe of Long Island arevery numerous all over 
this land, from the New England States to Texas, California, and Washing- 
ton, and wherever they are found they all point to the East as their 
origin and to John Roe as their common ancestor. Many of them have 
arisen to high places in the history of their country in all of the walks 
of life, as ministers, physicians, men of war, and authors. They have 
all been noted for their faithfulness to friends and to their word, slow of 
speech, but quick in action, of intense patriotic impulses, and meriting 
the title of noble, gracious gentlemen. This is the record of a family 
that has had distinguished representatives throughout the civilized world 
for more than i,ooo years. The father of John Charles Roe was also 
John Roe, and he lived north of New York city on the east side of the 
Hudson River. He subsequently removed to New York city and thence 
in after years to Havana, N. Y., where he died in 1831. His wife sur- 



G24 OUR COUNTY AND JTS PEOPLE. 

vived him and died in Elmira. There were ten children in their family, 
six sons and four daughters. Benjamin Roe lived a bachelor and died 
in Peekskill, Westchester County, N. Y.; Elizabeth was twice married, 
the first time to Donald McDonald, of Havana, N. Y., and second to a 
Mr. Phillips; she died in Newburgh, N.Y.; Harris Roe was three times 
married, his second wife being Catharine Rowlands and his third liunice 
Fox; he died in Dryden, Tompkins County, N.Y.; William Roe died 
young in New York city ; Isaac Roe, as we have heretofore seen, mar- 
ried Hannah Drake and died in Elmira ; Sarah Roe became the wife of 
Mr. Ainsworth and is dead ; Phoebe Roe married Mr. Tervvilliger and 
died in Dryden, N. Y.; Martha Julia Roe married Joseph R. Miller; and 
James Roe died in infancy. John Charles Roe, of this family, the ninth 
child and fifth son, was born in New York city on October 27, 1801. 
He remained at home until he was eighteen years of age enjoying the 
priviliges of the common schools of New York city, such as they were 
at that time. At the age named, in 18 19, he quitted his home and 
made his way, mostly on foot, from Newburgh to what was then the very 
diminutive hamlet of Newtown on the Tioga, It would have been of 
the most interesting nature if he or one situated similarly to him could 
have made record of his impressions on revisiting the city of his birth 
years after he left it, noting the changes that had been made and 
whether or not he could recognize anything of the town as he knew it 
in his boyhood, or if he could have set forth a comparison between the 
Newtown of the year 18 19 and the Elmira of his advanced years. 

Young Roe apprenticed himself on arriving in Newtown to Joe Jones 
to learn the art and mystery of the tailor business. That he worked 
faithfully, industriously, and prudently is abundantly shown by his 
whole after life, for his character was all formed on such a basis and re- 
mained so to the end. In only a few years he had accumulated a suffi- 
cient sum to set up business for himself, and had his shop, a well known 
spot at the time, at the southern end of the Lake street bridge. There 
had settled in this locality in the year 1815 one who became a very 
prominent business man and citizen of Elmira, Isaac Reynolds. He had 
come from Westchester County, N. Y., with his famil)' and his family 
possessions in a large canvass-covered wagon similar to the vehicles 
afterward known as "prairie schooners." He had built himself a house 



niOGRAPHICAL. 62.'> 

on the Soiitliport side of the river, still, altliough considerably clianged, 
known as the " old Isaac Reynolds house." He was a merchant and 
trader, shipping from Elmira by means of rafts and arks to points along 
the Susqiieiianna River lumber, salt, plaster, and grain, and he was 
known from Newtown Point to tide-water as " Uncle Isaac." He was 
a roughly dressed and sometimes harsh spoken man, but very kind 
hearted and generous. After the canal was completed he engaged in 
boat building, his yard being where the tobacco establishment of John 
Brand is now located, at the south end of Lake street bridge ; he was 
also at first and for some time employed in the business of storage and 
forwarding, occupying the large storehouse on the canal basin fronting 
on what is now Nicks street. During his active business career he was 
one of the most conspicuous of local characters, being somewhat ec- 
centric in his manners and speech, but not uncomfortably or unmannerly 
so. He died on September 3, 1865, and was buried with Masonic 
honors. He enjoyed the satisfaction of having seen before he died all 
of his sons good Masons, a wish he had frequently expressed. He had 
ten children and it is pleasant to recall their names, as they were all 
prominent in the village and young city days of Elmira in its business 
and social circles. John M. Reynolds, one son, died in San Francisco, 
Cal.; Isaac H. Reynolds, better known and perhaps better remembered 
by those who can remember him at all as " Ike " Reynolds, is now living 
in Ohio; Absalom Reynolds and Odell both died in Elmira; Samue"! 
N. Reynolds, the youngest son, is still a resident of Elmira. His wife 
was Stella Ferris, one of the beauties of Elmira in her young days, a 
daughter of Myron H. Ferris, who came just before the war from Ithaca 
and established in Elmira a barrel factory. She died in 1891. 

Isaac Reynolds's daughters were Sarah Jane, who died unmarried ; 
Julia, who became the wife of William Moore, of Lake Ridge; Clarissa, 
who married F"red C. Steele, a prominent business man of Elmira for 
many years and at one time treasurer of the village. Adelaide Rey- 
nolds, another daughter, became the wife of M. M. Moe and has con- 
tributed to the literature of the country some very exquisite minor 
poems or lyrics, and is the author of one gem of a book, " The Old 
Fountain Inn," which, although somewhat local in its inception, is of 
wide general interest and application. Schuyler C. Reynolds, at one 



«2G O UK CO UN TV A XD I TS PEOPL E. 

time a successful lawyer ofElmiraand president of the Board of Trus- 
tees of the village in the early years of the war, was of kin to Isaac 
Reynolds. The eldest daughter of Isaac Reynolds was named Eliza- 
beth Ann, and she was married to John C. Roe on December 23, 1830. 
She was a stately and unusually attractive girl, and retained her impres- 
sive appearance as long as she lived. To her physical comeliness was 
added a character that made her beloved b}- all who knew her and 
kindly thought of by all who only knew of her. She was one of the 
earliest members of Grace Church at its foundation and worked zeal- 
ously in its behalf and in all Christian endeavors. She died on Januarj- 
27, 1882, and will not soon be forgotten. She was the mother of si.x 
children, four sons and two daughters, only two of whom are now living. 
John Milton Roe was born in Southport, September 29, 1831. He was 
a magnificent specimen of manhood, almost physically perfect, and 
made one of the finest looking officers of the One Hundred and Seventh 
Regiment, in which organization he served in the Civil war as first 
lieutenant. He married Laura B. Temple, of Elmira, on November 9, 
1859, and was the father of three children, of whom only one, Thomas 
Temple Roe, of Chicago, 111., is now living. He died on October 6, 
1866. William Henry Roe, the second son of John C. Roe, was born 
in Southport on February 28, 1834. He married Julia S. Buck, of Au • 
rora, 111., and died in that city on August 26, 1885. Their only child, 
George Ernest Roe, is now a resident of Denver, Col. Joseph Miller 
Roe, the third son of John C. Roe, was born in Elmira on October 6, 
1837, ''"'^ married Matilda Nichols, of Southport, on December 3, 1879. 
The}' have no children. Mr. Roe is one of the substantial and highly 
regarded citizens of Elmira, deeply interested in its prosperity and ad- 
vancement. He served in the Twenty-third Regiment during the Civil 
war as an officer. Charles Fletcher Roe, the youngest son of John C. 
Roe, was born in Elmira on September25, 1844. On October 13, 1875, 
he married Mary Alice Lowman, of Lowmanville, N. Y., a member of 
one of the most prominent families in the valley, the ancestors of which 
Avere among its earliest settlers. Their children are Edward Lowman, 
born January 29, 1878; Elizabeth, born April 8, 1880; Lenna, born 
September 24, 1881 ; and John Charles, born July 17, 1887. Mr. Roe 
is of a thrifty, enterprising turn of mind, and with large means at his 
disposal has done much to beautify and improve the city of his birth. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. G2r 

In 1835 John C. Roe purchased the property on what is now the 
corner of Railroad avenue and East Water street, removing his shop 
thither as well as his residence. These premises are still in possession 
of the family, and upon the lot Charles F. Roe has recently erected one 
of the sightliest and most attractive brick blocks in the city. In 1839 
Mr. Roe purchased the lot on the corner of what is now West Church 
and Davis streets, away out in the country then, and building a house 
on the premises lived there until 185 i, when he acquired the property 
at the corner of West Second and Main streets, now the residence of 
his son, Joseph M. Roe. On this spot as a home Mr. Roe passed the 
remainder of his days, dying there on September 9, 1887, at the ad- 
vanced age of eighty-six years. At the time of his removal to this new 
home, when he had rounded out the full half century of his life, his fail- 
ing health and the physical misfortune of an almost entire loss of his 
hearing compelled him to give up his active business life; and thencefor- 
ward to the end, which, however, reached a period of almost forty years, 
he devoted himself to the care of his property and to dealings in real 
estate and securities. With care and prudence his store constantly in- 
creased and he died a man of much wealth. In all of his business rela- 
tions he was a man of great honesty and uprightness, exacting only 
what he was always willing to yield, and doing generous deeds, un- 
known at the time, that make his memory especially cherished by a 
good many families in tlie county and valley. In some neighborhoods 
you speak the name of John Roe and you will see more than one aged 
face light up with a glow of gratitude and pleasure that is fanned into 
life by a recollection that tells how " he helped me save to my wife and 
children my little farm or my little home." Such remembrances as 
these are fondly cherished and revived by loving friends, and arc a 
compensation that entirely eclipses the tattle of street corners and 
barrooms. 

He was a thorough business man ; punctilious in the extreme in ful- 
filling his own obligations he required the same of others, but was still 
considerate of their circumstances. He was a philosopher, too. Like 
all business men, notwithstanding his prudence and caution, he met 
with some severe losses. Atone time by the notorious failure of a local- 
banking institution he lost a large sum in cash. Satisfied on careful e.\- 



628 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

amination that it was irretrievably gone he gave the matter no more 
thought. It cost him not one sigh nor caused him the loss of one wink 
of sleep. It was gone ; why whimper ? 

Mr. Roe was always acutely interested in all public measures whetlier 
of a local or general character, and but for his unfortunate deafness his 
public spirit and love of good government would have urged him to 
take an active part in pubhc affairs. In politics from conviction he was 
at first a Whig and later a Republican, and he never saw occasion to 
swerve from the pronounced stand he had made. No measure looking 
to the advancement and prosperity of his city ever came before the 
people tiiat did not find in him a strong advocate. He took an active 
interest in the public schools, was in early times one of the Board of 
Trustees having them in charge, and labored earnestly for the introduc- 
tion of the free school system. 

Mr. Roe was one of the original directors of the Elmira Mechanics 
Society and served as such for thirty three years. He was a master 
Mason and a charter member of Union Lodge under its present dispen- 
sation. One thing can be said of Mr. Roe by which he must be remem- 
bered by all who had ever seen him, and by which he should always be 
remembered : his invariably gentlemanly character or man of gentle 
manner. Under whatever circumstances he may have been placed, 
whether in the society of the refined and cultivated or among the rude 
in appearance and rough in speech, Mr. Roe always preserved the bear- 
ing, dress, and behavior of a gentleman, never ruffled or disturbed in 
temper, ever temperate and considerate in all ways. And the high 
praise can be truthfully bestowed upon him contained in the sentiment 
and sentence : " He never knowingly wronged his fellowman." T. 



MALL, FRANCIS. — Among the forty-six original proprietors of the 
first territoral " purchase " from the Indian sachem Massasoit, 
which included the present sites of Taunton, Berkeley, and Raynham, 
Mass., was George Hall, who with his wife came from Devonshire, Eng- 
land, in 1636-37. His special allotment was on the cultivated Indian 
grounds on Taunton River in the present town of Taunton, Mass., 
of which Mr. Hall was one of the founders in 1639. Portions of these 



^ BIOGRAPHICAL. G29 

lands have remained in occupancy of the original proprietors and their 
descendants for 250 years. These early colonial members of the Hall 
family were ironmasters, and it is oiil\' within a few years that a 
" bloomery " established by one of them in Taunton was torn down. 

Francis Hall is the seventh in line from the George Hall named. His 
jjreat-grandfather, Thomas Hall, removed from IMassachusetts, first to 
Lyme and afterward to Ellington, Conn., where he was a large landed 
proprietor. His son John was an extensive merchant in this latter town- 
ship near the great highway between Hartford and Boston. This John 
Hall was the father of a son also named John, who was born in Elling- 
ton, Conn., where he passed the whole of a long and useful life. A 
graduate of Yale College in 1802 he remained there for several years as 
tutor under President Timothy Dwight. He was a conspicuous man 
both in his county and State, was judge of the County Court, and fore- 
most in educational and benevolent enterprises. He was an author as 
well. He was twice married and to him was born a family patriarchal 
in numbers. There were twelve sons and four daughters. Six only are 
living, four sons and two daughters. The four sons are Francis Hall, 
born in Ellington, Conn., October 27, 1822, Frederic Hall, and Robert 
A. Hall, all of F^lmira, and Charles C. Hall, of Syracuse, N. Y. In 
1829 John Hall established the Ellington High School, which became 
the training ground of many subsequently distinguished men. His 
eldest son, Edward Hall, succeeded him in this work until his death in 
1875. A number of Elmira boys were among his pupils. Both father 
and son sleep side by side in the country churchyard, having left behind 
them a fragrant memory of earnest, useful, unselfish lives. 

A small New England village then as now offered few inducements to 
her sons to remain on the paternal soil. It was with Mr. Hall's family 
as with so many others : the sons as fast as they grew toward man's 
estate quitted the parental roof to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Francis 
Hall, when it came his turn, followed the rest in an endeavor to make his 
own way in the world. At sixteen he took private classes to instruct 
in his father's school. For the two years next following he taught dis- 
trict school in winter, " boarding 'round " from house to house as was 
the custom, receiving for his first winter's work of three months $36 
altogether. He had borrowed his slender outfit of clothing on the credit 



630 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

of his winter's earnings and had hired a watch for $i rental for the 
winter. In the summer he filled out the time with any work to which 
he could turn his hand until he found a place as clerk in a book store 
which his elder brother, L. \\'. Hall, had established in Springfield, 
Mass. It was the life of many a New England youth of that day whose 
after career shed honor upon himself and his home. When Mr. Hall 
was eighteen years of age opportunity came for him to go to Syracuse, 
N. Y., to take chief charge of a book business there whose proprietor 
had little or no experience therein. A few months later his brother. 
L. \V. Hall, removed from Springfield to Syracuse and purchased an 
interest in the same concern. He afterward quitted the book business, 
in which he had become widely and well known, and took up the prac- 
tice of the law, for which he had always had a predilection. He added 
to this a large interest in manufacturing, being one of the founders of 
the Syracuse Chilled Plow Company, now so well known throughout 
the country. He continued in active business, though with impaired 
health, until his death in 1881. 

L. W. Hall's purchase into the Syracuse book store left his brother, 
Francis Hall, at liberty for new undertakings. Looking about for another 
field of emploj-ment his attention was attracted to IClmira, then a 
"booming" town, so to speak, owing to the work in progress on the 
Erie Railroad, which was expected soon to reach the embryo city, an 
expectation which, as events proved, was not speedily fulfilled. At that 
date Elmira was esteemed a more promising locality than either Buftalo 
or Rochester. In March, 1842, Mr. Hall came to Elmira prospecting. 
He was young, agreeable in person and manners, and full of animation 
and high spirits. He met the warm welcome and encouragement 
of discerning and appreciative citizens so apt to be extended in grow- 
ing towns to the new comer. At that time Elmira with her popu- 
lation of less than 2,500 was as much of a frontier town as a city 
of Oregon or Washington is now. A recent fire had destroyed sev- 
eral stores in the business quarter, which was chiefly confined to the 
north side of Water street, also called Front street at that time, and 
between Lake and Baldwin streets. No store was to be found for the 
venture in business that Mr. Hall had concluded to make. The Hon. 
James Dunn owned a vacant lot on the river bank which is now 334 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 631 

ICast Water street. On this lot he engaged to erect a two-story frame 
building of moderate dimensions and to have it ready for occupancy in 
the first week in May, a rare stroke of enterprise for the day. Contract 
for the building was made, but how it was to be stocked with merchan- 
dise became the question. The journey to Eimira had exhausted cash 
resources and only a possible credit with the Syracuse concern remained. 
This was happily available and a modest outfit of goods, less than $500 
in value, was secured by Mr. Hall. With this and a borrowed cash 
capital of $20 to pay freight and other necessary expenses the little 
venture in the world was made. Young Hall was not yet out of his 
teens. The goods were shipped by canal to Geneva, thence by steam- 
boat to JelTerson, now Watkins There being delay in getting them re 
shipped at Watkins upon canal boats a two-horse team and wagon were 
engaged and the journey began at dayliglit to bring them the sooner 
into Eimira. The road was heavy in spring-time and the way proved a 
toilsome one. Once there was a decided " set " in the mud between 
Pine Valley and Horseheads, and only the opportune arrival of friendly 
helping hands secured release. It was in the darkness of night that the 
bo.xes were finally landed in the new store, which was still incomplete. 
There were warm hearts and homes in Eimira and tlie new comer soon 
felt that he was among friends. 

The country was poor then and business was very light. With the 
strictest economy it was impossible at first to make ends meet, even 
though the best hotel board was procurable at $2 a week, and one 
lodged in his own store. So it was a long struggle before any moderate 
success even could be had. The first year showed a loss, the second 
year was with better results, and the tiiird year showed some profit. 
After that it was comparatively plain sailing. 

In 1846 Mr. Hall married Sarah, a daughter of Miles Covell and a 
member of that family of which much has heretofore been said in this 
record. She was a peculiarly sweet and attractive woman and the 
match was a most harmonious one, being looked upon with exceeding 
favor by the whole community. The happy union was, however, broken 
by her death in 1848. Mr. Hall has never remarried. In 1S47 ^^'■■ 
Hall removed to the north side of Water street in the block in which is 
now located the book store of Morse, Hall & Loring, of which he sub- 



632 OUR COU.XTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

sequently became the owner. Mr. Hall's influence on the business, 
social, and literary life of h^lmira was marked from the first. His store 
was always the rendezvous of kindred spirits through whom there was 
aroused in the community a great deal of literary activity and growth. 
At his own risk he started the first course of lectures in Elmira of the 
old Lyceum character, bringing such men as Emerson, Whipple, Giles, 
Bayard Taylor, Saxe, Holmes, Parker, and Chapin to his town. The 
old Presbyterian Church, the First Methodist, and the Baptist Church 
each in turn was the auditorium used for the display of their learning, 
eloquence, or humor. In this enterprise Mr. Hall was aided and abet- 
ted by Daniel \V. Gillett and R. B. Coffin, the " Barry Gray " of our 
American literature among others. 

The writer of these lines cannot be the only one who remembers the 
" Hall's book store " of those days, known then all the country round. 
It was the first store in Elmira where there were no counters, having 
instead in the center a glass show-case, and while the customer was 
never "outside" the proprietor or attendant was never "behind the 
counter." And the premises were always attractive. Mr. Hall was 
always a great walker and there are few spots within a circle of three 
or four miles in diameter, on hill or dale, about Elmira that have not felt 
the pressure of his footsteps. In his early morning rambles he never 
came home empty handed. On that show-case in the spring and sum- 
mer were always the very earliest of wild flowers, trailing arbutus or 
golden rod, and in their season the water lily that used to grow pro- 
fusely about the waters of what is now Lake Eldridge, all gathered by 
Mr. Hall himself I cannot speak or think of those times without re- 
calling the characteristics that have always marked the life of Mr. Hall ; 
his careful thoughtfulness for every one who came in contact with him ; 
his consideration and loving kindness for his fellowman that as pros- 
perity has come has developed into a generosity that has made many 
happy hearts in this world. Whatever he has touched he has bright- 
ened. Those were the days when books like " Uncle Tom's Cabin" 
and " David Copperfield " in semi-monthly parts were issued, and Mr. 
Hall in his business kept along with the best that was going. He was 
the first one in Elmira to obtain and circulate the New York news- 
papers, then being only the Herald and Tribune. They came to him 



BIOGRAPHICAL. G33 

daily by express and the increase in tiiat line interfering with his regu- 
lar trade he disposed of it to one who established the first newsroom in 
the city. Mr. Hall was also the first express agent in I'.lniira and had 
charge of all the local offices on the railroad from that city to Ilorneils- 
ville. In the rear of his store also in 1847 "'^^ set up the first tele- 
graph instnmicnt that ever ticked in the village of Elmira. 

In 1858, contrary to his wishes and in direct opposition to a formal 
declination on his part made to the committee from the city caucus, Mr. 
Hall was nominated to the presidency of the Board of Trustees of ICl- 
mira. He was elected and there were three incidents during his incum- 
bency of the office that were marked ones in the history of the village. 
One of these was the establishment of the free school system. This 
system was at first optional in cities and incorporated villages in the 
State, and was to be had only on an affirmative vote of a majority of the 
tax payers. After considerable agitation of the question the matter v\as 
brought to the test of a vote in Elmira early in 1859. The proposition 
to maintain free schools was defeated. Mr. Hall became aware of the 
source of the opposition to the proposal and recognized its strength. 
He made a personal appeal in the direction indicated, and receiving 
assurances that a second attempt before the people would have a differ- 
ent result he called another meeting of the tax payers at the old court- 
house on Lake street, when to his gratification the measure was adopted. 
Another incident during the presidency of the village by Mr. Hall was 
the purchase, development, and dedication of Woodlawn Cemetery. In 
this undertaking, by virtue of his office and because of his being a mem- 
ber of the committee having it in view, Mr. Hall was very active and 
the selection of the spot chosen, with the plans prepared for its proper 
development and care, and its dedicatory services were largely due to 
his thoughtfulness and judgment. At Mr. Hall's suggestion the serv- 
ices of Howard Daniels, of New York, were engaged to make plans for 
the proper development of the grounds chosen for the cemetery. Mr. 
Daniels was a landscape engineer of unexcelled taste and skill in his special 
work. He was a genius in this direction, ahead of his time, and it is per- 
haps to be regretted that his plans so far seeing were not more strictly 
followed in after years. It was unfortunate also that Mr. Hall, who was 
perfectly conversant with his ideas and had gone over the ground with 



•C34 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

hini many times, should so soon thereafter have removed from the city. 
His absence probably contributed to the subsequent modifications of 
Mr. Daniels's plans. 

The third incident was one of the most exciting events that the an- 
nals of I-'lmira can boast. It is safe to say that few citizens remember 
it and that many more will now know of it for the first time. Some- 
thing has already been said of the "underground railroad " and of the 
prominence Elmira held as one of its stations. It can be imagined then 
perhaps what feelings were aroused when it was noised about one sum- 
mer day ill 1858 that there was a Southern slave-driver at the Brainard 
House, and with him a slave whom he had captured in the northern 
part of the State and was dragging back to bondage. It was not long 
before the corner of Baldwin and Water streets was the scene of great 
excitement. About all the colored people in town were massed there, 
some with clubs, sticks, and stones and some armed with guns, there 
being mingled also with the throng turbulent spirits with white skins 
who were ready for any trouble that might arise. The lobbies of the 
hotel were full, anti had there been a leader or had the throng been at 
all organized the imagination fails to conjure up the damage that 
might have been done. Upon Mr. Hall and Gen. (then Sheriff) Will- 
iam M. Gregg devolved the dut)' of preserving the peace in the village. 
They were apprised of the difficulty and hastened to the scene. There 
began to be cries heard that the fugitive should be surrendered and a 
number of men attempted to ascend the stairway to the upper halls of 
the hotel. The united efforts of Mr. Hall, Sheriff Gregg, "Del" Hudson, 
and Henry C. Covell were sufficient, however, to keep these men bade. 
Mr. Hall was able after a time to get to the balcony on the south side 
of the building, where he talked to the crowd, telling them that the laws 
must be observed and peace preserved. " If this fugitive wishes to re- 
turn home with his master," said Mr. Hall to them, " he shall go. If 
he don't want to go back there is no power on earth that shall force 
him from this place for that purpose." He invited two or three of their 
number to come up into the hotel and talk to the fugitive themselves. 
Acting on this suggestion Sandy Brant, Jefferson Brown, and another, all 
colored men, came into the hotel. This was the story they learned: The 
■" fugitive " had, indeed, run away from his master and his home in the 



niOGRAPHICAL. 63.> 

South. But he was a very aged man, and j^etting as far as Canandaigua 
had grown homesick and mistrusted his newl}' acquired freedom. He had 
written to this effect to his young master, whom he had attended from his 
birth, and the young master had replied by coming after iiim and on his 
way back had stopped in Elmira. This was the report that the three col- 
ored men took back to the excited crowd. The further report that the 
" fugitive" was intoxicated was also very emphatically denied. " It 's 
no use," Sandj' Brant said to Mr. Hall. " It 's no use. He wants to go 
back with his master." At first the crowd seemed determined to res- 
cue the man wliether he wanted to be rescued or not, but they finally 
dispersed. It was not over, however, hy any means, for on the approach' 
of the hour for the departure of the train on the Northern Central for 
the south the crowd began to collect around the depot with threaten- 
ing aspect, many being armed with guns. Mr. Hall and Sheriff Gregg 
went to the' Southerner and said to him that if he so desired he should 
leave town as he wished, if to preserve the peace it was necessary to call 
upon the military and the fire companies also. The Southerner was 
very much alarmed and begged to be allowed to depart in any manner 
only so that he went. Sheriff Gregg therefore a few minutes before 
the train was due took the man and the "fugitive" in his carriage across 
the river into Southport two or three miles to await the coming of the 
train. 

There was an angry crowd at the railroad station awaiting the de- 
parture of the train. Some were watching for the arrival of tiie south- 
bound passengers who never came. The conductor had been informed 
as to the matter and pulled his train out a minute or two ahead of time. 
An excited crowd swarmed down Railroad avenue, but before it arrived 
at the bridge it began to dawn on many that some one somehow had 
outwitted them. Only a dozen or so went as far as Water street ; the 
rest fell out here and there and the trouble that at one time seemed im- 
minent and threatening was ended. Mr. Hall and Sheriff Gregg re- 
ceived many compliments for the shrewd and skillful manner in which 
they had averted a menacing disturbance that in its inception was of a 
more serious character than had been others of a similar nature in other 
places that had been attended with grave results. 

Before his term as president of the village of Mlmira had expired 



■em OUR COUNTY AND fTS PEOPLE. 

other plans which Mr. Hall had long cherished took more definite shape 
and purpose. Believing with Goethe, "if not to travel in, why was this 
world made so large," he had long cherished pleasant dreams of seeing 
•something of this world made so large A happy acquaintance with 
Bayard Taylor no doubt intensified this desire. The long winter even- 
ings in the old book store had been largely given to books of travel. 
Preliminary to the e.xecution of these plans the book business in the 
autumn of 1858 was sold to Frederic and Charles C. Hall, his brothers, 
who had come from New England to join him some years before. 
These two constituted the first firm of " Hall Brothers." Subsequently 
they were joined by a younger brother, Robert A. Hall. Of the four 
brothers the last named is the only one remaining in the business, being a 
partner in the present firm of Morse, Hall & Loring. Charles C. Hall is a 
manufacturing publisher in Syracuse. Frederic Hall, after retiring from 
active trade, has largely devoted himself and time to various charitable 
and philanthropic interests and pursuits. He is connected with nearly 
all the charitable institutions of the city and has an extensive correspond- 
ence and connection with others of kindred spirit at home and abroad. 
In the spring of 1859 great interest was manifested in the impending 
opening of Japan to foreign intercourse. Under treaties negotiated by 
'Commodore Perry and Consul- General (afterward Minister) Townsend 
Harris three named ports in Japan were in August of that year to be 
opened to foreign residence and trade. Prospect of novel and e.xciting 
adventure in that hitherto sealed and unknown land was alluring to Mr. 
Hall, and his speculations and interest resolved themselves into a fixed 
purpose to be a pioneer in the attempt to establish intercourse with 
that strange and romantic people. But one way of access was then 
open, first a voyage to China, then to take whatever chance might offer 
of reaching Japan. By good fortune the ship Surprise, Ranlett, master, 
was at that time loading in New York for Hong Kong and Shanghai. 
Her limited accommodations for passengers had already been secured 
for a party of missionaries who also were going to China, hoping to 
gain access to Japan. Mr. Hall, however, secured passage and on 
May 6, 1859, he sailed on the long voyage by the way of the Cape of 
Good Hope. The journey was not without exciting events. Near the 
cape nained the vessel was struck by lightning, sufifering somewhat 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 637 

thereby, but not seriouslj-, and they were stranded for a week on the 
island of Sumatra. Tliis luid been a famous piratical coast, but the 
ship and its contents were saved by the exercise of care and con- 
stant vigilance. llong Kong was reached on the loSth day out, and 
after a few weeks' delay there Shanghai was made on October 17th. 
Passage to Japan was difficult to obtain. The foreign merchants resi- 
dent in China, who had already begun to e.xploit the new field and 
occasionally sent trading vessels to Japan, were not free to assist any 
possible competitors in trade to reach the same destination. The mis- 
sionary passengers on the Surprise readily obtained passage on the 
Mary ami Louisa, a bark about to sail for Yokohama, while the same 
favor was refused to Mr. Hall. But even this difficulty was at length 
overcome and on November i, 1859, nearly six months from the time 
of leaving New York, he reached Yedo Bay. Already there was a small 
body of foreigners of all nationalities, perhaps fifty in number, estab- 
lished on the shore at Yokohama, living in hastily erected wooden build- 
ings of simple construction. Two miles across the bay at Kanagavva, 
which was in fact the treaty port, the foreign consuls were in residence as 
were also the newly arrived missionary families. At Kanagawa i\Ir. Ilai! 
found hospitable shelter and welcome with Dr. and Mrs. Hepburn, who 
as missionaries of the Presbyterian Board had arrived there two weeks 
before. They as with all foreigners on the Kanagawa shore were occup\'- 
tng a Buddhist temple which the priests attached had surrendered for a 
rental which, moderate in itself, was very large in their eyes. 

One who visits Japan to-day sees little of the state of things which 
existed then. Three ports in the empire had been opened b)' treaty to 
the foreigner, who was in each case limited to an area of twenty- five 
miles in any direction. Practically his free range was far less than this, 
prudential reasons making it undesirable to go far outside of the settle- 
ments. Fanatical hate of the stranger within their borders, evinced 
especially by the " soldier " caste, vented itself in repeated assassina- 
tions. American, English, Russian, F'rench, and Hollander alike fell 
beneath the swords of the assassin. Several years had to elapse before 
this turbulent element was wholly repressed. Mr. Hall spent a few 
months in the study of the language, customs, and people of the country, 
residing meanwhile in oiu- or another of those spacious and comfortable 



638 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Buddhist temples. He also visited the other open ports and engaged in 
some minor business enterprises. He then joined the already well 
established mercantile house cf Messrs. Walsh & Co. at Yokohama, 
which thereafter assumed the name of Walsh, Hall & Co. Mr. Hall's 
personal interest in this firm ceased many years ago, but the name re- 
mains. Soon after this firm was organized the Civil war broke out in 
the United States. It found many American vessels on the Asiatic 
coast whose business as common carriers was ruined. Mr. Hall feels 
that if he could have rendered his country no other assistance in this 
strife he was at least enabled to be of service to more than one of these 
unfortunate craft in providing some occupation until business was ad- 
justed to the new situation. 

The firm of Walsh, Hall & Co. stood at the front amon" foreign 
houses in Japan, and Mr. Hall was elected to the presidency of the 
Chamber of Commerce and so remained until he left the empire. This 
position brought him into very close relations with both the local, for- 
eign, and native authorities. Mr. Hall left Japan in 1866, and at that 
time the little community of foreigners on an alien shore with whom he 
had cast his lot had grown to a large, prosperous, and powerful bod\'. 

During the earlier years of his residence in Japan Mr. Hall furnished 
to the columns of the daily New York Tribune, then under the active 
control of Horace Greeley, not less than fifty letters descriptive of the 
newly opened empire and its people. It must be remembered with 
what delight these communications were received by the people, con- 
cerning a race and a country about which there had heretofore, for 
centuries, existed so much that was romantic and mysterious. They 
gave information clearer and fuller than could be obtained from any 
other source. They should be gathered into a volume and preserved, 
giving as they do matter that appertains to one of the most interesting 
races and to a period one of the most entertaining in the history of the 
world. Home newspapers in Elmira were not forgotten in these episto- 
lary efforts of Mr. Hall, as many being sent to them as were received 
by the Tribune. All found many and interested readers. 

Mr. Hall returned to Elmira in October, 1866, resuming his residence 
there and calling it his home. In 1868 he with his brother Frederic 
built the block on Water street in which he has his rooms and in part 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 639 

of which is located the firm of Morse, Hall & Loring. But the experi- 
ence already gained in other lands has prompted Mr. Hall to new joiu- 
neyings. He remained in Elniira less than a year before he again set 
out for new scenes and other lands. Since 1867 ''^ '^^s traversed well- 
nigh most of the globe, certainly the most interesting part of it, taking 
up his journeyings year after year in both hemispheres, on every conti- 
nent, and amidst the isles of the sea. " In travel," as he says, " what be- 
gins as a pasttime is apt to develop into a passion." There are probably 
few men living who have seen more of the earth's surface than has 
Mr. Hall. 

In later years Mr. Hall's ardent love of travel has had largely to give 
way to increasing personal and material interests at home. He has an 
active share in the affairs of the Syracuse Chilled Plow Company, of 
which he is vice-president as well as one of its largest stockholders. 
Important interests in the new cities growing up on Puget Sound in the 
State of Washington frequently call him thither. Nor has he neglected 
the public cares and duties of a citizen of Elmira. He has been for 
more than twenty years an active trustee of the Elmira College for 
Women, in wliich capacity he has been the means of adding very much 
of interest to that institution. For several years he was a member of 
the Hoard of Education and has been connected with the Industrial 
School since its foundation. He has taken a deep interest in that mag- 
nificent charity, foremost of the beneficent institutions of the valley, the 
Arnot-Ogden Memorial Hospital, and is the president of its Board of 
Managers. T. 

NICKS, JOHN I. — There is that in human nature that is always at- 
tracted toward accounts of those who, rising from humble origin 
and unaided by other forces than their own ability and will, have gained 
distinction and high place among their fellowmen. The man who 
achieves prominence by himself has and deserves much more the sym- 
pathy and applause of the world than he who is born with exalted sta- 
tion or has conspicuous position thrust upon him. In his measure John 
I. Nicks is entitled to this sympathy and applause, and his career is 
one that should carry hope if not assurance to every young man who 
starts in life with nothing except a firm determination to succeed. Mr. 



640 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Nicks was born in Rhinebcck, Dutchess County, N. Y., on January 21, 
1822, one in a family of six cliildren, two boys and four girls. Three 
of these are dead, a sister still living in Red Hook, Dutchess County. 
The elder Nicks was also named John, and he came from England to^ 
this country in 1S19. He was a tailor by trade. His wife was Jane 
Brown and they both died in Red Hook. 

Even in youth a tall and attractive person, which had much to do 
with his success in life, Mr. Nicks was naturally a leader among his fel- 
lows. The quality that finds its expression in the woras " Go ahead, 
boys," is common and usual among men. Its complement, " Come on, 
boys," is much more rare. The former marks the ordinary, well mean- 
ing, every day individual ; the latter is indicative of the leader and con- 
troller of men. It will be seen as we proceed that Mr. Nicks has been 
one of the " come on " kind. As early as at the age of eleven years. 
Mr. Nicks, partly from the pressure of affairs in the family, but largely 
from his own wish to learn something that would give him a foundation 
for his future, went into a manufactory of tobacco in the village of Red 
Hook, whither the family had removed soon after he was born. He re- 
mained at the work for nearly five years, and did indeed lay the found- 
ation there for his future and ultimate large business success. It is safe 
to say that in those five years he learned all about the product and its 
manufacture that there was to learn, and has been applj'ing that knowl- 
edge for almost, if not quite, half a century. The business in which he 
was engaged when only eleven years of age is still his business at almost 
seventy. There are not very many men in the active affairs of life who 
can have such a record as that written up of them. It is not the only 
evidence of constancy and persistency that Mr. Nicks has shown in his 
life, cliaracteristics that are as admirable as they are rare. Before he 
was sixteen years of age Mr. Nicks left his home, starting out in life 
for himself, going first in 1837 to Brooklyn in James street on the 
thoroughfare leading up from Catherine ferry near the old market-house. 
From there he went to New York city, at first in Hudson street a little 
above Canal and then in Chatham street near the Bowery. While in 
New \'ork Mr. Nicks quickly began to manifest his interest in public 
affairs by becoming connected with the old volunteer fire department, 
an organization that is historical now and from which many a man high 




■^■tfl ">> .^ G /^r'-'^.T"-'-'' 





BIOGRAPHICAL. 641 

in political life dates his start in his career. They almost make heroes 
now in New York city of those veterans of duty who served in the old 
volunteer department there. There are not very many left now who 
have that distinction. 

Mr. Nicks was a member of old Hudson Company, No. i, that laid 
in Duane street. She was a rival of the famous No. 6 that laid, a little 
ways off in Reatle street. They were both hand engines of course- 
Doing duty with his company was an experience that stood Mr. Nicks 
in great stead years afterward in localities where the fire department 
system had not become as thoroughly organized as it was in New York 
city. In 1839 a man came from Ithaca to New York in search of work- 
men in the trade for what was then the " far west region " of the State, 
but beginning to look up with promise on account of the building of 
railroads and the opening of canals. One of Mr. Nicks's companions 
had agreed with the man to go, and after some explanation and persua- 
sion Mr. Nicks himself promised also to accept the offer made him. 
When the time came the companion concluded he had rather renaain in 
New York, and so did. Mr. Nicks lived up to his word — he had a habit 
then of always doing so, and it seems to have clung tenaciously to him 
since — and he came to Ithaca. The move eventually made his fortune. 
It is almost always best to do as you say you will. Mr. Nicks remained 
in Ithaca eight years. Almost immediately on his arrival there he be- 
came interested in the fire department of the village, and was largely 
instrumental in its re-organization, his experience in New York making 
his advice and suggestions so valuable that they were invariably acted 
upon. The company known as No. i was among the others re-organ- 
izedandnamed " Red Rover." The same name wasafterward made some- 
what well known in Klmira. Of this company in Ithaca John L. Whiting 
was elected foreman and John I. Nicks assistant foreman. It numbered 
sixty men and the average weight of its members was 160 pounds. A 
handsome uniform was adopted and one of the finest engines of the day 
put under control of the organization. It was under the most perfect 
discipline and won a reputation all over the western part of the State. 
It made a number of excursions to other villages and cities and was 
received everywhere with applause, its work being looked upon with 
admiration and perhaps a little envy. In these trips Mr. Nicks made 

SI 



6*2 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

many friends and a wide acquaintance that have been of value to him 
since in more ways than one. Of his daring and bravery in tiie line of his 
tluty, and of his physical alertness and power, it may be related that on 
one occasion he was on the roof of a burning building in Ithaca holding 
tiie pipe. It was in the winter and tlie roof was covered with snow and 
ice. His feet slipped from under him and he slid down toward the eaves. 
He had presence of mind sufficient to catch hold of the piping as he 
went over the edge, and clung there until he was rescued by his com- 
panions. 

Tliere was another influence added to Mr. Nicks's life in Ithaca. He 
was married in 1840 to Margaret McWhorter. His choice was a fort- 
unate one for him as their long married life proved. There were two 
children born to them : Martha, who became the wife of Erastus Frank- 
lin Babcock, a prominent lawv'er of Elmira, and John E. Nicks, who is 
connected with his fatlier in business. Mrs. Nicks died in March, 1875, 
leaving a memory that is jet cherished asthat of one possessingvery many 
womanly and lovable qualities. Mr. Nicks came to Elmira in 1847, ^t a 
]5eriod in the history of the town when the impetus that the building of 
the Chemung Canal had given it was exhausted, but that the expecta- 
tion of a railroad direct to New York had again aroused to great in- 
tensity. He had ventured into business for himself in Ithaca, which 
witii prudent management had yielded him considerable success, and 
there was a promising outlook for him in the wider field presented by 
IClmira. His first place of business was on the south side of Water 
street about miduay between Lake and Baldwin streets, and he liad a 
factory at the south end of the Lake street bridge. In 1 850 with Simeon 
Benjamin and Samuel B. Strang he united in building the Union block, 
which extends from State street on East Water to Exchange Place. It 
was an enterprise of considerable moment in those days. Previously 
there had been a large vacant space there, north of which stood the store- 
house of Samuel B. Strang & Co. that lay along the side of the canal 
basin. This vacant space was something of common ground. Here 
the old hand fire engines used to try their machines, and here in the 
presidential canvass of 1840 was the log cabin of the period put up with 
the tall pine pole in front of it. 

In Elmira Mr. Nicks speedily became interested in the fire depart- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. G45 

nient, and in less tlian a year after liis arrival was largely instriimeiital 
in organizing a new conijtany, which in response to his suggestion was 
named after the Ithaca one, " Red Rover." It was No. 3 also. Mr. 
Nicks was the first foreman of the company and occupied the position 
a number of years. There was an incident connected with his career 
in the position that much more than parallels the dangerous one related 
as having happened in Ithaca. It was at the fire when the old Eagle 
Tavern burned in September, 1849. Mr. Nicks was going up a ladder 
on the east side, carrying the pipe for his machine. He was ahead, of 
course. A piece of cornice that had been burning for sometime be- 
came detached from the building and fell. It swept down the ladder as 
a jack-plane would go over a white pine plank, carrying Mr. Nicks and 
the others below him down to the ground, a distance of at least thirty 
feet. Every one thought they were all killed, and there was much ex- 
citement and apprehension. But no one received injuries that kept him 
within doors for more than a fortnight. Mr. Nicks was chief engineer of 
the fire department in 1853. 

For twenty-seven years " Nicks's tobacco store " at Water street and 
Exchange Place in the Union block, to which he moved in 1850, 
was a landmark in village and city. In the outer room softly cush- 
ioned settees were provided, and in the evening the scene was the 
place of rendezvous for most of the best known citizens of Palmira, 
especially were the\- of the faith of Whig at one time and Republican 
afterward, for to these has Mr. Nicks clung always ; and in the cosy 
office in the rear the political disposition of the cit)' and county has 
often been determined upon. 

These were the younger days of Mr. Nicks, when a physical fiame of 
more than usual vigor, and an activity of mind for which even a suc- 
cessful and ever increasing business did not find stimulus enough, re- 
quired other incentives to keep pace with their demands. It was not 
long before they found fuller scope in the wider and more important 
field of politics. Men like Mr. Nicks turn as naturally to this field as 
do sparks fly toward heaven ; not always for the emoluments or honors 
of office, for these seldom compensate for the annoyance and trouble 
their getting produces, but from an inborn characteristic that urges them 
forward to lead and direct their fellowmen. It is true, too, that Mr. 



644 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Nicks never in his long career asked for an office nor sought one even 
indirectly. What burdens of that kind have been thrust upon him have 
come unsolicited, have been assumed reluctantly, and often to the detri- 
ment of his own personal affairs and comfort. 

A recapitulation of the official positions he has held sliows what 
his neighbors and fellow citizens thought of him, but do not meas- 
ure at all his active political life nor the services he has rendered to 
his party and his friends. He has always been a shrewd adviser, fer- 
tile in suggestion, apt in expedients, and soimd in judgment. He was 
elected the supervisor of his ward, the Second, in 185 i, four years after 
he had made Elmira his home, and declined the nomination the next 
year. He served four successive terms as trustee of the village from 
1854 to 1858. When the internal revenue bureau was establislied by 
the government he was made the assessor of the congressional district, 
organized the office, and retained it until 1866. When the trouble 
arose in relation to President Andrew Johnson Mr. Nicks was outspoken 
in condemnation of the policy sought to be pursued by the national ad- 
ministration, the result for him being that some one else was appointed 
to his position of assessor. This change was not well received by the 
citizens of Elmira, and they resented it in an unmistakable manner. 
Mr. Nicks was given a serenade, in which all of the people seemed to 
join with one accord, and it was hard to tell from the expressions of 
those present whicli feeling was the stronger, the personal regard for 
Mr. Nicks or the indignation over the act of the administration. Fol- 
lowing up the matter the resignation of the Hon. Stephen T. Hayt as 
State senator for the district gave further opportunity for the people to 
express their sentiments toward Mr. Nicks. He was offered the nom- 
ination to the position, and although reluctant to accept it he was 
elected and subsequently re-elected. He served as senator with great 
acceptability and honor during a period when great moneyed interests 
were at war over coveted legislative privileges, and at the time when 
William M. Tweed was corrupting and controlling laws and lawmakers 
by an unblushing system never before attempted. Before this Mr. Nicks 
had from 1861 to 1863 served as commissioner in the Board of Educa- 
tion ; in 1863 he was elected president of the Board of Trustees of 
the village, and held that office when the city charter was obtained. He 



BIOGRAPHICAL. C45 

was the second mayor of the city, having been elected in 1865, and 
served fortwo terms. He was alderman of his ward in the common coun- 
cils of 1872-74 and 1889-90. In 1881 he was appointed one of the Board 
of Managers of the Elmira Reformatory and was made its president. 
In this capacity he served for seven years, resigning the position in 1 888. 
It will be seen that amidst all of the cares and responsibilities of a priv- 
ate business that had grown to enormous proportions Mr. Nicks has 
borne his siiare of the burden of public affairs, meriting in his conduct 
of them all the approbation of his fellow citizens and the approval of his 
own conscience. During the warhis labors were unceasing and well di- 
rected in helping to sustain the government in the terrible ordeal 
through which it was passing. He was always steady in his belief of its 
ultimate success, and in the darkest days carried always a hopeful heart 
and willing hand. Through more than one strait in local matters con- 
nected with the raising of troops, by his unerring judgment and clear 
perception, he allayed rising discontent, harmonized conflicting senti- 
ments and interests, and brought the clear sunshine out again where 
there had been threatening clouds. His services in this direction may 
not ever be known in all their detail, but there is many a man in the 
county who can testify to their value and their frequent and willing 
employment. In March, 1877, Mr. Nicks's store in the Union block 
was burned. He sold the site there with little delay, and built his fac- 
tory on Railroad avenue between Fourth and Clinton streets, where he 
still remains. 

There are other matters than these already named where the quick- 
perception and accurate judgment of Mr. Nicks have been of incalcu- 
lable service. In the early days of the Elmira College for Women Mr. 
Nicks was selected as one of the Board of Trustees of the institution, 
and has filled the position to the present time. And beyond this there 
has been a life for him back of and beneath his active business and po- 
litical careers that is founded on a firmer basis than a good balance at 
the bank, or the applause of admiring and icjnfiding constituents. Mr. 
Nicks has always been a consistent and sincere member of the Methodist 
Church. On coming to Elmira he became attacled to the First Church, 
but was among the number who swarmed from the old hive and organ- 
ized the Iledding Church, of which from the start he has been one of 



646 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the most hearty and generous supporters. He was one of its first Board 
of Trustees and remains so to this day, and he lias represented hischurch 
on the conference committee constantly from its first organization. 

Mr. Nicks was married the second time on June 27, 1878, his wife- 
having been Martha Ann Regge, of Lowell, Mass., a lady of great in- 
telligence and refinement, and at the time of her marriage the precept- 
ress of the well known Hackettstown Seminary. T. 



RATHBUN, Hon. JOHN T.— The Rathbones were an old and 
strong English family, a prominent one, John, being a merchant in 
Liverpool, England, during the early part of this century. He was a 
bachelor and left an estate valued at something near $63,000,000. A 
capacity for money getting and money keeping has always been a marked 
one in the Rathbone family. There was a custom, too, in the family to 
name at least one of the sons John, and it is certain that wherever the 
branch of the family may be located, or in whatever generation, there 
will a John be found in it. The Hon. John Tobey Rathbun, of Elmira, 
is no exception to the rule, and it will be recollected that among his 
children there was also a John, a generous hearted, active young man 
who died early in life, but not before he had demonstrated the possession 
of qualities that would have made him a successful business man had he 
lived. 

The Hon. John T. Rathbun, one of Elmira's most prominent and 
worthy citizens, belongs to the Rathbone family of which I have writ- 
ten, the change in the spelling having been made by his father, who 
always signed his name with a bun instead of a bone as he expressed it. 
Some of his brothers, however, clung to the bone. This gentleman's 
name was Joiin Z. and he was a native of Lee, Mass., in the neighbor- 
hood of which place his ancestors from England settled a generation or 
two before. He was a physician and early in life emigrated to Ballston, 
N. Y., where he practiced his profession with a good measure of suc- 
cess for forty years. In 1822 he removed to the town of Scipio, Caj'- 
uga County, N. Y., where he continued in his business for another 
twenty years and until his age forbade any further labors in that di- 
rection. He died in Elmira in 1867 at the great age of ninety-eight. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 047 

Dr. Ratlibun's wife was born in Lee, Mass., her maiden name having 
been Celia Tobey. She lived to be eighty years of age, dying in tlie 
town of Scipio. 

John T. Rathbun, bearing one of the christian names of his father 
and the family name of his mother, was born in Ballston, Saratoga 
County, N. Y., March 8, 1810. There were tlirce sons and six daugh- 
ters in the family, and Mr. Rathbun was the second son. Both of his 
brothers followed the profession of their father and became pliysicians, 
taking up tiieir residences and making their homes in the same county 
in Illinois : Valentine in Harrisburg, McLean County, and Lorenzo in 
McLeansburg. Mr. Rathbun received his education in Ballston and in 
Scipio, and had all the advantages that the neighborhood of the two 
places possessed. Arriving at his majority he selected farming as his 
avocation, and entered upon its pursuit with all the zeal and enthusi- 
asm that has marked his whole career. His farm in the town of Scipio 
under his personal management was for thirty years one of the thriftiest 
spots in all Central New York. He was especially successful in grain 
raising and sheep breeding. It was before the great wheat fields of the 
West liad begun to be the granaries of the world, and Central New York 
furnished much of that cereal for the markets. The business was re- 
munerative and profitable. In comparison with the enormous acreage 
of the present day it may seem small, but in those days the hundred 
acres of wheat that Mr. Rathbun annually raised was a matter of con- 
siderable moment, attracting notice and deserving remembrance. 

As a member of the old Whig party Mr. Rathbun early took interest 
in politics and was an energetic leader in his locality. The prominence 
that he enjoyed and the confidence reposed in him by his neighbors are 
clearly shown by the fact that he served for seven terms as tiie super- 
visor from his town and for two years was the chairman of the board. 
In 1845 he was elected a member of Assembly from Cayuga County 
and was re-elected the following year, serving in the legislatures of 1846 
and 1847. He was a great admirer and personal friend of the Hon. Will- 
iam H. Seward, following him into the Republican party and ever sus- 
taining him with his influence and vote. 

In 1835 ^'•■- Rathbun married Maria, the daughter of Jesse Reed, one 
of the prominent citizens of Auburn. She died in 1846. There were 



648 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

four children born to the couple : George R., John H., Mary, and one 
that died in infancy. Only one of these is living, the first named. The 
daughter Mary married Samuel R. Van Campen, at one time a banker 
in Elmira. She was a most estimable woman, winning the admiration 
of all for the sweetness of her disposition and at the same time possess- 
ing a character that for its vigor, independence, and strength is rarely 
met with. She died in June, 1S91, leaving two sons, Samuel R. Van 
Campen, jr., and John Rathbun Van Campen, who promise to carry 
down to posterity the characteristics of their mother with the manly and 
earnest qualities of their grandfather. John H., the son of Mr. Rath- 
bun best known in Elmira, died January 8, 1880. 

It was during Mr. Rathbun's second term in the Assembly that he met 
in Albany the lady that subsequently became his wife, Sarah M. Benja- 
min, the only child of Simeon Benjamin, of Elmira, who is elsewhere 
and more at large referred to in this record. The marriage was solem- 
nized in the latter part of the year 1847. Three sons were born of this 
marriage : Simeon Benjamin Rathbun, William R. Rathbun, and Louis 
G. Rathbun. A daughter, named for the mother, Sarah M. Rathbun, 
died early in life. After a life governed by the most generous impulses 
and full of the animating spirit of the truest Christianity Mrs. Rathbun 
died in the winter of 1886 in Florida, whither she had gone to escape the 
rigors of an Elmira winter. The memory of her many virtues will long 
remain among the local treasures and recollections of Elmira life. All 
of her sons are conspicuous in the business, social, and political life of 
the city and county. Mrs. Rathbun's father at the time of her marriage 
enjoyed the reputation without any question of being the wealthiest 
man in the city of Elmira. He was beginning to age somewhat, and 
she was the only representative that he would leave when he passed 
away. Mr. Rathbun was finally persuaded to give up his home in Cay- 
uga County and come to Elmira, which he did in 1855. Since that 
year probably no man in the city has been so largely engaged in real 
estate there, or has been the mover and originator of so many suc- 
cessful enterprises. He was an Elmiran from his first coming there. It 
was to be his future and permanent home and all of his energies have 
been directed from the start to make the town one of the liveliest and 
best in the State. Almost his first purchase in the city and certainly his 



BIOGRAPHICAL. fi4!> 

first large investment was what was at tlie time called the " Brainard 
House," named subsequently after its new owner the " Rathbun House." 
If Elmira is known abroad at all by any one of its public institutions it 
is certainly the " Rathbun House," and the energy and liberality of Mr. 
Rathbun have helped immeasurably in bringing about sucii a result. 

It is largely due to Mr. Rathbun that Elmira enjoys its present fine 
system of public schools. They would undoubtedly have come in time, 
but he was the one that originated the movement, pushed it forward 
with all his zeal, and finally saw his project in successful operation. He 
should have the credit therefor. He was made a trustee of the academy 
in a year or two after he became a citizen of Elmira, and at one of the 
meetings of the board oft'ered a resolution looking to the introduction 
of free schools. He was not exactly hooted at, but quietly ignored as a 
stranger coming among them with strange notions. Representing as he 
did an estate that paid more taxes than any other single interest in the 
village his effort was finally looked upon with favor as he continued to 
press the matter. Four years after he became an Elmiran he had the 
satisfaction of seeing passed an act of the legislature providing for the 
public schools substantially as they are now, and in the direct line of the 
resolution he had presented to the Board of Trustees of the academy. 

To tell in full the business life of Mr. Rathbun would almost be to 
tell the history of every large business enterprise of the city of Elmira 
for the last thirty or forty years. He was active in the management of 
the Chemung Railroad, that portion of the Northern Central now lying 
between Elmira and Watkins, was adirectorof thecompany fornineyears, 
and its president sixyears. He was a director of the company owningthe 
road from Watkins to Canandaigua for nine }ears, worked zealously and 
actively for the construction of what is now the Tioga branch of the Erie 
road, and was one of the first directors of the company. He was among 
the first to engage in the original business of the rolling- millsand was one 
of the trusteesof thecompany for ten years. He has been connected with 
the La France Manufacturing Company from the start, one of its trus- 
tees since its organization, and for six years its president. In 1880 Mr. 
Rathbun was appointed one of the commissioners of the Elmira Re- 
formatory by Governor Cornell, and served in that capacity for six years, 
his colleagues in the board being the Hon. John I. Nicks, Dr. William 



650 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

C. Wey, and Stephen T. Arnot, esq. During the war Mr. Rathbun was 
an earnest and zealous sympathizer with the efforts of the government 
to put down the armed attack upon the Union, and was liberal in the 
useof his large means to forward the righteous cause. By advancing and 
becoming surety for considerable sums of money in the earK- part of the 
struggle, when funds were needed immediately to equip soldiers for the 
service and the slow machinery of the State failed to make the prompt 
response that was required, Mr. Rathbun made it possible to send whirl- 
ing to the front in advance of others bodies of men from his neighbor- 
hood, and most other neighborhoods too, the Twenty-third Regiment. 
With all of these things and numerous lesser enterprises Mr. Rath- 
bun has had the management of the estate of his father-in-law, Simeon 
Benjamin, one of the largest ever accumulated in the county, and con- 
nected with which were many bequests to benevolent institutions, the 
proper distribution of which requiring the utmost care and thoughtful- 
ness. In all of them there has not been the least friction nor misunder- 
standing, the statement of which is a monument to Mr. Rathbun's 
business capacity and integrity. With the proper care of one of Mr. Ben- 
jamin's largest bequests Mr. Rathbun has been intimately associated 
for more than thirty years. This is the Elmira College, the existence of 
which was made possible by Mr. Benjamin's munificence. As long as 
Mr. Rathbun lives he will probably be thus associated, his experience 
and judgment aiding in a marked manner in furthering the aims and 
ends of the institution. Not only as we have seen in the political, busi- 
ness, and educational interests of the city has Mr. Rathbun been prom- 
inent and influential, but in the religious interests of the communitj'. 
For more than twenty-five years he has been one of the trustees of the 
First Presbyterian Church, and has held the prosperity and usefulness of 
that organization as one of the most cherished purposes of his life. 
And now at a period in life somewhat past eighty years, but years that 
weigh so lightly upon him that they seem to be less than the true num- 
ber by fully a quarter of a century, Mr. Rathbun is to be seen daily at 
his modest office on Baldwin street, as keen in his business instincts and 
projects as though life was just beginning for him, his eye as bright and 
clear as it ever was, and his mind as active and fresh as it was when he 
was evolving enterprises in his early history that have made him such 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 051 

rich returns ; or at his beautiful liome on Lake street, where the most 
generous hospitality has always reigned, and where all the refinements 
and comforts that great wealth can procure are in tasteful abundance. 

Many men iiave come and gone ; have lived lives in lines and direc- 
tions as it has been given them to see it; have been of value and im- 
portance to the communities in which their lots were cast; but there are 
few in Elmira whose personality and influence, whose instincts and per- 
formances, will better bear the scrutiny or more richly merit the ap- 
plause of those who follow them than John T. Rathbun when after his- 
name has been written the word fnit. T. 



AYRES, SOCRATES. — Some allusion has already been made to- 
this citizen of Elmira, one of its old-time merchants, his name 
appearing conspicuously in the records of the First Methodist Church, 
to which he has had a life-long attachment and of which he has alwa)'s 
been a zealous and conscientious supporter ; and in the village ofncial 
positions that he filled with credit to himself and satisfaction to the com- 
munity. His family name had a curious origin, as is attested by ancient 
legend and chronicle. It came from no less a personage than William 
the Conquerer of England himself. There was a battle raging, and 
William had a good many of them in which he took a personal hand 
himself In this one some mailed warrior hit him a blow on his hel- 
met that crushed it in on his head and gave him great pain. Mis 
assailants were driven off and the first of his attendants to reach his side 
quickly loosened his helmet and relieved him from the cruel pressure 
of the iron. William was grateful, and looking up to his rescuer in- 
quired his name. " Truelove," was the reply. " Thou shalt be from 
Truelove called Eyre" (air), said William, in the quaint language of the 
time, " for thou hast given to me to breathe again the pureair of heaven." 
And Ayer it was, although not nearly as pretty a name as the one origi- 
nally borne by the man, for the king's word was as good as a bai)tism 
in this incident at least, and had other accompaniments of a solider 
nature, like lands, houses, horses, servants, and gold, that would have 
made almost any name acceptable. The name has had a good many 
spellings, sometimes Ayr, then Ayer and Ayreor Ayres, Eyre, and even 



652 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Eyr, but all Englishmen so named sprang from this one who pulled oft" 
William the Conqueror's helmet when he was in trouble and pain with 
it. Some of his descendants became famous men. In the latter part 
of the last century one was the lord chief justice of England and an- 
other distinguished himself by exploring Australia. 

Mr. Ayres's branch of the family coming down from the original Ayr 
is one that can be traced back clearly and without a break for 300 years. 
There was a John Ayers or Ayer, born in England in 1590, in Wiltshire, 
where the seat of the original Aycrwas located. The family there then 
was a large and strong one. This John Ayers came to America in 1636, 
and that same year there was born to him a son, who was named Oba- 
diah, as who should say : " A servant of the Lord." There followed 
along down in regular succession sons and sons' sons of Obadiah, the 
dates of their births attached to their names as follows: John, 1662 ; 
Moses, 1706; Nathaniel, 1728; Richard, 1764; Nathaniel again, 1787. 
John, born in 1662, and his grandson, Nathaniel, born in 1728, were 
citizens of New Jersey and lie buried at Basking Ridge in that State. 
They were Presbyterians and large landholders, having sold the land on 
which the church stands to the society. The memorials inscribed on 
their gravestones by authority of the church show them to have been 
among its influential members. Many of their descendants live in New 
Jersey, a number of them in Jersey City, to this day. The last named, 
Nathaniel, born in 1787, was the father of Socrates Ayres, who was born 
in Ulysses, Tompkins County, N. Y., on October 14, 1814. The mother 
of Socrates Ayres was Lucretia Beckwith, who was born on November 
7, 1792, and was married to Nathaniel Ayres on October 28, 1813. She 
died on October 8, 1832. She was descended in direct line from Mat 
thew Beckwith, who was born in Yorkshire, England, emigrated to Con- 
necticut in 1635, and died in Lyme in 1681. His son was Joseph, who 
was the father of Joseph, jr., the father of Elijah, the father of Stephen, 
who was Lucretia Beckwith's father. The wife of Stephen Beckwith was 
I Luinah York, who was a daughter of Amos York. 

Amos York was born on October 15, 1730, and was of English des- 
cent, springing from James York, born in 1608, and emigrating to this 
country on his arrival at man's estate. He lived in Braintree, Mass. A 
son of his, also named James, removed to Stonington, Conn., in 1660. 



.■^' 




-:JT;.r-nj«.,vi^ 




BIOGRAPHICAL. 65:! 

A son of this James, called James, jr., born in 1648 and married in 
1669, was the father of a son named Thomas, born on October 14, 1676, 
whose son named William was born on October 3, 1708. William was 
the father of the Amos York named. Lucretia Miner, the wife of Amos 
York, to whom she was married in 1750, was a member of a rather re- 
markable family. They can trace their ancestry in a direct line as far 
back as 1359, a circumstance that attaches itselt to very few families in 
America. Lucretia Miner was born in Voluntown, Conn., in 1733, and 
died in Wyalusing, Pa.,in 1821, in the eighty-ninth year of her age. Her 
family were prominent in the Wyoming region all through the Penna- 
mite and Indian troubles, and one of them, William Penn Miner, wrote a 
history of the valley that in accuracj' and fullness of personal detail is 
one of the most faithful and valuable records ever put on paper. The 
original of this Miner family in this country (they spelled their name a 
little difterent then) was Col. Thomas Minor, a very conspicuous man in 
the earliest history of New England. Colonel Minor in 1634 married 
Grace Palmer, the eldest daughter of Walter Palmer. Walter Palmer was 
a conspicuous figure in his time in New England history. He came from 
Nottinghamshire, England, in 1629, settling first in Charlestown, Mass., 
among the Puritans, going, however, in 1643 to Stonington, Conn., of 
which place he was one of the first settlers. His descendants are now 
numbered by the thousand and are scattered all over this country. 

Nathaniel and Lucretia Ayers, both thus inheriting some of the best 
blood in this country, lived and died on their farm near Trumansburg, 
N. Y. Their son, Socrates Ayres, remained on the same place until he 
was seventeen years of age, which was in the year 1831. He was then 
apprenticed to a watchmaker and jeweler for the term of four years. He 
completed his apprenticeship and attained his majority in the same year, 
and coming to Elmira entered upon the chosen business of his life. His 
health suffered somewhat from close attention to his affairs and after a 
year and a half in Elmira he returned to his father's farm for six months 
to recuperate. With repaired strength, in the fall of 1837, he opened a 
place of business in Penn Yan, remaining there until August, 1844, when 
he once more took up his residence in Elmira, not again to leave it. He 
purchased the business of Francis Collingwood, of whom something has 
already been noted in this record. Including his apprenticeship the 



654 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

active business life of Mr. Ayres extends over a period of sixty years. 
His place of business on the eastern side of the Water street end of the 
Lal<e street bridge was for thirty years under his control, and so con- 
spicuous in many ways that the older residents of the city even now 
refer to the spot as " Ayers' Corner," and any other name there seems 
unfamiliar and out of place. It could be seen and easily distinguished 
far up Lake street, the stage route to the north as far as the turn where 
Baldwin street once ran into that thoroughfare and with such force that 
it bent it out of a straight line. The windows of the store were very 
attractive with bright shining gold and silver objects and a great variety 
of watches whose oval crystals caught and reflected every ray of sun- 
shine that might be going. The stock was not only attractive to hon- 
est eyes, but caught the attention and aroused the cupidity of pilferers 
and thieves. The situation of the place was such that it might readily 
be visited by midnight marauders, the rear of it being retired from ob- 
servation, but easily reached from the bridge in the quiet darkness. The 
fastening to the door, too, in those primitive times was seldom more than 
a slight wooden bar set in loose and insecure iron sockets. Once or 
twice the store was entered with felonious intent and some loss, not very 
considerable, however, sustained, forming the one or two occasions when 
any robbery that aroused the apprehensions of the community has been 
committed in the city of Elmira. Fire has swept over the spot, too, a 
number of times, but in all of these misfortunes and reverses Mr. Ayres 
has kept on the even tenor of his way, always meeting his engagements 
and making a record for integrit)' and manliness surpassed by no other 
citizen of Elmira. He was one of the earliest insurance agents that es- 
tablished that line of business in the valley (Dr. Tracy Beadle having 
been the first one), having always and retaining to this day companies 
on his list of the very highest standing. 

It is worthy of remark that with Mr. Ayres there began their business 
life a number of young men who, if not eminently successful always, 
have shown in their business careers the eft'ect of an elevated example 
set by their emploj'er. Among these may be named Samuel B. Taylor 
and Henry E. Drake, the latter of whom while in business manifested 
the possession of an exquisite taste and judgment that if continued 
should have placed him at the head of dealers in his line. It is to be 



BIOGRAPHICAL. Go5 

said also that Bureii R. Sherman, who afterward became governor of 
the State of Iowa, was an apprentice to Mr. Ayres in the mystery and 
art of the jeweler's and watchmaker's trade. 

After moving .from the corner described Mr. Ayres was for ten years 
located on the south side of Water street midway between Lake and 
Baldwin streets, and from there with his son joined with him in business 
went west of Railroad avenue, where he has been for the past seven 
years. Mr. Ayres iias never been in any sense a public man, that is, 
in seeking after official positions of any kind, although he served with 
faithfulness as treasurer of the village of Elmira in 1850, but he has al- 
ways held to certain political convictions that were bottomed on prin- 
ciple. Originally a Democrat his opposition to slavery and its threat- 
ened extension led him away from his affiliations with that partJ^ He 
was one of the earliest Republicans, having supported the first presi- 
dential nominee of that party, John C. Fremont, in 1856, since which 
time he has earnestly and conscientiously followed the banner of the 
party that he helped to raise. 

On May 30, 1841, while living in Penn Van, Mr. Ayres married 
Susan Harris, daughter of Seth Harris, of Pine Plains, Dutchess County, 
N. Y., who was the manufacturer of the famous Harris scythes. His son, 
Col. Silas Harris, was born in 1787 and succeded him in the business. 
He died in 1862. Six children were born to Socrates Ayres and his 
wife Susan, two of whom, Elizabeth S. and Henry Carleton, died in in- 
fancy. Those reaching maturity were Susan, born July 7, 1843, now 
the wife of the Rev. Oscar A. Houghton, D.D., one of the prominent 
clergymen of the Methodist Church ; William Emmet Ayres, born Jan- 
uary I, 1852, now a lawyer in Syracuse, N. Y.; Edward Harris Ayres, 
born January 10, 1855, ^^ho died on February 10, 1S90, at the age of 
thirty- five years; and Frederick Socrates Ayies, born July 7, 18^7, now 
joined with his father in the jewelry and insurance business. 

There came to Mr. and Mrs. Ayres on May 30, 1891, an event that 
seldom touches the lives of persons of this age. They celebrated the 
golden anniversary of their wedding day, and the manifestations of pleas- 
ure and congratulation made by their numerous friends were such that 
could only have followed a half century of united lives that shed happi- 
ness wherever their influence fell and indicated a continuance of peace 



656 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and contentment for the long period that are as delightful as they are 
unusual to contemplate. There has been still an inner life for Mr. Ayres 
than this of which I have spoken. For fifty- five years he has been a 
member of the Methodist Church, sincere in his regard for its beliefs, 
conscientious in all of the observances it prescribes, bringing up his 
children " in the fear and admonition of the Lord," and liberal toward 
the support of the society that upheld the tenets and obligations to 
which he has been attached. Very soon after he came to Elmira he 
was made an official of what has since become the First Methodist 
Church, and in one capacity or another he has served that organization 
for forty- five years. He is now the president of its Board of Trustees. 

T. 



DININNY, FERRAL C, was born in Otsego County, N. Y., on 
the 22d day of January, 1818. His father was Ferral Dininny, a 
respectable farmer of County Kerry, Ireland, who came to America 
early in life and died in Addison, Steuben County, N. Y., in 1872. 
He was twice married, his first wife dying about the year 1838. Their 
children besides Ferral C. were five sons and one daughter, all of whom 
are living e.vcept one son. All of the sons are farmers with the e.x- 
ception of Ferral C. and one who is a lawyer of Addison. N. Y. 

Ferral C. Dininny was educated in the district schools in Otsego 
County, at the Whitesboro Institute near Utica, and finally at the sem- 
inary in Lima, N. Y., where he continued his studies until he was twenty- 
two years of age. He had determined to adopt the legal profession, but 
desiring to teach for a time in order to accumulate a little means he left 
the seminary at that mature age with an excellent education, and dur- 
ing the succeeding two years taught in the schools of Steuben County. 
He then began the study of law in the office of Andrew G. Chatfield in 
Addison, and continued there about two and one-half years. He was 
admitted to practice in 1845 ^t Bath, N. Y. Opening an office in Addi- 
son he began a period of successful practice of his profession which con- 
tinued over twenty years. His success as an attorney may be attributed 
to his thorough study of his cases, his devotion to the interests of liis 
clients, his force of argument before court and jury, and his command- 
ing personal manner which gave his words additional weight. While 



BIOGRAPHICAL. Uo" 

not in any sense a professional politician Mr. Dininny took an early and 
deep interest in public affairs and made himself fully acquainted with 
the prominent political issues of the day. This fact and the confidence 
reposed in his integrity and ability by the voters of his district led to his 
nomination and election to the Assembly in 1849, taking his seat in 
January, 1850. About the middle of the session the speaker, Mr. El- 
derkin, was called from his post by illness in his family and Mr. Dininny 
was elected to the place and served as speaker during the remainder of 
the session, discharging the duties of the office to the entire satis- 
faction of the people of the State. In 1852 he was chosen as one of 
the presidential electors and cast his vote for Franklin Pierce, the Dem- 
ocratic nominee. These offices, with that of supervisor of Addison for 
thirteen consecutive years, constitute his public services. During the 
latter part of his period of legal practice in Addison Mr. Dininnj' 
interested himself largely in the purchase and sale of real estate, in 
which he was financially successful. In 1865 he entered upon a large 
enterprise which drew him almost wholly from his profession and gave 
him his principal occupation down to the present time. Joining with 
the late John Arnot, Constant Cook, F. N. Drake, and others they or- 
ganized the Blossburg Coal Company, capitalizing it at $300,000. The 
company purchased a large tract of coal- bearing lands near Blossburg, 
Pa., and began mining semi-bituminous coal on a very large scale, pur- 
chasing for its transportation the Tioga Railroad and building a branch 
from Blossburg to what is now the village of Arnot, and erecting all of 
the numerous structures necessary for an extensive mining plant. 
Although this venture was looked upon as in some sense a speculation, 
still the results justified the sagacity of the members of the company and 
the preliminary investigations, for it returned immense profits. Mr. 
Arnot was president of the company, Mr. Drake superintendent, and 
Mr. Dininny assistant superintendent. The same men substantially en- 
gaged in 1867 in mining anthracite coal at Pittston, Pa., buying up the 
stock of the Butler Colliery Company. In both of these extensive or- 
ganizations Mr. Dininny retained a connection until the year 1872. 
Meanwhile Mr. Arnot and a few of the other members of the last named 
company retired from the hard coal business, leaving it in the hands of 
Messrs. Dininny, Cook, Drake, and Cowan. In 1873 Mr. Dininny sold 

83 



65S OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

his interest in the soft coal business and purchased the interests of 
Messrs. Cook and Drake in the hard coal business, at the same time sell- 
ing Mr. Cowan five-sixteenths of the latter and retaining eleven-six- 
teenths for himself. This arrangement continued down to 1886, when 
the firm dissolved and the mining property was divided. In 1889 Mr. 
Dininny closed out his coal business, as far as mining operations 
in anthracite were concerned, by sale to George B. Newton and others, 
a firm made up of New York and Pennsylvania capitalists. In con- 
nection with the mining and marketing of the coal product from Bloss- 
burg Mr. Dininny remained in Addison until 1872, when he came to 
Elmira. He has in connection with his partner, Mr. Cowan, carried on 
a large wholesale trade down to the year 1886, handling their own prod- 
uct as well as that of other mines. On the latter date this business 
passed into Mr. Dininny's hands through the division above noted, and 
in 1891 he sold out to W. W. Fish. 

On coming to Elmira Mr. Dininny purchased what was known as the 
Governor Randall property on West Water street, comprising a resi- 
dence and thirty acres of very valuable land. The residence he removed 
a short distance eastward and on its site erected during the next four 
years what is, perhaps, the finest and most costly residence in Elmira. 
Though now far past the commonly allotted period of activity for man 
Mr. Dininny is still apparently as capable of future mental and physical 
labor as many men of fifty years. That he has not relinquished his 
long habits of industry is shown by the fact that he has recently, in con- 
nection with his son, bought a large tract of coal lands in Virginia, to 
which they are now building a railroad and making other preparations 
to develop. They are also erecting an iron furnace in West Virginia, 
while the son is at the same time extensively engaged in manufacturing 
and other business enterprises in New York city. Toward the close of 
liis long life Mr. Dininny enjoys in the highest degree the confidence 
and respect of this community and of a large circle of friends and 
business acquaintances made during his long career. 

Mr. Dininny was married in December, 1849, to Miss Altia F. Har- 
ford, of Bedford, Westchester County. They have one .son, Ferral C. 
Dininny, jr., born in 1851. He married, in 1872, Miss Eugenie Ko- 
marnitzky, an accomplished Russian lady whom he met while traveling 
in Geneva, Switzerland. They have three children living. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 65 i> 

hAMLIN. SAMUEL SELDEN.— Among the earlier merchants of 
the village of Elmira when it was springing from a mere obscure 
rural hamlet into the prominence of a railroad center none were more 
prominent, more progressive, or deserve longer to be remembered thaiv 
those doing business at first under the firm name of S. S. & J. Hamlin and 
afterward under that of Hamlin & Rice. The first named member of 
these two firms was Samuel Seldcn Hamlin, descended from good old 
Massachusetts families. His grandfather was Jehicl Hamlin, a substan- 
tial farmer of West Springfield, Mass., and his grandmother Jerusha 
Seltlen. His father, son of Jehiel, was Ebenezer Hamlin, who married 
Sophia Dewey on March 15, 1800. The children of this marriage were: 
Heman, born December 15, 1800; James Dewey, born July 25, 1803 ; • 
Betsey Pomeroy, born November 9, 1807; Caroline Sophia, born De- 
cember 5, 1810; Samuel Selden, born September 7, 1816; and John 
H., born March 11, 1819. Heman removed to Canada, where he died. 
James Dewey Hamlin married Caroline Bennett on January 26, 1832, 
and died November 7, 1859. His children were Myron Ebenezer, born 
April 9, 1833, died February 12, 1835; Emily B., born July 11, 1835; 
and Mary Sophia, born April 3, 1837, died October 17, 1838. 

The two daughters of the Hamlin family became in turn the wives of 
Hiland Bishop Hall. The youngest, Caroline Sophia, his first wife, was 
the mother of Isabella Sophia Hall, born January 30, 1835. Mrs. Hall 
died June 8, 1836. The elder daughter, Betsey Pomeroy Hamlin, the 
second wife of Mr. Hall, was married to him on July 13, 1837. Her 
children were Francis G. Hall, who married Maria Angell on October 
7, 1867, and Hiland S. Hall, who married Janet Major on October 22, 
1867. She died September 7, 1885. John H. Hamlin was married on 
September 12, 1849, to Lydia T. Covell, a daughter of Lyman Covell 
and a member of the family that was one of the earliest to come into 
the Chemung Valley. He died in Mansfield, Pa., November 5, 1865. 

Ebenezer Hamlin came with his family in 1823 from West Spring- 
field, Mass , to West Bloomfield, Ontario County, N. Y. Those were 
primitive times and the journey was made in a large covered wagon, 
occupying fourteen days. The same distance can now be traversed in a 
less number of hours. Young Samuel S. Hamlin was sent to the dis- 
trict schools of the neighborhood and later entered the Bloomfield 



660 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Acadeni}', wliich at tliat early date enjoyed and deserved a reputation 
much beyond any similar institution in that part of the country. He 
was graduated from this when he was seventeen years of age with as 
good an English education as could be obtained in those days anywhere. 
He had settled upon the mercantile business as his avocation in life, and 
with this object in view in 1833 he entered a general store in Palmyra, 
N. Y., and remained there one year. Returning to West Bloomfield 
he began work in the store of his brother-in-law, Hiland l^ishop Hall, 
serving there faithfully as a clerk until he was twent3--one years of age. 
His after career in his chosen calling is an evidence of the fact that these 
years were employed by him in gaining a thorough and comprehensive 
knowledge of goods and the laws that must govern a successful mercan- 
tile career. With his brother, John H., S. S. Hamlin formed a mercantile 
partnership at this time, carrying on their business in West Bloomfield, 
purchasing also the family homestead farm. Mr. Hamlin formed also 
another partnership when he was twenty-three )'ears of age that was of 
more value to him than any business connection and that added to his 
happiness for many years. On September 13, 1839, he married Cor- 
nelia Rice, of Geneva, a daughter of Joel Rice, one of the substantial 
citizens of that pretty village on the Seneca. One son was born of this 
union, Asher Pomeroy Hamlin, whose birthday was July 27, 1840. 
He was a promising youth, pleasantly remembered by men who have 
now become elderly, and who were his companions and playmates. He 
died on the threshold of his manhood on January 15, 1861. Mrs. 
Hamlin died February'29, 1872. 

While the firm of S. S. & J. Hamlin was in successful operation in 
West Bloomfield the village of Elmira was just coming into promi- 
nence as one of the most promising towns of the period. The broad 
and rich plains of the Chemung Yalle}' were as attractive and inviting as 
are in these days the much larger regions of Oklahoma or the Dukotas. 
The horizon of the vision and hopes was much more limited then than 
it is now. There were fewer people in our country then and there was 
not so much pushing for elbow room or an immense lookout. 

In May, 1842, after due examination and consideration, the business 
of the firm of S. S. & J. Hamlin was transferred from West Bloomfield 
to Elmira. It is a pleasant fact to recall that the same stage coach 



BIOGRAPHICAL. GGl 

that brought Mr. Hamlin from Watkins to Elniira also had as a 
passenger Francis Hall, another of the earlier merchants of the village 
who was coming to make the growing town his home. The Hamlin 
firm occupied as their first store a building on East Water street stand- 
ing where is now located the hat store of John Huston and known as 
the Bennett block. They displayed a stock of dry goods that some- 
what opened the eyes of the rather primitive citizens of Elmira, and 
were the first to introduce in the trade there many articles in their line. 
They brought to the town for sale the first broche shawls that were 
ever seen there on a merchant's counter or shelves. They had silks 
rating as high as $6 a yard, and they introduced what were then 
esteemed a great luxury, ingrain carpets. S. S. Hamlin sold the first 
floor covering of this kind that was ever offered for sale in Elmira, The 
purchaser was William E. Rutter, the division superintendent of the 
Erie Railroad. After the sale was made Mr. Hamlin sought the town 
over in vain for some one to make up the carpet. He himself knew how 
to sew on the cover of a ball, and applying this stitch to the work he cut 
and made the carpet with his own hands. How to put it down was the 
next problem. After another search Sandy Brant, a well known col- 
ored man of the period, accustomed to undertake all sorts of odd jobs, 
agreed to try the operation. That he succeeded well is made manifest 
from the fact that both Mr. and Mrs. Rutter expressed themselves well 
satisfied with their new purchase and with the manner in which it was 
laid. 

In 1846 the Hamlin firm removed to what is now the site of the 
book store of Morse, Hall & Loring, and there S. S. Hamlin re- 
mained for fifteen years. For three years he continued with his 
brother and for twelve years with R. C. Rice, a brother of his wife, this 
latter firm being known as Hamlin & Rice, a house that during its ex- 
istence gained and maintained a position and reputation all its own. In 
all the finer grades of dry goods the firm was the acknowledged leader 
and held the trade in that line of the whole country around. The stock 
was always selected with the utmost care and the most excellent taste, 
a fact that the ladies of the village and neighborhood most tlioroughly 
appreciated, and so appreciating abundantly patronized. In 1 86 1 Mr. 
Hamlin retired from the firm with a competence. Mr. Rice retained an 



662 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

interest in the business, associating with him two young men of experi- 
ence and ability, the firm name becoming Rice, Durland & Pratt. 
Subsequently Mr. Rice removed with his family to Denver, Col., where 
he is now engaged in business, and the firm became, as it now is, one 
of the leading houses in Elmira, — Durland S: Pratt. During the 
years of his active business life Mr. Hamlin had become interested in 
real estate operations and other investments. He w-as one of the orig- 
inal stockholders of the Elmira Rolling-Mill Company and at one 
time was vice-president of a similar enterprise at Spuyten Duyvil on the 
Hudson, in which Jervis Langdon was also interested. He was a 
prominent stockholder in the Second National Bank of Elmira. Soon 
after coming to Elmira Mr. Hamlin connected himself by letter w'ith 
the Presbyterian Church of which Dr. Fowler was then pastor. He 
has always maintained his connection with this church, an active and 
interested member, serving it in the capacity of trustee many years. It 
may be mentioned as characteristic of the man, which those who know 
him best will recognize, that the first money he earned as a boy was 
devoted to the purchase of the New Testament. 

Since he has retired from an active business life Mr. Hamlin has de- 
voted himself to the care of his investments and to the enjoyment of his 
well earned properties. He has always been an enthusiastic lover of 
field sports in the way of hunting, and even to this day enjoys a tramp 
through wood and over hill in search of such game as may be in season. 
A good many years has the figure of Mr. Hamlin, clad in hunting cos- 
tume with his gun over his shoulder and his favorite thoroughbred dog 
at his side, been a familiar one in the fields where the game is abund- 
ant around Elmira and in other localities. And as usually follows with 
such tastes Mr. Hamlin possesses fine artistic impulses that make him 
a lover of fine paintings, of which he is the owner of a number. He 
has been a generous patron of the local artists of merit and his encour- 
agement has done much to help them on in their struggle for place and 
pjsition in the world. T. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 663 

G RIDLEY, GRANDISON A., was born of Scotch ancestry in 
Cazenovia, Madison County, N. Y., on the iSthofMay, 1819. His 
father was Abel Gridley, wlio was a native of Meriden, Conn., and was 
an early settler in Madison County, where he followed the business of a 
merchant in hardware, being located in Cazenovia. He was a successful 
and respected business man and a good citizen. His death occurred 
on the 26th of May, 1835, at Cazenovia. His wife was Selina Marriam, 
a native of Madison County. She died in Elmira on August 8, 1849 
Besides Grandison A. their children were two daughters, Emily and 
Marietta, both of whom are dead, and a son, Harrison, who resides in 
Canandaigua. 

Grandison A. Gridley was somewhat fortunate in liis boyhood in liv- 
ing in a village noted in those days for its superior educational ad- 
vantages, the Cazenovia Seminary having long enjoyed an excellent 
reputation. In that institution he secured as good an education as was 
possible in tlie period until he was sixteen years old, when he left school 
permanently. This occurred in the same year with his father's death. 
He immediately took up the tinner's trade and worked at it until 
1840, when on the 3d of September he came to Elmira and in May 
of the following year he opened a small shop and store at No. 339 
East Water street, where the plumbing establishment of Gridley & 
Son is now located. That site he has occupied alone or with partners 
ever since. He began business in company with Ephraim Davenport 
and Dwight Hackley under the firm name of Hackley, Gridley & Co., 
and continued thus two years. Mr. Hackley then retired from the bus- 
iness and the firm name was changed to Gridley & Davenport. For 
the succeeding thirty years this firm continued in successful trade, gain- 
ing the respect of the community and enjoying a good measure of suc- 
cess. In 1873 Mr. Davenport died, but the business was continued 
under the old arrangement until 1S74. At that time the firm became 
Gridley & Son, and it so remains, being composed of G. A. Gridley and 
his son Charles H. The hardware store, to which the business of 
plumbing was added in 1883, is one of the largest in this section of 
the State. 

Mr. Gridley was first married in 1842 to Miss Harriet Jones, of El- 
mira. She died in 1844 without children. In 1847 he married Mary 



6G4 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Brovvnell Hubbard, also of Elmira. Her death occurred on tlie 6th of 
July, 1887. The children are Charles H., born August 27, 1848; Hat- 
tie, born June I, 1852, married II. C. Underhill, of Erie County; Will- 
iam, born February 14, 1861 ; and Leonard C, born in April, 1864. All 
of the sons are connected with the firm of Gridley & Son. 

While always taking a deep interest in public affairs and good gov- 
ernment Mr. Gridley has not devoted much time or eft'ort to the field 
of politics, preferring to exert his energies to the advancement of his 
business. But his well known qualifications of good judgment, fore- 
sight, and integrity have led his fellow citizens to select him for public 
duties. He was elected alderman of his ward (the Fifth) in 1868 and 
served two terms. He has also served as supervisor. Mr. Gridley is a 
consistent member of the Park Congregational Church and has been a 
trustee for a number of years. In educational matters he has always 
shown a wise and active interest, and has been trustee of Elmira College 
for eight years. Mr. Gridley is a man of courteous and genial address, 
and has drawn around him in his long business career a wide circle of 
faithful friends. 



DEXTER, SEYMOUR, was born in the town of Independence, 
Allegany County, N. Y., March 20, 1841. His father was Dan- 
iel De.xter, a successful farmer and a man of unusual intellectual power ; 
his mother was Angeline Briggs, a daughter of William Briggs, also of 
that town. His grandfather lived in Herkimer County, N. Y. The 
ancestry of the family is traced back to the Rev. Newton Dexter, who 
came over to the Providence plantations with Sir Roger Williams. 

Seymour Dexter's opportunities for securing an education were fair 
and he availed himself of them with ardor. After attendance at the 
district schools until he was fourteen years old he began study in the 
Alfred Academy in his native county in the winter of 1855—56, and 
continued there during winter terms until he was able to enter the Al- 
fred University, where he continued as a student until the spring of 1861, 
when on the 26th of April, directly after the firing on Fort Sumter, his 
patriotism overcame his immediate desire for education and he enlisted 
at Elmira, N. Y., as a private in Company K of the Twenty-third Reg- 
iment N. Y. V. It was a two years' regiment and Mr. Dexter served 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 665 

his time with credit, returning to tlie university at the close of ills term 
for his last year of study. He graduated in 1864 from the classical 
course, well equipped for his future career — the study of law. He was 
then twenty- three years of age. In the fall of 1864 he came to Elmira 
and entered the law office of James L. Woods, where he pursued his 
studies until May, 1866, when lie was admitted to practice at the general 
term in Binghamton. The following year he spent in the office of George 
M. Diven as managing clerk, at the end of which period he formed a 
partnership with Robert T. Turner, now a prominent attorney in Elmira. 
E. C. Van Duzer subsequentlj- was admitted to the firm. This partner- 
ship was a congenial one and the firm soon commanded a large practice. 
In the spring of 1872 Judge Dexter was appointed city attorney for 
Elmira and successfully discharged the duties of the office for one year. 
In the fall he was nominated for the Assembly and was elected, being the 
only Republican member elected in the county from 1866 to 1883. He 
declined a unanimous tender of a second nomination. He had long ere 
this acquired a professional standing among the ablest law) ers in this 
part of the State and gained the entire confidence of the people of this 
county. This led to his nomination in the fall of 1877 for the office of 
countj- judge on the Republican ticket and his subsequent election. The 
partnership of Turner, De.xter & Van Duzer was thereupon dissolved 
on the 1st of January, 1878. The term of county judge was six years, 
at the close of which Judge Dexter was re-elected and held the ofiice 
until August, 1889, when he resigned to accept the presidency and 
active management of the Second National Hank, a position of trust and 
responsibility which he still occupies. A banquet was tendered him by 
the bar of the county on the i ith of October, 1889, commemorative of his 
retirement, at which the following resolutions were adopted and other 
evidences given of the estimate in which he was held by his professional 
brethren : 

"When (he recognilion of a man by his peers results in his selection for prominent 
positions ;incl the performance of duties requiring unusual qualifications, perfect integ- 
rity, and an e.xalted moral character, he has just reason to be proud. 

" Success in the lines chosen at the threshold of life is earnestly desired by every 
man of healthy brain and body, and nothing is so sweet and satisfying as the reah'za- 
tion in middle life of his youthful hopes and ambitions. 

" To have accomplished our ends in life, and to be able to stand on a foundation 
84 



C6G OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

iiiiilt by our own hands, firmly inihedded in the esteem and unqualified respect of our 
neighbors and fiieiuls, is to ha\e made life worth living. 

" Uninterrupted advancement toward the goals so inviting to all, and holding them 
within the grasp, is accorded to few. But to know how others see us is rarely per- 
mitted, and truthful words of praise from sincere friends are like apples of gold in 
pictures of silver.' Such has been your career and rewards since ycu became a mem- 
ber of this bar. 

'• For the past decade your judicial life on the bench of this county has been so 
characterized by impartiality, varied learning, integrity, and unvarying regard for pro- 
fessional ethics as to justly entitle you to the lasting respect of this community. 

" While deeply regretting your retirement from the practice of our profession we 
heartily wish for you and yours a continuance of success in the new walk you have 
chosen." 

In his management of the affairs of the bank of which he lias had 
practically the control Judge Dexter has shown unusual financial skill 
and excellent business sagacity and judgment. In still another direc- 
tion has Judge Dexter shown his efficiency as a leader and received hon- 
orable promotion at the hands of his fellow citizens. In 1875 was 
organized the Chemung Valley Building and Loan Association in El- 
mira, to which he was elected president. He still holds the office, and 
it is, perhaps, enough to say of his administration that the association 
now has assets of $340,000 and has accomplished untold good in this city. 
This connection led Judge Dexter to take a deep interest in this form of 
co-operation in its various features — an interest that has steadily devel- 
oped tintil now he is thoroughly conversant with the subject in all its 
aspects and is recognized as authority throughout the country. He has 
made it a study, and in 1889 published through the well known New- 
York house of D. Appleton & Co. a book on co-operative savings and 
loan associations, which had a sale throughout the United States and 
has had great influence in the spreadof these associations and the adoption 
of safe methods in the transaction of their business. On the formation 
of the New York State League of Co- Operative Savings and Building 
Loan Associations in 1889 Judge Dexter was made one of its vice- 
presidents, and in 1890 was elected president and re-elected in 1891. 

Judge Dexter is a thorough student of political economy and of social 
science with their kindred topics. For three years he delivered lect- 
ures on these subjects before the advanced classes of the Elmira Re- 
formatory with the uttiiost acceptance by the authorities of that institu- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 667 

tion. He is a member of the American I'^conomic Association, and 
read an able paper before tliatbodycn the " Economic Value of l^uilding 
and Loan Associations." He is a member of the American Social Science 
Association and lias read several papers before it, one of which, recently 
read before the Jurisprudence Department of the association, may mark 
an epoch in that science; its subject was "Compulsory Arbitration," 
and Judge Dexter has already received the heartiest congratulations from 
eminent men upon the position assumed by him on the subject. The 
literary degree of Ph.B, was conferred upon him some years since. He 
has been a member of Park Church from the time he was a law student, 
actively working in its Sunday school until the present time, and a 
close friend of its distinguished [)astor. Rev. T. K. Beecher. Judge 
Dexter is a charter member of Baldwin Post, G. A. R , has been judge 
advocate of the State Department, and has always been active for the 
good of that organization. 

Of Mr. Dexter's qualifications as a lawjer and a judge it is said of him 
by a prominent member of the Chemung Bar that " he was an excellent 
trial lawyer, well read, industrious, and a hard worker. He made a 
good judge, for which position his tastes and natural gifts were well cal- 
culated, lie was eminently fair and judicious and had the confidence 
of all who came before him. He is an eloquent and forcible speaker, 
and his integrity and fairness were so well understood that he was trusted 
by all who knew him. He is a thoroughly able man." In the business, 
political, and social life of Elmira Judge Dexter is a conspicuous figure 
and enjoys the happy faculty of holding as true friends almost every 
one with whom he comes in immediate contact. Courteous and genial 
in manner there is still in his character a foundation of firmness and ad- 
herence to his convictions of what is right that sustains him at all times 
and gives him the thoughtful respect of the whole community. 

Judge Dexter was married on the 17th of June, 1868, to Miss Eleanor 
E. Weaver, an accomplished woman who graduated from the same in- 
stitution and in the same class with her husband. She is a daughter of 
Ebenezer Weaver, of I.eonardsville, Madison County, N. Y. They have 
four living children, two sons and two daughters. 



6G8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ROCKWELL, ROSEA HUNT.— In 1629 a company of English- 
men who had been driven from England into Holland on account 
of religious persecution set sail from the latter named country for 
America. They had formed themselves into what they called a church 
of which the leading spirit was Dea. Matthew Grant. This deacon was 
the lineal ancestor of Gen. U. S. Grant. Among the members of this 
church or company was William Rockwell. Arrived in this country 
Matthew Grant died, and in a suitable time thereafter his widow married 
William Rockwell. Most of the company settled at or in the neighbor- 
hood of South wick, Mass. A direct descendant of this W'illiam Rockwell, 
named John, was an officer in the Revolutionary war. At the conclusion 
of that contest he settled in Colebrook, Conn., and there are many of 
his descendants living in that town to this day. He was a surveyor 
by profession. A company had been formed to build the State-liouse in 
Connecticut in Hartford, and in payment for the contract they had been 
given a strip of land in New York State lying in the Seeley Creek Val- 
ley in Chemung County that Connecticut claimed. The company was 
called the " Connecticut Gore Land Company," as the shape of the 
strip was long and narrow, wider at one end than at the other. John 
Rockwell was employed in the early part of the century to come to the 
region, squat on the land, and claim title thereto that a suit might fol- 
low to tr)' where the title vested. He came into the Seeley Creek Val- 
ley, but soon ascertained that there was so much feeling among the 
squatters who had preceded him that he did n't make known the ob- 
ject of his coming. He might not have fared very well had he done 
so. He stopped with Nathaniel Seeley and remained all summer, as a 
pastime setting out the fruit trees that afterward became so well known 
in the locality under the name of "Townsend's Orchard." He also 
bought some land on his own account, went back to Connecticut, and 
died there. 

A son of his, John T. Rockwell, was engaged in the manufacture of 
wire during the War of 1812 and was prospered during the famous em- 
bargo of that period. But the embargo was suddenly lifted and he was 
ruined financially. He took his family of little boys and in 1822 came 
to Newtown, now Elmira. One of these lads was Samuel Rockwell, 
who learned his trade of cabinetmaker of John M. Robinson. While 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 669 

yet a young man in Newtown he met there Joanna Hunt, a niece of 
Adna Bridgman and a Chenango County girl who was teaching school 
at Carr's Corners. A mutual attachment sprang up and the two be- 
came man and wife. They moved to tiie neighborhood of Lawrence- 
ville, Tioga County, Pa., in 1839, and the next year, on May 31st, there 
was born to them a son, who was named Hosea Hunt Rockwell. 
Three other boj's and five girls were born to the couple. Samuel 
Rockwell is still living on his farm near Lawrenceville 

Hosea H. Rockwell picked up what schooling he could in the neigh- 
borhood of his home until he was si.xteen years of age, working at times 
for Daniel Dalrymple, who kept the Bulkhead Hotel on the plank road 
in Southport. One winter he took care of eighteeii cows and a lot of 
cattle and cut the wood required by three stoves. Afterward young 
Rockwell taught school in the winter and worked as the chances offered 
in the summer-time. During some of the winters he also had a sing- 
ing school two or three evenings in the week, and to this practice he 
attributes his possession of a voice of great power and his freedom from 
every kind of pulmonary difficulty or affection. In the winter of 1859— 
60 he came to Elmira, his first occupation being the driving of a milk 
wagon for John Bridgman, who was a familj' connection through his 
mother. But this employment was only temporary. He was in- 
tensely interested in the presidential campaign of i860, although not 
old enough to vote. In the fall of that year he became book-keeper 
for the firm of Stuart & Ufiford, prominent merchants of the period, 
but in the spring of 1861, when the war broke out, at the first war meet- 
ing in the village held in Concert Hall he was the third man to enlist 
in the organization that afterward became the Twenty- third Regiment. 
He served for the full term of his enlistment as private. For five years 
after his return from the front Mr. Rockwell was engaged in clerking, in 
the express business, and in teaching in the neighborhood of his old 
home. All this time his attention had been drawn toward the practice 
of the law, and he had pursued his studies toward that end as he was 
able. In April, 1868, he returned to Elmira and entered the law office 
of Tomlinson & Ransom and was admitted to the bar in December, 
1869. He began the practice of his profession alone, and his success 
in it has been unqualified and distinct. In 1870 he was elected sec- 



670 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

retary of the Board of Education and served in that capacity for two 
years. Mr. Rockwell has always been a firm Democrat, his first vote 
having been cast in 1864 for George B. McClellan for President. He has 
always been prominent in the councils of his party and an industrious 
worker for its success before the people. In 1876 he was elected mem- 
ber of Assembly for the county and in 1890 member of Congress for 
the district His labors in numberless campaigns, on the stump and in 
the columns of the newspapers, have been most heartily appreciated. 

In 1876 Mr. Rockwell formed a partnership in law with Charles A. 
Collin, now the professor in charge of the Law Department of Cornell 
University, Ithaca. This connection continued for twelve years and it 
goes to show the mutability of affairs in the profession that at the time 
of the dissolution of the partnership it was the oldest unchanged law firm 
in the city of Elmira. Until within a year Mr. Rockwell has been alone 
in his business, associating with him at that time John Guy McDowell, 
a son of Maj. R. M. McDowell and a grandson of Judge John G. Mc- 
Dowell, one of the historic characters of the county. Besides the offi- 
ces named Mr. Rockwell has served as city attorney and in 1883 he was 
appointed by Governor Cleveland a trustee of the Soldiers Home at 
Bath. He was for six years the vice-president of the board and is 
chairman of the committee on buildings and grounds, having in charge 
all of the improvements of the premises. His services are esteemed to 
be very valuable in this respect. His interest in the National Guard of 
the State has always been active and alive, and he has done much for 
the advancement of the local military organizations. He served as 
major and judge advocate on the staffs of Brig-Gen. Jacob Lansing and 
Brig- Gen. Edmund O. Beers. During the railroad strike of 1877 he 
saw some unusually e.xciting duty, serving during its continuance as 
acting assistant adjutant-general and having in charge all of the business 
of the brigade that was called out to suppress the disturbance. He 
received the commendation of his superior officers for the manner in 
which he conducted affairs of a peculiarly delicate and trying nature. 
Major Rockwell, as he deserves, stands high on the roll of the G. A. R. 
Without being a charter member of Baldwin Post, of Elmira, he was 
mustered into that organization very soon after it was formed and is one 
of its past commanders. He was the judge-advocate-general on the 
staff of Department Commander Corporal James Tanner, of New York. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 671 

Major Rockwell was married in September, iSyi.to Hattie Heck- 
man, of Angelica, Allegany County, N. Y. There were three children 
born to them, only one of whom survives, a daughter nine years of age. 
In the midst of a busy professional life Major Rockwell has found time 
as his inclination has demanded of him to cultivate and develop literary 
characteristics of much more than ordinary quality. His speeches, occa- 
sional or on the stump, are always carefully prepared and secure the 
attention of his hearers by the closeness of the reasoning and the clear- 
ness of their expression. He never disappoints his audience, and 
^vhether the general public or a jury they may be sure that they will hear 
something that will not only be entertaining, but will be full of matter 
of value to them uttered with unmistakable sincerity. In his writings 
for the press Major Rockwell is especially attractive, and the columns 
of the Elmira papers have borne frequent testimony to his ability as a 
writer on political and general topics. A series of papers under the 
title of the " Old Major," running for a number of months in the Gazette, 
were looked for with pleasant anticipations and read with delight by a 
large circle of admirers. They were not ephemeral in their nature, for 
they discussed in thoughtful and sometimes humorous style subjects 
that entitled them to preservation. By no means yet an old man Major 
Rockwell, having achieved political distinction, might aspire to and 
reach distinction also in other fields than those of his profession, or by 
means of politics, that will give him a larger constituency than is 
bounded by the limits of a congressional district. T. 



TURNER, ROBERT TIFFT, was born in the town of Veteran, 
Chemung County, N.Y., on the 28th of January, 1835. Hisfather 
was John Turner, who was born in 1800 and came from Rensselaer 
County, N. Y., to Veteran in 1826, where he was occupied as a farmer 
and a lumberman. He was one of the early ardent Abolitionists and 
one of the six men of that town who voted for James G. Birncy in 1844 
for President; he was not, however, a politician. He died January 17, 
1 88 1. His wife was Ulissa Tiftt, of Rensselaer Count)', a daughter of 
Robert Titift; they were married in 1824, and her death occurred on the 
1st of October, 1871. She was of French descent. The fanuly is of 



672 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

English descent on the father's side and the first immigrant to America 
came with the J\[ayflowcr. 

Robert T. Turner was given excellent advantages for securing an ed- 
ucation, attending school at Whitesboro near Utica, afterward at Alfred 
University in Allegany County, and graduating from Union College in 
1861. Leaving the college at the close of the winter term in 1861 he 
entered immediately as a student the law office of Hathaway & Woods 
in Elmira. He soon became so much engaged with the business that 
crowded the office during the eventful days of the opening of the war 
that he could not return to commencement, though he was graduated 
with the class. Colonel Hathaway, the senior member of the firm, go- 
ing to the front as colonel of the One Hundred and Forty-first Regi- 
ment N. Y. V. in 1862, left the entire charge of his extensive private 
business in the hands of Mr. Turner, who managed it for him during 
his absence in the field and for the heirs after the death of Colonel 
Hathaway in 1864. Mr. Turner continued his law study with the firm 
of Hathaway & Woods and was admitted to the bar in 1864. Remain- 
ing in the same office he formed in 1868 a partnership with Seymour 
Dexter under the firm name of Turner & Dexter. In 1872 E. C. Van 
Duzer was added to the firm. In 1879 Seymour Dexter, having been 
elected judge and surrogate of Chemung County, withdrew from the 
firm, which has ever since remained Turner & Van Duzer. Beginning 
with 1877 Solomon L. Gillett and Mr. Turner, under the firm name of 
Gillett & Co., purchased and re-organized the bankrupt Nobles auger 
and cutlery factory, and successfully conducted it until 1887, when it 
was sold to eastern competitors, who afterward removed it to Connecti- 
cut, where it is now continued successfully. The confidence reposed in 
Mr. Turner from the time when the estate of Colonel Hathaway was left 
in his charge has led to many others being put in his hands for settle- 
ment or for permanent care. In the management of these large and 
responsible interests he has been thoroughly successful, giving to the 
welfare of his clients the benefit of his excellent business judgment as 
well as his skill as an attorney. This class of business has occupied a 
large share of his time and brought him into the circle of business men 
where he has, perhaps, been more conspicuous than in the courts. No 
enterprise promising benefit to Elmira has found him indifferent, and 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 673 

much of his time in past years was given to furthering various railroad 
projects, notably the Elmira and State line, now a part of the Erie ; 
tlie Canal Railroad, which he organized and of which he was president; 
and the Utica, Ithaca, and Elmira, now the Elmira, Cortland, and North- 
ern, of which he was counsel and a director. lie is now and has been 
for many years attorney for the New York, Lackawanna, and Western 
Railway extension, and has always shared with his partner in a large 
general practice. His recognized business sagacity and prudence led to 
his selection as one of the trustees of the Elmira Free Press and for 
three years he was treasurer of the Elmira Advertiser Association ; he 
was one of the directors of the Elmira and Horsehcads Street Railway 
and became interested in many other local enterprises ; he has been a 
director in the Second National Bank for the past two years. He was 
one of the originators and the first president of the Elmira Board of 
Trade, which office he held for several years and then resigned. This 
organization has been a large factor in the prosperity of the city. 

Mr. Turner is a Democrat in politics, but his incessant and exacting 
business cares have prevented him from taking a very active part in that 
field. In 1872 he was elected alderman of the P'ourth ward and in 1876 
was induced to permit the use of his name as a nominee for the mayor- 
alty. It is flattering to his standing in the community that he was 
elected by a large majority over the late Dr. Patrick H. I'^lood. Hold- 
ing a responsible and difficult office during the laber disturbances of 
those years, in a city where so many railroads center and so many fac- 
tories were in operation, that law and order were maintained in Elmira 
was largely due to his exertions and influence. At the beginning of the 
great strikes of 1877 he by proclamation called the attention of the cit- 
izens to the fact that all taxpayers were liable for whatever damage was 
suffered by any individual or company at the hands of a mob, and 
called upon all law-abiding people to assist in preventing violence. 
While under his administration Ivlmira was the first city in the State to 
obtain legal authority to compel tramps to labor. Its enforcement within 
a month reduced the number to be provided for daily from about one 
hundred to less than half a dozen. His administration was one of tlie 
best the city has had. Mr. Turner's success as a lawyer, speaking in a 
strictly professional sense, is due largely to the great confidence he in- 
85 



674 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOl'I.E. 

spires in others, giving the impression that he possesses a large fund of 
reserved force, as it is termed. He has never depended upon brilliant 
effects in the court room or elsewhere, but his earnestness and devotion 
have served his purpose and carried him on to success. As a man of 
affairs and outside of his profession he is looked upon as an unusually 
prudent, sagacious, and fortunate investor, and has had placed in his 
hands for such purposes a large amount of funds. It is needless to say 
that every trust reposed in him has been faithfully kept. He is a mem- 
ber of the Episcopal Church and now is and has been for man)- years a 
vestryman of Trinity. 

In 1868 Mr. Turner was married to Miss Helen E. Boyd, of Buffalo, 
a daughter of Gen. John W. Boyd, of Geneva, Wis. General Boyd 
is one of the prominent men of that State, particularly in politics, and 
is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Turner have five children. 



GUINNIP, RANSOM HART, was born in Dryden, Tompkins 
County, N. Y., on the 2d of December, 1819. The family came 
from the sturdy Welsh stock from which have sprung numerous de- 
scendants in several of the cities of this State who are noted for their 
thrift and integrity. Ransom Guinnip's father was George B. Guinnip, 
a native of Huntington County, N. J., whither he removed to Dryden. 
During his life he was a merchant in Dryden, Havana, and \\'atkins, 
N. Y., and died in the latter place on July 20, 1869. The mother of 
Ransom H. was Sarah Hart, of Dryden ; she died in Watkins on May 
9, 1884. His other children were a daughter, who died young, and a 
son, Augustus M., who died in Elmira unmarried. 

Ransom Hart Guinnip attended public school at Dryden, supple- 
mented with a few terms at the Homer Academy, continuing down to the 
year 1836, thus acquiring a good English education. Leaving school he 
went to Ithaca and entered the store of R. & W. Halsey as clerk. At 
the end of a year he engaged himself to George W. Whitmore in the 
same capacity, where he remained one year, and then entered his father's 
store at Dryden. He continued in the employ of his father one year in 
Dryden and three years at Havana, whither the family removed in 
1840. At the end of that period, in 1843, the father gave his two sons 



.rf<^l 



H 





^^^^^^2^^22,-ti^/ 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 075 

an interest in his business and they removed it to Watkins. The firm 
of Giiinnip & Sons continued four years witli a good degree of success, 
wlien tlie sons bought out their fatlier and continued tlie business to 
1 85 I, at whicli time they removed to Westfield, Ciiautauc|ua County, 
N. Y., and continued there a year. In 1S52 tiicy clianged the location 
of their business to Meadville, Pa., and continued it to 1864, when they 
closed out their stock and came to Mhiiira, locating on the land he has 
ever since owned — about forty acres on West Water street. During 
most of their business career the bulk of their trade had been in dry 
goods and notions. Some years after the arrival of the brothers in El- 
niira they perchased the bankrupt stock of goods of Covell & Deck-er 
and began a successful period of trade here, which continued down to 
the fall of 1880. At thai time they went to Washington, I). C, where 
they purchased the bankrupt stock of dry goods of A. K. Chandler, and 
there continued in trade until September, 1889. Mr. Guinnip had not 
given up his home in Elmira nor lost his ardent attachment to the place, 
and on the date last mentioned they closed out their business in Wash- 
ington on account of illness, Ransom H. being attacked with malaria in 
its worst form. Mr. Guinnip returned to Elmira and organized with 
his sons, Guinn and Morgan A., the present well known dry goods 
house of Guinnip & Co. Such has been the purely business life of an 
old and respected citizen of Elmira, making a career that has been sus- 
tained throughout upon principles of integrity and liberality toward his 
fellowmen. Outside of his business relations Mr. Guiniii[) has perhaps 
been more conspicuous in politics than in any other direction ; but he is 
one of the not very numerous army who, while keeping at the front on 
political topics of the time and showing by his acts a deep interest in 
public affairs, has never been induced to accept an office. He is a Dem- 
ocrat of the independent school, and on account of his prominence was 
sent as a delegate to the Cincinnati convention which nominated Gen- 
eral Hancock for the Presidency — a measure that Mr. Guinnip has al- 
ways regretted, for his sympathies were at that time and for years be-, 
fore and after strongly enlisted with the career of Samuel J. Tilden. Mr. 
Guinnip is an admirer of Governor Hill and is proud of whatever he has 
been able to accomplish in the elevation of that citizen to his present 
conspicuous position. While Mr. Guinnip believes in political stead- 



676 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

fastness and consistency he still prides himself that he knows when to 
bolt and is not afraid to do it. He has in the various relations in which 
lie has come before the community gained the respect and confidence 
of iiis fellow citizens. 

Mr. Guinnip was married in 1845 ^^ Mary A. Kinnan, of North Hec- 
tor, Tompkins County, N. Y., and she is still living Their children 
are Guinn, who married Ella Warder in 1885, no children ; Morgan 
A., who married Ella McGuiggan in October, 1886, and is a graduate 
of Yale College ; (these being members of the firm of Guinnip & Co.;) 
Hart, who is in business in New York city ; and George B., the fourtli 
son, who died on Christmas day, 1890, aged twenty-two years. The 
wife of Hart Guinnip was Gertrude Hyde, and they were married in 
December, 1883. 



rLOOD, THOMAS S. — On other pages of this record are to be 
read lines showing the estimable family to which the Hon. 
Thomas S. Flood belongs and the source from which he sprang. He 
was the second son of Dr. P. H. Flood and was born in Lodi, Sen- 
eca County, N. Y. , on April 12, 1844. He received his education in 
the public schools and Free Academy of Elmira, and early in life went 
into business as a druggist With his brothers he studied medicine 
with his father, but has never taken his degree nor practiced his pro- 
fession. In 1870 he married Frances Miller, a daughter of Edmund 
Miller, of Southport, one of the historic characters of the valley and the 
county. Two children, a son and a daughter, are the fruits of this 
marriage. 

Edmund Miller's wife was Pamelia Dubois and her brother, John Du- 
bois, was one of the wealthiest and most noted men of Central Penn- 
sylvania, owning in Clearfield County in that State nearly 30,000 acres 
heavily timbered with white pine. Mr. Dubois was attracted tovi'ard 
the young gentleman who had married his niece and invited him to go 
to this region and develop it. After some consideration Mr. Flood ac- 
cepted the offer and went down into the woods of Pennsylvania. For 
five years he lived the life of a genuine pioneer and passed a most ro- 
mantic and exciting period of his career, one that might be made the 
subject of a book full of adventures, novel and peculiar incidents, and 



BIOGRAPHICAL. G77 

oftentimes dangerous experiences. He built mills and railroads, 
founded the town of Dubois, was its first postmaster, the first express 
agent, and the first freight and ticket agent of the railroad there. He 
found the region a wilderness and left it a busy mart of trade ; when he 
c;ime to it it was far removed from the centers of civilization ; when he 
left it it was in close communication and connection with all the mar- 
kets of the countrj'. With it all he increased incalculably in value the 
immense possessions that had been in his charge. Having completed 
the task set for him to his satisfaction Mr. Flood returned to Elmira. 

In 1882 he ran for alderman of the Fourth ward and was elected, 
although a Republican, the ward being one that had always before that 
been counted on for a solid Democratic majority. In 1886 he was so- 
licited to enter a somewhat similar contest for member of Congress in 
his district, one that had never gone otherwise than Democratic. He 
had in the meantime managed successfully many business operations, 
conducted the County Agricultural Society as its superintendent and 
treasurer, and had won a host of influential friends by his frankness and 
integrity, and had especially attracted the young men. He consented 
to stand as a candidate and was elected, carrying every county in his dis- 
trict, although his opponent, the Hon. Jeremiah McGuire, was one of the 
most eminent lawyers in the State, had been speaker of the Assembly, 
and had a national reputation. Mr. Flood was re-elected in 1888 with 
scarcely any opposition. He ascribed his elections much to his vener- 
ated father's memory. He was one of the most industrious and val- 
uable members of Congress that the county ever sent there. He has 
great quickness of perception, a judgment that seldom goes astraj', 
abundant self-reliance and independence of character, and rapidity of ac- 
tion in carrying out his conclusions. He has determination of will, con- 
stancy of purpose, and is conspicuous for his fidelity to friends and to 
his own word. 

Mr. Flood has a fondness that almost amounts to a passion for fine 
horses, and on his stock farm a few miles from Elmira has plenty of o]) 
portunity for its exercise and development. He has been successful in 
sending into public view one or two of the fastest animals that have en- 
li\ened the annals of the turf. One of these at least deserves naming, 
the mare " Mamie Woods," who has won a reputation for speed that 



678 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

has probably not yet reached its limit. \Mien she was two years old 
she was the fastest colt ever bred outside of California, having beaten 
"Patron's" record. T. 



KA CDOWELL, ROBERT M., was born on the family homestead 
/ \ in the town of Chemung in the j-ear 1833. He may refer with 
pardonable pride to his immediate ancestry. His grandfather was Capt. 
Daniel McDowell, a Cameronion Scotchman who settled on the farm 
subsequently known as " McDowell's Flats," which was afterward the 
home of his son, Hon. John G. McDowell, for more than a quarter of a 
century. Daniel McDowell possessed the real Highland characteristics 
of bravery, zeal, and physical hardihood. He early espoused the cause 
of American Independence ; he was captured by the Indians at Shawnee 
on the I2th of September, 1782, and was taken to Niagara Falls, where 
he was compelled by the savages to run the gauntlet. His muscular 
frame, fleetness of foot, and unflinching bravery enabled him to pass 
through that terrible ordeal as one of the very few who escaped wiili 
their lives. He was subsequently taken to Quebec, Canada, where he 
suffered many acts of cruelt)' from his captors and remained in prison 
one year. He was known to the Indians as " Keto," meaning " the 
iron man." Captain McDowell was liberally educated, possessed a 
vigorous intellect with great enegry and nervous force, and his life was 
an eventful one. His son, Hon. John G. McDowell, father of Robert 
M., a soldier of the War of 1812, was one of those whose names are 
intimately connected with the history of the pioneer settlement of the 
Chemung Valley. He was born February 27, 1794, and died January 
I, 1866, at the age of nearly seventy-two years. Judge McDowell was 
contemporary in political life with Martin Van Buren, Silas Wright, Gov- 
ernor Marcy, and Gen. John A. Dix, with whom he had personal and 
political relations. He represented his district in the Assembly in the 
years 1830-31. In the fall of the latter year he was elected one of the 
four senators from the old Sixth Senatorial District. About this time he 
was chosen as the first president of the Chemung Canal Bank, an insti- 
tution which procured its charter through his instrumentality. He 
served as senator through the years i 832 to 1835 inclusive, meriting and 
receiving the full approbation of his constituents. Judge McDowell 



BIOGRAPHICAL. C7!t 

possessed tlie faculty of creating strong and enduring friendships with 
those who were identified with liim in tlie various relations of life, and 
those who knew him best admired and trusted him the fullest. His 
memory is cherished as having been a true gentleman of the old school 
and a much valued citizen. 

Robert M. McDowell was educated at the old Elmira Academy and 
O.Kford Seminary. On the completion of his studies he adopted the 
profession of civil engineer and surveyor, a calling which he successfully 
followed in several States and mainly in Dakota, the Rocky Mountain 
region, and the then wild frontiers, undergoing many dangers and hard- 
ships incident to the rugged life of a pioneer and among treacherous 
and hostile Indians. Immediately after the call of Abraham Lincoln 
for " 300,000 more " to preserve the Union he, with patriotic zeal, en- 
listed in August, 1862, for three years, or during the war, in Company I, 
One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment N. Y. V., and soon afterward 
was promoted to first lieutenant and adjutant. Participating in the 
peninsular campaigns in June, 1863, he was promoted to the rank of 
c.iptain, with an appointment from General Barnard of engineer on the 
defences of Washington. This latter honor was declined, Captain Mc- 
Dowell preferring to serve his country at the front with his comrades in 
arms. In September, 1863, he was attached to the Eleventh and 
Twelfth Army Corps under command of the intrepid Gen. Joe Hooker, 
and accompanied his command from Rappahannock, Va., to Bridge- 
port, Ala., whence they forced a fighting march to the relief of Rose- 
cranz's threatened army in beleagured Chattanooga. Then followed 
the memorable "Battle above the Clouds" (Lookout Mountain) and 
Mission Ridge. A little later the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps were 
consolidated, becoming the Twentieth Corps. In the historic campaign 
from Chattanooga to Atlanta, during which many heavy battles were 
fought, Captain McDowell served on the stafi" of General Hooker as 
chief topographical engineer and was one of Sherman's veterans on the 
march from " Atlanta to the sea." In the several engagements around 
Atlanta he won distinction for gallant and meritorious services, and was 
breveted major of United States Volunteers. Reaching Savannah, Ga. 
December 25, 1864, the city and ports were tendered as a Christmas 
present to President Lincoln by General Sherman. The army rested at 



680 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Savannah until January 19, 1865, vvlien it resumed the triumphant march 
nortiiward through the swamps and pineries of the Carolinas. In April 
following, with the capitulation of Generals Lee and Johnston, the war 
of the great Rebellion closed, and on the 23d and 24th of May, 1865, 
occurred the grandest military welcome, review, and parade ever beheld 
(200,000) of the scarred and tattered veterans of the F"ederal armies 
tiirough the avenues of the national capital — a memorable event in 
which Major McDowell participated, he then being chief topographical 
engineer on the staft" of Maj.-Gen. H. VV. Slocum, commanding the left 
wing of the army of Georgia, numbering 50,000 men, which constituted 
one-half of the 100,000 strong embracing General Sherman's army. 
After being mustered out of the United States service, June 27, 1865, 
on his return to civil life Major McDowell resumed his profession, which 
he has followed ever since both on the Atlantic and Pacific slopes. 
During the past ten years he has been engaged in developing and oper- 
ating mines in Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, the Indian Territory, Texas, 
and Arkansas, on what is known as the Jay Gould Southwest System ; 
of the mining department Major McDowell is general manager and 
mine engineer with headquarters at St. Louis, Mo. He also holds a 
commission of United States deputy mineral surveyorship for Idaho, 
issued in 1878. 

Mr. McDowell was married in i860 to Miss Arlena C. Boyd, of Spring ■ 
vale. Me. They have one son, who was born in 1867. He is a gradu- 
ate of Cornell University, a lawyer by profession, and is located in 
l"llmira. 



SHOEMAKER, JAMES MONROE.— When the New York and 
Erie Railroad was in process of construction in 1849 one of the 
most interesting points in the work along the line was the deep cut 
through the blue clay hillock between what is now Washington avenue 
in Elmira and Lake Eldridge. Quite respectable hills where the freight 
office of the Northern Central Railway is now located, and where 
lads of the village used to drive their cows to pasture, were leveled to 
the uniform grade as it now exists. Over east of these blue clay 
mounds, so that the pipes and chimneys of the furnaces could be seen 
from the railroad track, were built in 1861 some oil refineries by 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 631 

a firm styled Cook, Willis & Bedell. It was just at the time wlien 
tiie famous oil fields of Pennsylvania were first discovered and were 
yielding their first fruits, and these oil refineries were among the 
first built in the country. The business was a profitable one. The 
Hedell of the firm named was David E. Bedell, and he was the only resi- 
dent member of the concern. He lived on Lake street in the house 
now occupied by James B. Rathboiie. He had acquired the property 
from Robert Covell, jr., who had originally built the house. The whole 
premises in times gone by belonged to Levi J. Cooley, who had there 
one of the most attractive and picturesque cottage homes in the valley. 
Mr. Bedell had much taste in the arrangement of grounds and in house 
building. He improved the property greatly, although since his time 
it has been vastly beautified. One of Mr. Bedell's daughters married 
John H. Shoemaker and another daughter married Silas Pickering, a 
son of Daniel F. Pickering, once sheriff of the county and postmaster of 
Elmira. Subsequently the Bedell family, including the sons in-law, 
removed to Newark, N. J., where they have been engaged in manufact- 
uring jewelry with offices in New York city. 

John H. Shoemaker's father was Smith Shoemaker, of German des- 
cent, who came from the Hudson River region to Yates County, N. Y. , 
with his family when very young. Smith Shoemaker was a carriage 
manufacturer in Dundee in the county named for all his life. He had 
another son, James Monroe Shoemaker, who was born in Dundee on 
July 31, 1842. This 3'outh obtained his education in the town where 
he was born, finishing at the Dundee Academy. He then entered the 
manufactory of his father, a regular apprentice, and learned the trade of 
carriagemaker. He had hardly acquired the right of calling himself a 
journeyman in the mysteries of his craft when the Civil war broke out. 
As soon as he became of sufficient age he enlisted. It was in Jul)', 
1862, and he was mustered into the One Hundred and Forty-eighth 
New York Volunteers for three j'ears. He became first sergeant of 
Company B, but was on detached service in the band of the One 
Hundred and Forty-eighth most of the time during his term of service. 
He served within a day or two the full time of his enlistment, being 
mustered out of service on June 30, 1865. His military experience 
subsequently made Mr. Shoemaker a valuable acquisition to Com- 

86 



682 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

pany D of the One Hundred and Tenth Battalion, which subsequently 
became the Thirtieth Separate Company. In tiiis organization Mr. 
Shoemaker served for seven years as first lieutenant. He was impor- 
tuned to accept the position of captain, but his private interests forbade 
his acceptance of a post the proper conduct of which requires much 
unremunerated time and labor. 

After Sergeant Shoemaker was mustered out of the army in 1865 he 
returned to Dundee and engaged in the manufacture of carriages, and 
continued in such business until February, 1874, when he purchased an 
interest in the oil refinery in Elmira and came to that cit}' to live. He 
has been a most prominent and active Elmiran ever since, taking to 
heart every enterprise and influence that is for the benefit and prosper- 
ity of the city. He has been most successful also in the management 
of the business in which he has been engaged, seeing it grow under his 
shrewd management from a small concern to one of great proportions. 
At first the capacity of the refinery did not reach beyond 3,500 barrels 
a year; it is now between 50,000 and 60,000 a year, doing an annual 
business of more than $250,000. In 1878 the property came under the 
control of the Standard Oil Company, and to Mr. Shoemaker was en- 
trusted the entire charge of the business. It was made a barreling 
station and so continues Besides this station Mr. Shoemaker has 
charge of those of the company located in Ithaca, Cortland, Owego, 
Waverly, Towanda, and Penn Yan. 

On September 11, 1862, Mr. Shoemaker married Delia M. Benedict, 
of Starke}', Yates County. His children are three boys: Guy, who is 
with his father in business in Elmira and who married a daughter of 
Jacksoii Richardson and has a three year-old son ; Floyd M., who is in 
the Second National Bank ; and John Raymond, a youth of nine years. 
Mr. Shoemaker has always been a pronounced and outspoken Repub- 
lican, and is active in his support of the measures and principles advo- 
cated by that party. He could have aspired to any office within the 
gift of the people at the hands of his political friends, and with success, 
but his business life has been so full and his responsibilities so many and 
great that it would have been impossible for him to have added to them 
any public burden. His tastes, however, have induced him to accept 
one semi-official position, that of a membership of the Board of Ceme- 




' / A CrO-^t^ -^. 




BIOGRAPHICAL. 683 

tery Commissioners, of which body he is the chairman. He takes great 
interest in the work and mucli of the continued and continuing beauty 
of Woodlawn is due to his care, taste, and judgment. 

F"or four years, also, Mr. Shoemaker was president of the 15oard of 
Trade of the city of Elmira, in wliich position he had frequent oppor- 
tunity to display his zealous and sincere interest in the prosperity and 
advance of the city of his adoption. He added greatly to the beauty of 
one of the city's chief thoroughfares by building six years ago on upper 
Lake street a residence of noticeable architectural design. T. 



GERITY, THOMAS, was born in Dublin, Ireland, on the 26th day 
of March, 18 16. His father's name was also Thomas and he was 
of English descent. The father died in Ireland leaving two sons, 
Thomas and Joseph. Joseph remained in Dublin. Thomas came to 
America and has heard nothing of his brother since that time. He 
was only seven years of age when he came to this country, and he re- 
mained eight years in New York city, during that period going to 
school and learning the stonecutter's trade. The succeeding five years 
he passed in Bradford County, Pa., living with Samuel French and 
going to school much of the time. At the age of twenty-one, in tlie 
year 1847, h^ came to Elmira. Here he lived two years with Mrs. Tut- 
tle, two years with Mrs. Hylen, two years with Mrs. Day, and one year 
with Mrs. John Arnot, all prominent residents of the city. On the loth 
of March, 1846, he married Miss Fannie Scott, of Tozerville, Bradford 
County, I'a. They took up their residence on Baldwin street on the 
site where they have ever since lived. 

Starting in life with limited opportunities, and forced to depend 
wholly upon his own efforts for advancement, the career of Mr. Ger- 
ity shows that he possesses marked traits of character, native ability, 
indomitable perseverance, and untiring industry. By the exercise of 
these qualities he has won a prominent position in the community. It is 
as a mason and contractor that he is best known, and a list of the prom- 
inent structures erected by him reads almost as if he had built the entire 
city. Among the more conspicuous buildings so erected may be 
named the following: The Park Congregational, First Baptist, Trin- 



6S4 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ity, First Methodist, SS. Peter and Paul's Ciuirches, Trinity Chapel, El- 
mira Free Academy, the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh ward school- iiouses, 
tlic Arnot-Ogden Memorial Hospital, the county clerk's otifice, the Ma- 
sonic Temple, the three Robinson blocks, the opera house block, the Ar- 
cade block, the Metzgar& Co. block, the Elmira, Cortland, and Northern 
Railroad depot, the Tompkins, Fassett & Crocker block, the Lehigh Val- 
ley Railroad freight-house, the Rathbun blocks on Water street, the Lor- 
ing block, the Electric Light Company's block, the J. Richardson shoe 
manufactory, the Odd F'ellows building, and a great many others, which 
include three-fourthsof the business buildings on Water street and many 
of the best residences in the city. He had at one time fourteen stores on 
that street alone in process of construction. This is a wonderful record 
and it is quite safe to say that perhaps without exception the character 
of his work, his reliability in carrying out his contracts, and the general 
confidence reposed in his honesty and knowledge of his business is such 
that those who have employed him in the past would do so again if the 
occasion arose. Though now seventy-five years of age he is still active, 
gives constant attention to his business, and enjoys the respect of the 
the communitj'. Mr. Gerity's great business cares have, of course, kept 
him from giving much attention to public affairs; but his public spirit 
has always prompted him to contribute of his influence and time to 
every movement for the prosperity of Elmira. He was elected alder- 
man of tlie Third ward and served during the jears 1865, 1866, and 
1867, and he has also held the offices of collector, supervisor, and poor- 
master of the city, discharging his duties with fidelity and integrity. 
He is a regular attendant of the First Methodist Church and for many 
years was one of its trustees. 

Mr. Gerity has had four children: William Scott Gerity, now of El- 
mira ; Marsden T. Gerity, who died January 30, 1864; Clayton Robert 
Gerity, of Elmira ; and Estelle F. Gerity. William S. married Miss 
Nettie Bounce, December 4, 1872, and they have had four children, 
two of whom, George C. and Marsden T., are now living. Clayton R. 
married, September 24, 1874, Miss Emma E. Chubbuck, of Elmira, 
and they have two children, Thomas C. and Heath Scott. Estelle F. 
married V.. W. Farrington, of Elmira, on October 8, 1879, and they 
have one child, Fanny S. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 085 

William S. Gerity began as a drug clerk in 1861 and in 1865 pur- 
chased the interest of C. S. Ingraham in the store of Robinson & In- 
graham and the firm of Robinson & Gerity was formed. In March, 
1883, his brother, Clayton Robert, came into the business and the firm 
of Gerity Brothers was organized for the wholesale and retail trade in 
drugs and medicines. The firm is a prominent one in this section. 



h'^LOCK, SANFORD.— The grandfather of the late Sanford Klock 
^ was John, who with a brotlier came from Germany to the United 
States at an early day and located in Herkimer County, N. Y. One of 
his sons, John, jr., was born in that county. He married and had a 
family of nine children, four sons and five daugliters, of whom Sanford 
was the second child and oldest son. He was born Januar_\' 6, 181 3, at 
Little Falls, Herkimer County, N. Y. Receiving an education in the 
public schools, supplemented by several terms at the local academy, 
an industrious and thorough scholar, he taught school several terms 
before and after his marriage. September 19, 1834 o'' '835, Mr. 
Klock married at Little Falls, N. Y., Millie A., second daughter of Ja- 
cob and Nancy (Churchill) Petrie. She was born on March 6, 1 8 18. 
They had a family of eight children, si.x sons and two daughters, viz.: 
George W., Nettie A., J. Monroe, Fannie J., Peter S., Jarvis L., Clin- 
ton D., and Thaddeus M. The oldest five children were born at Little 
Falls, Jarvis L. was born in Delaware County, and the youngest two 
were born in Elmira. George W. died November 4, 1885 ; Thaddeus 
W. died in infancy ; Nettie A. married William Decker, of Elmira, by ■ 
whom she has three children, two sons and one daughter, of whom the 
latter died in infancy and George W. and Harry S. survive ; and J. 
Monroe, of Alpena, Mich., married Margaret Spearman, of Canada, b)' 
whom he has one daughter living, Millie. Mr. Klock is ex-mayor of 
that city and a member of the Masonic order. F""annie J. married Jacob 
\^ Schappie, of Elmira, and resides on the Klock homestead on Sulli- 
van street. Peter S., a resident of Elmira, married Susan Williams, of 
this city, and they have three children, Agnes A., Essie S., and Fannie. 
Mr. Klock is a mason and contractor. Jarvis L. married Lizzie M. 
Schweinler, of Jefferson, Wis., who has borne him one son, Alfred J. 



686 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Mrs. Klock's ancestors are Germans, and thrifty as all Germans are. 
Mr. Kiock manufactures custom harnesses on a large scale at Antego, 
Wis. Clinton D., who resides in Cleveland, O , has been twice married. 
His first wife, Mina Haycox, died leaving a daughter, Ebbie M. His 
second wife was Agnes S. Haycox, his first wife's half-sister. They 
have two children, Monroe C. and Jarvis D. Mr. Klock has resided in 
Cleveland a number of years and is general superintendent of the city 
park. William Decker served in the Civil war in Company H, One 
Hundred and Seventy- ninth New York Infantry Volunteers. 

Sanford Klock was a contractor and builder for many years and laid 
several miles of the road-bed for the old Erie when it first entered El- 
mira, in which city he came to reside about 1849. Many of the best 
buildings of Elmira were erected by him, among them being the roll- 
ing-mills, and for some time preceding the war he employed a large 
force of men. Mr. Klock enlisted with two of his sons, J. Monroe and 
Peter S., in Company C, Tenth Cavalry Regiment New York State 
Volunteers. He was commissary-sergeant, was injured by a horse, and 
was discharged on surgeon's certificate of disability, the sons being 
honorably discharged at the close of the war. After he recovered from 
his injuries Mr. Klock resumed his business as contractor and builder, 
which he followed until within a few years of his death. He was a man 
of much firmness of manner and kindness of heart, was decidedly a 
family man, and was always kind and considerate, preferring the social 
amenities of his home and fireside, the companionship of his wife and 
family, above all other considerations. He was a life-long Democrat, a 
fearless leader, always independent, and served as alderman in the com- 
mon council in the years 1870 and 187 1. As previously noted Mr. 
Klock retired from active business and engaged in agriculture. He 
died February 15, 1888, honored and respected by all who knew him. 
Mrs. Klock still survives, residing with her daughter, Mrs. Jacob V. 
Shappie, on the old homestead. Jacob V. Shappie was born in the 
town of Horseheads, March 8, 1840, was educated in the public schools, 
and in early life was a farmer. September 14, 1864, he enlisted in a 
detached company of the Eighty- fifth Infantry New York State Vol- 
unteers and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. He is 
now engaged in the life insurance business. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 687 

\A ILLER, Hon. EDMUND.— The Miller family were among the 
/ \ earliest settlers in tiie Chemung Valley. Abraham, the grand- 
father of Edmund Miller, located here prior to the year 1790, coming 
from Northampton County, Pa. He was the first judge of the old county 
of Tioga after its erection in 1791, was a gallant and brave captain in 
the Revolution, and constructed the first saw-mill on a branch of Seeley 
Creek in the town of Southport. He was of German descent, and 
during the French and Indian wars of tliat period he together with his 
sister were captured by the Indians and brought North, passing through 
this valley en route to Canada. At the head of Seneca Lake a division 
of the captives was made, a part going to Canada and the others to the 
lake country. Here he was separated from his sister, she being taken 
to Quebec, where she remained and subsequently died. After her de- 
parture Abraham escaped and returned to his home, following the In- 
dian trail through this valley. Subsequently he returned, bringing his 
family with him, among whom was Jacob, the father of Edmund. 
Jacob purchased the farm on the Wellsburg road in the year 1800 and 
in 1S05 erected the homestead which is now occupied by Edmund, jr., 
and his mother and sister. Edmund Miller was born November i, 
1808, in the old family residence on the Wellsburg road. His father, 
Jacob Miller, was a farmer, and Edmund in time took up the same hon- 
orable avocation. He soon became one of the most successful and 
prosperous farmers of the valley and remained on the home farm, en- 
larging it and applying himself vigorously to its cultivation. He was 
industrious, shrewd, and sagacious, alwaj-s using good judgment in its 
management, which surel)' brings its reward of wealth and comfort. Mr. 
Miller was one of the leading and influential citizens of the town of 
Southport and for many years he ably and satisfactorily represented his 
town in the Board of Supervisors, serving many times as chairman. In 
politics he was a .strong Democrat and was frequently honored by his 
part)'. Three times he was chosen as their representative in the State 
legislature, once in 1868, again in 1874, and third in 1876, being elected 
for the last term after one of the most thoroughly contested convasses 
ever made in the county. Notwithstanding dissensions in and opposi- 
tion from his own party he had the satisfaction of receiving the approval 
of his fellow citizens by a majority of over 800 votes. His constituents had 



688 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

implicit confidence in his capacity and integrity. Tlie public record of 
the Hon. Edmund Miller was in the highest degree creditable. In the 
legislative halls at Albany he was an industrious, upright, and useful 
member, and his legislative course was eminently satisfactory to his con- 
stituents of both parties. He was there identified with measures of 
practical and lasting benefit. 

Mr. Miller married Pamelia Du Bois, of Tioga Center, whose people 
were French Huguenots who came to the United States at an early day. 
They were blessed with six children, all of whom grew to adult age: 
John D., who died June 8, 1887 ; Edmund, who resides on the home- 
stead ; Mrs. S. W. Fornian, who resides on Maple avenue ; Mrs. Jesse 
Leverich, who lives near W'ellsburg; Mrs. T. S. Flood, of Elmira; and 
Amelia, who resides at home with her brother. Mr. Miller was a man 
who enjoyed life and his home was the scene of generous hospitality to 
a large circle of friends and relatives. He was a farmer of " j'e olden 
time," whose means permitted the exercise of these hospitalities. For 
a year previous to his death Mr. Miller had been in failing health, and 
for months suffered intensely from rheumatism, aggravated by other dis- 
eases, from which relief was impossible. He died March 28, 1878. His 
life was an eminently useful one. He served his day and generation 
faithfully, honorably, and well ; his private and public life was honest 
and square. The young men of to-day may find in his honorable recoid 
an example which the)' will do well to emulate. 



BURT, W. H. — Benjamin Burt (great-grandfather of David) and 
family emigrated to this country from England in 1700. His son 
Benjamin was born at Deerfield, Mass., in the year 1720, and was mar- 
ried to Anna Blaine, a lady of German descent, who bore him nine 
children, five sons and four daughters. They both died the same day 
in Warwick, Orange County, N. Y., in 1794. Benjamin Burt, the father 
of David, was born at Warwick, Orange County, N. Y., March 9, 1750, 
and married Joanna Parshall, of Lycoming County, Pa., in 1775. They 
had eight children, five sons and 'three daughters. He died in the town 
of Chemung, N. Y., on May 10, 1826, and she died at the same place 
on March 20, 1850. David Burt, father of William H., was born in 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 689 

Lycoming County, Pa., April i6, 1786, and moved with liis parents to 
the town of Chemung, Chemung County, in 1789. September 30, 
1818. he married Phebe Burnham, of the latter county, wiio was born 
January 12, 1792. Tliey had boin to them ten cliildren, six sons and 
four daughters, namely: Benjamin I*"., George W., David, A. J., Polly 
Isabella and Christopher Columbus (twins), Susan, John W,, Phebe A., 
and William H. 

William II. Burt, the youngest child and son, was born in the town 
of Chemung, Chemung County, September 25, 183S, and was well edu- 
cated in the public schools. He has always followed the honorable 
vocation of farming. On September 25, 1867, he married Harriet A., 
only daughter of Elijah and Hannah (Hillman) Smith, and they have 
had five children, three daughters and two sons: Nellie, who mar- 
ried Clarence W. Harding, of Waverly, Tioga County, N. Y. ; Susan, 
who died August 12, 1889; and Howard E., Smith, and Alice. Mr. 
Burt is a representative farmer of the town of Chemung ; he has not 
been an incumbent of public offices nor a seeker after political honors, 
but has always been a Republican with quite an aversion to public life 
and party strife. He prefers the more humble and not less honorable 
and useful duties of his farm and the social amenities of his home and 
fireside. He can look back over a well spent life and can look forward 
with the prospect of passing many years in the home which by his in- 
dustry and good judgment, together with his wife and helpmate, was 
the work of their own hands. Mrs. Burt's father, Elijah Smith, was 
born in the town of Uanby, Tompkins County, N. Y., September 12, 
1823, and married Hannah Hillman, of the town of Chemung. They 
had two children, one daughter and one son, Harriet A. and Geoge B., 
the latter of whom married Eva Griswold, of Chemung. They reside 
at Waverly, N. Y. 



LORING, JAMES HENRY.— Elmira's railroad facilities are such 
that it is a good location for the jobbing trade in all lines. One 
industry has grown to very extensive proportions since the first under- 
taking in its line was established, the wholesale grocery trade. There 
are a number of strong firms in this line now established in the city. 
The first one was founded by J. H. Loring, who came to KImira in 1855 . 

87 



690 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

He was an exceptionally shrewd and bright business man and made no 
mistake in judging of the facilities Elmira possessed for carrying on the 
trade in which he embarked. His family was of English descent, the 
first one of his race, John Loring, born in England, coming alone to 
this country and settling in Pepperell, Middlesex County, Mass. The 
family name is well known in that State, a number bearing it belonging 
to some of its most prominent citizens. John Loring's wife was Lydia 
Parker, daughter of Deacon Jonas Parker, born in Pepperell, Mass. 
Both of these are dead, John Loring dying December 29, 1878, and 
his wife on September 14, 1865. J. H. Loring, their son, was born 
in Pepperell in 1824. There were two daughters, sisters of Mr. Loring. 
One of them, who became Mrs. Ellery C. Clark, is dead. The other, 
Mrs. Virgil B. Read, lived a number of years in Elmira. Her husband 
was the last man engaged in the storage and forwarding business, hav- 
ing the old storehouse on the Chemung Canal basin, facing on what is 
now Nicks street, a building more than once referred to in this record. 
Mr. Read was a public spirited man and much interested in local affairs. 
He served for four years, from 1869 to 1873, on the Board of Educa- 
tion. He is now in Colorado. A daughter, Florence, became the wife 
of Charles J. Paddock, of New York city. 

J. H. Loring was educated at the White Plains (N. Y.) boarding 
school. His father was at that time engaged in the wholesale woolen 
business in New York. After the great fire in New York, at which 
time he was burned out, he returned to Pepperell, Mass., where he 
opened a dry goods store. For forty years, through all the difierent 
administrations, he was postmaster of Pepperell. Mr. Loring was en- 
gaged in business with his father six years previous to his coming to 
Elmira. Three of the stores in the Union block on East Water street, 
between Exchange Place and State street, were built for him ; and 
there he established himself in the trade that he followed until the day 
of his death. The block was burned in 1874 and in conjunction with 
John T. Rathbun rebuilt. From the year that he opened business his 
trade increased and he had the satisfaction of securing customers from 
all parts of the country, succeeding in making Elmira a very central point 
in this regard. At first the business was under the name of J. H. Lor- 
ing alone, but after a year or two there was taken into it a young man. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 691 

Edward VV. Hersey, wlio came from Boston in Mr. Loring's employ, and 
the firm became and continued J. H. Loring & Co. During its existence 
it was one of the strongest and best known jn all the region round about 
Elniira. 

Mr. Loring was married in Pepperell, Mass., Januar)- 13, I 853, his wife 
having been Fannie Tarbell, a member of a family highly regarded in that 
locality. There were three children born of the marriage : Carrie Tarbell 
Loring, who married Lewis VV. Gillett, grandson of Solomon L. Giilett. 
She died on February 16, 1882, her husband surviving her until March 
31, 1886. Gertrude was the second ilaughter of J. H. Loring. She mar- 
ried, on December 7, 1887, Daniel T. Pratt, a son of Daniel R. Pratt. 
To these a son was born on November 4, 1888, and is named Loring 
Pratt. The only son of J. H. Loring, named Henrv Rodbourn Loring, 
was born on July 19, i860. He has inherited much of his father's quick- 
ness of apprehension in business matters and has a life of usefulness and 
much promise opening before him. For three years he was engaged in 
the furniture trade, but is now a member of the book firm of Morse, 
Hall & Loring, with which he became connected on July i, 1891. 

J. H. Loring was always a most thorough Democrat in his political 
affiliations and proclivities, and found among the men of that party faith 
his warmest and best friends, although in the community at large he was 
highly esteemed as a man of worth and consideration. He served as 
county treasurer \\\ 1863-64, filling out the vacancy occasioned by the 
death of Samuel B. Strang. He was a quiet, retiring, reticent man, but 
sparse as he was of words so much the more could what he said be re- 
lied upon and his good deeds were not infrequent. He died on Octo- 
ber 1 I, 1874, and his memory is one that can be cherished as a precious 
thing by his children and that his friends keep yet warm and fresh. 
Mrs. Loring died on January 13, 1891. T. 



COWLES, AUGUSTUS WOODRUFF, A.B. 1841 ; A.M. 1844, 
Union College ; D.D. 1858; LL.D. 1888.— John Cowles. one of 
the early pilgrims who came from the west of England, his name indi- 
cating a Welsh ancestry, reached this country in 1638. He settled in 
Hartford and later in Farmington, Conn. A branch of his family 



692 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

settled in Norfolk and Canaan in the same State. Samuel Cowles, one 
of his descendants, was a citizen of Norfolk. In this line, to which 
Dr. Cowles belongs, there have been a number of distinguished persons. 
Two brothers, Henry and John P. Cowles, were eminent as scholars. 
They took the highest two honors of the class of 1826 in Yale. Henry 
became professor of Hebrew and Biblical literature in Oberlin College, 
Ohio, and author of well known commentaries on nearly the whole 
Bible. John P. Cowles was considered the most learned linguist in this 
country. In one of the Boston papers an obituary notice stated that he 
was acquainted with no less than thirty languages. Miss Zilpah P. 
Grant, a granddaughter of Samuel Cowles, of Norfolk, was the leader 
of the cause of advanced education of women in New England, the 
friend and counselor of Mary Lyon in founding the institution at Mt. 
Holyoke, Mass. An interesting and valuable memoir of her as Mrs. 
Bannister was published in Boston. Her correspondence with Mary 
Lyon makes up a considerable portion of the published life of the well 
known founder of Mt. Holyoke Seminary, now a fully chartered college. 

From Connecticut the Cowles family has become widely scattered, 
with a fair proportion of prominent names in New York city, Washing- 
ton, D. C, Virginia, Alabama, Cle\'eland, Chicago, Milwaukee, and 
the far West. 

One of the descendants of Samuel Cowles was Alvah Cowles, who re- 
moved from Canaan, Litchfield County, Conn., in 1 818, to the town of 
Reading, Schuyler County, N. Y. His wife was Harriet Woodruff, of 
New Haven, Conn., a member of a well known family of that region. 
Her brother, the Hon. Jason C. Woodruff, was a prominent citizen of 
Syracuse, N. Y., at one time serving that city as mayor. Mr. and Mrs. 
Alvah Cowles were the parents of five children, four sons and one 
•daughter. Only two of these are now living. One, Emeline, is now 
Mrs. John H. Dey, of Pelham Manor, Westchester County, N. Y., 
whose husband is the managing editor of the New York Evangelist. 
Two of the brothers resided for a time in Elmira. Henry D. was sales- 
man for the firm of Hamlin & Rice and Samuel G. was book-keeper 
for Messrs. Smith & Hall, bankers. 

Augustus W. Cowles, the eldest child and only surviving son of 
Alvah and Harriet (Woodruff) Cowles, was born in what is now the town 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 693 

of Reading, Schuyler County, N. Y., on July 12, 1819. The farm on 
whicli he was born was a part of what had been tlie Ireland estate, but 
the title to that portion of it bought by his father proving defective the 
family removed to Geneva in 182 1, and in that beautiful inland spot 
Dr. Cowles passed his childhood and youtli and it remained the home 
of his parents until their death. Augustus began life with a diminutive 
body, which weighed at birth scarcely more than three pounds ! For 
more than a year it seemed very doubtful whether he would live beyond 
infancy. His health, however, became at length quite perfect, although 
he still remained under size. He was so small that he gained special 
credit for precocity. He seemed too small to walk or talk. This, perhaps, 
led to very early instruction, so that at five years of age he read with case 
and fluency books of ordinary character. He was sent to the village 
school until he was about twelve years of age, when a classical school 
was opened near his father's home, called the Geneva Lyceum. Here 
at twelve he began the study of Latin and at thirteen commenced Greek. 
He was very fortunate in having excellent teachers and older associates, 
many of the latter of whom were grown up young men preparing for 
college with a view to the Christian ministry. At fifteen he was pre- 
pared for college and a number of his classmates entered college. At 
sixteen years of age he became a member of the Presbyterian Church 
in Geneva, N. Y. His friends considering it not best at so early an age 
to enter college he became a salesman and book-keeper in a large dry 
goods house in the village. At the end of three years he returned to 
the Geneva Lyceum and with six others formed a regular freshman 
class according to the course of study then pursued at Yale College. 
The Rev. Justus W. I"'rench was instructor in Greek and William Ho- 
garth in Latin antl mathematics. In 1838, with several classmates, he 
entered without conditions the sophomore class in Union College. The 
famous Dr. Nott was the president of the institution at the time, and 
on no one of the eminent graduates that came under his influence did 
he leave a stronger impress or did he impart more of his strength and 
characteristics than to Dr. Cowles, who was afterward to follow much 
in the lines of his own life. 

From an early age Dr. Cowles had developed an unusual taste for 
drawing and it had been fostered in his leisure hours, as his small 



694 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Stature and constitutional timidity kept liim aloof from the athletic 
sports and other out of door amusements usually attractive to boys and 
young men. His active brain and early success in art led to an absorb- 
ing fondness for picturemaking, and the chance acquaintance with sev- 
eral excellent artists led to very considerable proficiency in miniature 
painting. These years were before the discovery made by Daguerre, 
and it therefore happened that young Cowles, entering college at the 
age of nineteen, found himself prepared to pay his own way by the 
patronage of faculty, students, and friends in the neighborhood of 
the college. He was graduated with honor in 1841 and received elec- 
tion to Phi Beta Kappa by recommendation of the college faculty. Two 
and a half years after graduating he spent in teaching, one year and a half 
as principal of an academy in Schoharie County and one year as associate 
principal in the Schenectady Lyceum, at that time the leading classical 
school in that city. 

In 1843 Dr. Cowles entered the Union Theological Seminary in the 
city of New York to study for the Christian ministry according to a 
decision made several years before. Here, also, his proficiency in art 
furnished means for his support. He made an engagement with Jacob 
and John S. C. Abbott, eminent as authors as well as teachers, to give 
instruction in art in their celebrated school for young ladies. He also 
furnished designs for several series of drawings published by Jacob Ab- 
bott, known as "Abbott's Drawing Cards for Schools and Seminaries." 
At the close of his theological course he was licensed by the Presbytery 
of New York and soon received an invitation from the Presbyterian 
Church in Brockport, Monroe County, N. Y. He was ordained and in- 
stalled pastor of this church in 1847, after having supplied the pulpit 
for six months from July, 1846. In this pastoral charge he continued 
for ten years and until his removal to Elmira. During his pastorate in 
Brockport, also, President Cowles was married, the ceremony having 
been performed on June 15, 1847. His wife was Frances Caroline 
Goold, a daughter of Ralph W. Goold, a leading business man of 
Brockport who was at the head of an extensive company that manufact- 
ured the first^McCormick reaping machines. There were four children 
of this marriage born in Brockport: Frederick A., Ralph G., Charles 
W., and Clara, and two born in Elmira : Mary H. (Mrs. Frank S. Rice) 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 095 

and P"rances C. (Mrs. Fred L. Youmans). Of the three sons only the 
eldest, Frederick A., is now living. Charles W. died in Elmira at the 
age of eighteen, and Ralph G. was instantly killed on December 31, 
1875, by a train of cars near Salamanca, N. Y. He was twenty-four 
years of age. 

Dr. Cowles and the Elmira College for Women are almost inter- 
changeable terms, so intimately connected have been their lives for the 
past generation. You speak of one and the other is sure to be sug- 
gested. Dr. Cowles has given the best years of his life to the institu- 
tion, and whatever reputation it enjoys for training young women for all 
the duties of life is very largely due to him. One cannot very well 
recite the history of one without reciting also the history of the other. 

It is a curious coincidence, perhaps, that the first American college 
had its beginning in a classical high school in Newtown, Mass., to which 
the colonial government gave an appropriation of $2,ooo. This was in 
1636. The high school became Harvard College and to add new dig- 
nity to the town changed its name from Newtown to Cambridge. 

The first American college for women, designed to be fully equal in 
courses of study and thorough scholarship to the better class of colleges 
for men, was established in 1855 in a village in Southern New York, 
which was also originally called Newtown, but at the time of its incor- 
poration received its feminine name of Elmira as if it were an acci- 
dental prophecy of its future honor. 

The priority of the establishment of the Elmira institution as a col- 
lege for women should be settled once for all. Before 1851 there were 
many o-Kcellcnt female seminaries in the country, among them being 
Mrs. VVillard's Troy Female Seminary and a school at Mt. Holyoke, 
Mass. The name female college was even at this time becoming quite 
common at the South and West, but in no instance did it signify a re- 
quired course of study higher than that of the two I have named, 
although to one or two had been granted the legal right to confer de- 
grees. Among these were the female college at Macon, Ga., and the 
Wesleyan Female College at Cincinnati, O. In 1 85 I there was a meeting 
of a number of distinguished clergymen and laymen in Albany to con- 
sider the matter of the establishment of a real college for women. This 
meeting resulted in obtaining a charter the following year, 1852, for an 



696 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

institution to be located in Auburn, N. Y., to be called the Auburn Fe- 
male University. There was an able and earnest Board of Trustees 
appointed from all parts of the State and representing the various 
Christian denominations. The secretary of the board was the Rev. 
Harvey A. Sackett, whose wife, Mrs. D. E. Sackett, had been promi- 
nent as a teacher. 

The first conference on the subject of a college for women in this 
country was held in the consistory room of the Second Reformed Dutch 
Church in Albany. Among those who gave the enterprise their 
hearty approval and co-operation and served actively on the Board of 
Trustees were Hon. Amos Dean and Luther Tucker, of Albany ; Dr. 
Mandeville, of Hamilton College ; Dr. Hickok, of Auburn ; Prof Boyd, 
of Geneva ; and Dr. Kendrick, of Rochester. 

We have already seen on another page how the Auburn location 
failed of success ; how Simeon Benjamin, of Elmira, came to the rescue 
of the institution ; and how a new charter was obtained in 1855 chang- 
ing its name to the Elmira Female College, which name has since been 
very properly changed to the Elmira College for Women, and so the 
founding at Elmira of an institution the first of its kind in the coiintr_\-, 
the pioneer female college of America. 

The college is now in its thirty-sixth year. Its financial struggle In 
all those years has been a sore one, but during the time it has laid wide 
and deep foundations. Besides the gifts bestowed by Mr. Benjamin, 
amounting in all to $80,000, it has received from the legislature of the 
State $35,000; from the Maxwell brothers of Geneva $10,000; from 
the Marquand estate $25,000; and from local subscriptions at various 
times $50,000, besides the Gillett gift of $12,000 for a music hall, — not 
very munificent sums for so long a time, and by no means enough to 
enable the institution to compete successfully with new colleges for 
women that are following its lead and are springing up all over the 
country, abundantly endowed and feeling no need to practice economy. 
But establishments of this kind in their lives are much like human 
beings; an infancy and youth of hardship and careful, prudent husband- 
ing of resources are very apt to be followed by a middle life of renown 
and brilliancy, and an old age of great prosperity and prominence. The 
college has a large and loyal constituency of alumni in all quarters of 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 697 

the globe, and more than 2,000 women have received more or less of 
their education within its walls. These must and will exert an influence 
for its future benefit and well being. The college has never taken one 
step backward, but has constantly advanced its standard in all direc- 
tions. Its most recent forward movement is a determination to abolish 
its preparatory department and devote its strength to higher and strictly 
college work. 

To this institution in its infancy, almost at its biith, certainly before 
the graduation of its first class, came Dr. Cowles in 1856, its first presi- 
dent.his inauguration having taken place on August ythof that year,since 
which time its life has been his life, his life its life. Besides presiding 
over the college he has at times filled the chairs of Latin and Greek, 
and all the time those of mental and moral philosophy, Christian evi- 
dences, Biblical literature, and aesthetics. 

In 1889, having arrived at the age of seventy years, Dr. Cowles re- 
signed his position as president, but remains still with the institution as 
president emeritus and professor of mental science, Christian evidences, 
and the philosophy and history of the fine arts. He had served 
precisely thirty- three and one- third years, a third of a century, which 
is usually called in time a generation, and was the senior college presi- 
dent of this country when he resigned, with the exception of Dr. An- 
derson, of the Rochester University. Dr. Cowles had served precisely 
thirty-three years as president when he resigned. Rev. Wilson Phraner, 
D.D., was elected to succeed him, but was forced to retire on account 
of the failure of his health, when Dr. Cowles served a sufficient length 
of time to make up his third of a century, which was until the election 
of the Rev. C. Van Norden, D.D., to the position. 

A very pleasant incident marked the year that saw the retirement of 
Dr. Cowles from the presidency of the college. He presented diplomas 
to two of the young women graduates of that year to the mothers of 
whom he had given diplomas on the graduation of the first class of 
the college thirty years before. Dr. Cowles is yet in the full vigor 
of his mental powers with a physical strength behind it that promises 
him many years of usefulness in his beloved vocation as a teacher, for 
which he is peculiarly fitted by nature, acquirements, and experience. 
He is a man of great and varied learning, especially on topics that have 
88 



698 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

tlie Bible for their foundations, and he has an attractive and interesting 
manner in imparting his knowledge to others. He has the faculty, too, 
of speedily acquiring a personal influence over his pupils that remains 
with them through life, a power that marks the true teacher and was 
characteristic of such famous educators as Dr. Nott, of Union, and 
Mark Hopkins, of Williams College. 

Wy the general public, upon whom Dr. Cowles could not very well 
help leaving a strong impression, he will long be rem.embered for his 
familiar talks before the Palestine class, when by word and pencil he 
made very vivid the scenes and incidents in the Holy Land and in 
Egypt; and by his rather infrequent pulpit efiforts. These latter are 
alwaj's of the very highest order, eminently thoughtful, scholarly, and 
Christian in their character. They resemble, if such an illustration be 
admissable, the building of an elaborate structure. You see the founda- 
tion laid with the text ; you observe the gradual rise of the structure, 
line upon line, story upon story, with suitable and apt ornamentation as 
the work goes on. It is impossible not to be interested. Each part is 
necessary to every other part, there is no surplusage anywhere, and all 
is in harmony with the general design. The work finished you see how 
complete it is, so complete that it announces its own name ; you need no 
one to tell you the one topic upon which and around which the beauti- 
ful structure has been built. And so clear is it all, so connected and 
logical, one part so consequent upon another, that you can go home and 
build the structure all over by yourself, wondering at the skill and 
ability of the original designer. T. 



BENNITT, GEORGE. — Among the prominent pioneers of Big Flats 
was Comfort Bennitt and his family. His father was Abraham 
Bennitt, of Orange County, N. Y., who died when his son Comfort was 
eight years old, leaving a family of eleven children. Comfort Bennitt was 
born January 1 8, 1 78 1, in Warwick, Orange County, N. Y., where he 
gained what schooling he could in alternation with working on the farm. 
When he reached the age of eighteen years he came to Chemung 
County (then Tioga) and for the next eight years worked on a farm. 
His brother Abraham was a carpenter and the two brothers formed a 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 699 

partnership in that trade and in farming, which continued three years, 
when Mr. Bennitt located at Big Flats on Sing Sing Creek, where he 
gained a high reputation as a leading farmer and public spirited citizen. 
He married, November 3, 1806, Abigail, daughter of Alexander IMiller, 
of Horseheads, and they reared a family of twelve children, as follows: 
John, George, Daniel, Sally, Charles, Horace, Nancy, Chester, Morris, 
Clarinda, Mary, and Andrew J. Of these three are now living. An- 
drew J. died recently. As his children grew to maturity Mr. Bennitt 
was able to give to each a comfortable home near his own, and at the 
time of his death he was known as the wealthiest farmer in that locality. 
During the latter years of his life annual reunions of all the Bennitts were 
held. He took a deep interest in politics and was a strong man in the 
councils of the Democratic party. He died August 12, 1864, and his 
wife on the 2d of February, 1872. 

George Bennitt, son of Comfort and Abigail, was born in Big Flats, 
November 17, 18 10, and has been a successful farmer and landowner 
and for many years a banker. About twenty- five j'ears ago Reynolds, 
Bennitt & Co.'s Bank of Horseheads was established. In 1875 it was 
re-organized and its name changed to Chemung Valley Bank with 
George Bennitt as president and his son, John Bennitt, cashier. In the 
varied relations in which Mr. Bennitt has been associated with his fellows 
he has discharged his duty conscientiously and won the esteem of the 
community. Mr. Bennitt was married, August 29, 1833, to Pattie Swart- 
wood, of Barton, Tioga County. She was born Feburary 11, 181 1, and 
died February 11, 1891, aged eighty years. They had three children, 
viz. : Mary J., born June 6, 1835, married Samuel C. Taber, of I'Llmira, 
and has three children, Nellis, Carrie, and Kate; Eliza, born October 
27, 1838, married Isaac S. Marshall, of Elmira, and has two children, 
Mattie and Hebbe; and John, born June 6, 1846, married Josie Whit- 
taker, of Deckertown, N. J., and has two children, Mabel, born July 24, 
1874, and Louisa V., born August 25, 1876. 



BENNITT, JOSIAH.— One of the early settlers of the town of Big 
Flats was John Bennitt, a brother of Comfort and father of Josiah 
Bennett, who was born in Orange County, N. Y., April 4, 1786. His 
wife was born on the same date and in the same county. Her name 



700 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

was Sarah Rockwell. She bore him eight children, as follows : Com- 
fort, Jerusha, Deborah, Thomas, Elias, Josiah, Hannah, and Miles. Jo- 
siah Bennitt was born on the south side of Sing Sing Cieek in the 
town of Big Flats on June 21, 1820. In early life he was an active 
farmer. • He now owns 700 acres of land. He resides in Horscheads, 
having several years ago retired from active business. February 20, 
1843, he married Harriet -Edminster, of his native town, by whom he 
has had three children: Susan A., who died when eighteen years old ; 
Saraii J , who married John McNish, and has one son, Josiah B. (named 
after his grandfather), born October 26, 1873 ; and Georgiana, who 
married Collins L. Hathaway, of Horseheads, of the firm of Hathaway 
& Bundy, general produce and coal dealers. Mr. Bennitt is a man 
much respected by his fellow townsmen. At a ripe age he enjoys the 
accumulations of a prosperous business career, and lives in retirement 
surrounded by friends and relatives. His life has been one eminently 
worthy of emulation. 



rORD, Prof. DARIUS REYNOLDS, D.D., was born in the upper 
Genesee Valley in Allegany County, N. Y., in 1825. He gave 
early indications of his successful career as a scientist and educator. The 
names of nearly 8,000 persons appear upon his class books as students 
within the last forty years. In youth he made his own way through the 
home preparatory schools to Brown University in Rhode Island, and 
was graduated in 1852. He was immediately elected to the professor- 
ship of Greek in Alfred University, where his skill, learning, and genial 
spirit made him a life-long friend of both students and faculty. This insti- 
tution, near the junction of the States of New York, Pennsylvania, and 
Ohio, has been noted as a college of " plain living and high thinking " for 
many years. In 1863 Professor Ford was elected to the professorship of 
physical sciences in the Elmira College for Women in Elmira, N. Y. 
In this admirable center of higher education the best years and energies 
of his life have been given. In 1858 Professor Ford was ordained to 
the ministry in the Baptist faith and for twenty-two years served the 
churches in Wellsville and in Soutliport in addition to his college work. 
For six years he gave instruction in the evening schools of the New 
York State Reformatory at Elmira. In 1869 and 1870 he made a 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 701 

journey around the world, visiting the principal countries and peoples, 
returning home with treasures of travel. His name is to be found among 
the membership of the Elmira Academy of Sciences, the American As- 
sociation of Microscopists, and the Academy of Sciences of the city of 
New York. Professor Ford is ranked among the most able educators 
of the country. He has admirably fulfilled the remarkable indications 
of his youthful life ; his subsequent career has been marked by strict 
fidelity to his chosen calling and in acquiring a name which will live 
long and well. 



LANEY, SAMUEL HENRY, was born at Potter's Head, Somer- 
setshire, England, December 2, 1836. Me is the eldest of eight 
children of James and Ann (Gregory) Laney. The Laney family have 
been residents of Banwell, England, for the last three centuries and were 
engaged in agricultural pursuits. On the maternal side Samuel H. is 
descended from Quakers who were in mercantile business. Mr. Laney's 
early education was obtained in the private schools of his native land. 
He was named after his grandfather, Samuel Laney, and Henry Gregory. 
Owing to the ill health of his father, in company with his uncle, Richard 
Laney, he came to America, being then eleven years of age. His uncle 
returned to England in about a year's time and our subject went to 
Waterloo, N. Y., to reside with his uncle, Enos Laney. He was em- 
ployed in a woolen-mill at Waterloo, and about 185 i turned his atten- 
tion to farming, which he followed till 1855, when he returned to 
Waterloo and was in the employ of Smith & Harrington, with whom he 
remained until 1864, being engaged in the peddling business. 

In the latter year, in company with his brother, James Laney, and 
Fred Fillingham, he formed a co-partnership under the firm name of 
Laney Brothers & Co., and commenced the peddling business at Ithaca, 
N. Y., which he continued till 1868. The firm previous to this had been 
dissolved, and in 1868 Mr. Laney came to Elmira and formed a partner- 
ship with J. J. Smith, of Waterloo, one of his old employers, the firm 
name being S. H. Laney & Co. This firm continued till March, 1869, 
when Mr. Laney disposed of his interest and established his present busi- 
ness. Since that time he has had no partners, but has at various times 



702 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

added to his business all kinds of house-keeping goods, carrying on a 
wholesale business at the corner of Williams and Market streets and a 
retail business at 200 East Water street, Elmira. In March, 1889, he 
purchased the property known as the White paper-mill, at Ithaca, which 
he has since operated. He employs about 150 hands in these establish- 
ments. In politics a Democrat he has represented the Third ward of 
Elmira as alderman for six years. He is vice-president of the Chemung 
County Agricultural Society and is a member of the Masonic order, 
B. P. O. E., Royal Arcanum, A. O. U. W., and is a charter member of the 
Century Club of Elmira. Mr. Laney was married, October 6, 1869, at 
Ithaca, N. Y., to Fannie E., daughter of the late Peter Van Buskirk, of 
Newfield, N. Y. 



PART VII. 

Personal Referhnchs. 



And they assembled all the congregation together, and they declared their pedi- 
grees, alter their families by the home of their fathers. — Xiiinl/eis i : i8. 



Now when William had come into Yarrow he sent forth men into all his do- 
mains to gather into one volume the names of all those in the land, showing their 
kinship among themselves, their intermarriages, dates covering births and deaths, 
and times of those given in wedlock. This <lid he not alone for himself and his 
own day and period, but that posterity might know of a certainty concerning 
those who had gone before them. And the list made a noble and goodly array 
in a bulky volume. — Hume's History of England. 



PART VII. 

Personal Rhfkrhnces. 



To enumerate all of the old and prominent families in Cliemuiiy 
County would in itself make a large and pretentious volume, 
while it would be practically impossible to give a genealogical sketch 
of each familj'. VVe have been compelled, owing to lack of space, to 
limit these references to those only who have felt and manifested an 
interest in preserving the records of their ancestors. Sketches of many 
of the early settlers will be found in connection with the chapters con- 
taining the history of the county and its respective towns. In this 
chapter biographical notices have been collected and printed of those 
whose descendants to-day form the business and social life of the stated 
localities. 

.\.SIII..-\N1). 

Brown. Kev. Jolin, !t Ijapti.'sl. iiiiiii.ster, was liorn in Ireland and came to Oranpe 
County. X. V., and dieJ on Doty Hill in I?ra<l[oid County, I'a., aged lifly. He married 
Julia Tucker, by whom lie had tliese cliildien: David, Sally, Ezra, 8initli B., Ozias, 
Lydia, William, and Samuel. Smith H. Brown, born in Orange Coimty, February I'J, 
1817, died at \V<'ll.-<lpnrfr. .tuly 21, ISOI, at the age of seventy-lour. He was a farmer. 
He married, I'eiiruary 1-1, ISHO. ^^aT■v A. Hildretli, an<l tlieir children were Clayton, 
born October 20, 1848; Percival C, born Angn.st 12, IS.jO; Emma, born May II. 18.5.;; 
anil Daniel. l)orn April 18, ISo.O. He married, second, Antoinette Kilboinn. June I, 
1S7I. a daughter of Dr. Henry and Fanny (Briggs) Kilbonrn, by whom he had two 
children, Ida, bom October lb, 187'J, an<l Carrie, born ()c:tober Hi, 1874. I'eroival 
Brown married Jane, daugliler of .Sila.s and Aiininda Ea5;ton. in 187(1, and llieir chil- 
dren are Myron S.. Lena M.. Iva, Emma, Irwin, and Harrison. Emma married .lolin I,. 
Eii^^ton and liai one daughter, Alice. Daniel Brown married .Sarah Hall and has one 
son, Martin H. He married, second, Esther Hall. 

Colegrove, Dr. F^a Rue, son of Robert C. and Charlotte Ale.Nander (f^a Rue) Colegrove 
and grandson of Benjamin E. Colegrove, was educated at the I'hiladelphia I'harmacenl- 
ical College and graduated from the Univer.sity of Buffalo (N. Y.) in 18S7. He com- 



4 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

menced practicing as a pliysician and surgeon at Salamanca, N. Y., Imt later removed 
to Wellsburg, N. Y., where he has been engaged in active practice for four years. He 
married Kmma M., daughter of Mrs. Louise Whicher. Dr. Colegrove I."; a member of the 
Elmira Medical Society. 

Coleman, Gilbert D., son of .leremiah and Hannah Coleman, was born in Ashland on 
March 14, 1SI7, and on December l(i, 1S40, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel 
and Sarah (Crane) Hildreth. Their children were Millicent B., Charles E., Sarah E., 
Hannah M., ,ludd S., Harriet E., Julia A,, and Denton. Mr. Coleman resides on the 
homestead. Charles K. Coleman is also a resident on the homestead farm of his father. 
He served in Company K, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was honorably discharged. 
He was wounded at the battle of Chancellorsville, in which engagement William N. 
Coleman was killed. 

Coleman, Jeremiah, son of Jeremiali, a Revolutionary soldier; and a native of Oiange 
County, was born March G, 1777, and came to Ashland. N. Y., soon after his marriage 
in 1S,0:;. He died Decembe;- 10, 1850, in Southport. at the age of seventy-five years. 
He was a minnteman in the War of 1812. Mr. Coleman married Hannah, daughter of 
Richard and Hannali Comfort; who was born on August 20, 1782, and his cliildren are 
Myrtilla, Millicent, Charlotte, Eliza, Samuel H., Maria, Sally, Oliver P., Gilbert D., 
AVilliam N. (killed in tlie late war), and Richard B. The latter was born June 3, 182:!, 
in Ashland, and in 18-17 married Harriet, daughter of William and Cynthia Easton, wdjo 
was l)0rn September :i, 1828, in Orange County, N. Y. Their children were Willie, 
Joe, Jane, Minda, Owen, and Merritt. Jane Coleman married Frank, son of John Bur- 
nam, and they have two children, Mark and Ilattie. They are residents of Ashland. 
Ricliard B. Coleman resides in Wcllsbm-g, N. Y. John Eastman, grandfather of Har- 
riet Coleman, served in llie war of the Revolution. 

Colemati, Maria, daughter of Jeremiah and Hannah (Comfort) Coleman, was born in 
Ashland, May 15, 1825, and mai'ried, in 1840, Robert F. Wilcox, son of Thomas and 
Elizabeth Wilco.N. who died June 21, 18117, aged fifty-four years. Their children were 
Eugene, born May l.'i, 1853; diet, born September 3, 1857 ; and Marie, born Novem- 
ber 25, lS(i4. Jlrs. Wilcox married, second, Martin B. Spaflord. who died August (i, 
187G, aged fifty-.seven years. Mrs. Spallbrd is living in Ashland at the age of sixty-six. 
Eugene'^Wilcox married Annie M. Phillips, March 25, 1876, of Waterman, HI., and tlieir 
children are Florence K., Albert, Robert F., Goldie B., Edwin, and Josephine. He is 
a machinist and a resident of Iluron, Dak. Cliet Wilcox married Libbie Crane, by 
whom he has two cliildren, Bessie M. and Ida R. They are residents of Ridgeburg, 
Pa. Marie Wilcox married James H. Palmer and has one daughter, Nina F. They 
are residents of Corning, N. Y. 

Comfort, Jacob, a native of Orange County, N. Y., came to Chemung County with 
his father, Richard, in 1807. Richard Comfort died March (3, 1821, in the seventy-ninth 
year of his age. Jacob Comfort married Lydia Owens, by wliom lie had four children : 
Robert, Oliver, Benjamin, and Mercy. He died September 21, 1812, aged thirty-.seven 
year.s. Oliver Comfort, born in Orange County, February 13, 1803, niarried Myrtilla, 
daughter of Jeremiah and Hannah Coleman, in May, 1820. Slie died June 18, 1879, 
aged seventy-six. Their children were William R., Robert E., Lydia, Mercy, Jacob, 
Myrtilla, Harriet, Oliver T., and Hannah. Myrtilla Coleman Comfort was born August 
27, 1804, and died May 29, 1800, aged eighty-five years, nine months, two days. 
William R., born March 11, 1827, married Emelme, daughter of Jacob Elliott, October 
24, 1849, who died May 19, 1880. His son, Alonzo S., was born September 3, 1854. 
Robert E. was born July 31, 1829, and married twice, his first wife being Gloraiiah, 
daughter of Jacob Elliott, who died June 25, 1855, aged twenty years. He married, 
second, Lucinda, daughter of William and Catherine Henry, October 8, 1850, their two 
children being Myrtilla L. and Selden T. Myrtilla L. was born October 14, 1857, and 
married George W. Merriam, November 12, 1879. Selden T., born September 10, 
18C0, married Mary J. Elliott, November 10, 1881, and died August 4, 1888; they had 



PERSOiXAL REFERENCES. 5 

one cliilil. Seidell T.. Jr., born July 15, ISSS. Lnc-inila Henry Comfort, born Febniiiry 
10, 1827, (lied December li, IStO. K. O. Comfort is a fanner at South Creek, Bradford 
County. Pa. He served in the late war in Company G, One Hundred and Seventy-first 
A'olunteeis. for nine months, and was honorably di.-^charged in 1SG.3. Lydia was born 
December 15, 1831, and married Henry Brewer on August 23, 1855. Mercy was l>orn 
March 20, 1834. She married George Quick, Novembers, 1S56. Jacob died October 
12, l.'^37. Myrtilla died September 21, 1840. Harriet, born November 10, 1841, mar- 
ried George Burnham, January 8, 1,'^U2. Oliver T. was born July 13, 1844, and married 
Caroline J., daughter of Elliott and Caroline L. (Knapp) Sullern, November 14, 1806; 
his two children are Stewart S., born February 22, 1871. and Herbert T., born in 1880. 
O. F. Comfort resides on the old homestead. Hannah died April IG, l.'^47. 

Hammond, Lebens, liorn in Connecticut, .served at the battle of Wyoming. He set- 
tled while young in Ashland and cleared what is now known as the Hammond farm, 
where he died, age<i seventy-two, in 1824. He married I.ucy. daughter of Col. Samuel 
Tiibbs, and their children were Hannah and Polly. Hannah Tlammond married James 
Matthews and their children are Vincent, William, ami L. Hammond. The latter was 
born in Ashland. December 22, 18Ui, and married Harriet, daughter of Solomon L. and 
Julia (Seele>) Smith. Their children are Fletcher, Timothy S., Guy L., Maty, Emma, 
Julia, and Harriet. He is a farmer on the homestead in Ashland. Mary Hammond is 
living in the same town, aged eighty-one. 

Hoke, Vantyle J., son of Jonas Hoke, was born in Herkimer County, N. Y., and is 
now a resident in Ferirusouville, Delaware County, N. Y. He is a shoemaker by trade. 
He married Isabelle Dezell and his children are A. Koselle, Mary, and Fred L. Fred 
L. Hoke, born in Delaware County, N. Y.. June 19, 1S1)7, married Stella Clark, of 
North Chemung, daughter of C. A. and Abigail L. (Harrington) Clark, who was born 
April 4, IS(it). Mr. Hoke is a general merchant at Lowman'.s, N. Y., and is also post- 
master and a justice of the peace, being elected to the latter office in 1891. 

Jenkins, Stephen, a native of Connecticut, came to a place near Wilkesharie, Pa., 
where he died in 1775. His children were Jabez. Thomas, Benjamin, David, Hugh, 
Sainiiel, Amy, Lydia, Mary, Jonathan, and Bethia. Samuel Jenkins was born in 
Pennsylvania and came to EIniira with Lebens L. Hammond at the age of twelve years. 
He died in 184IJ. aged sixty-eight years. He married Cynthia, daughter of Robert 
Tubb«, and his chilclren are George, .lulia, Robert, Wilkes, Mary, Ency, James. Hugh, 
S.imuel, Benjamin, Charles, Clara, and Harris. The latter, horn in Elmira on April 13, 
182.'-', married, March 19. 1S70, Elizalietli Strong, who was born July 1, 1841, a daughter 
to James and Susan (.Spaulding) Strong, of Ashland. Their children are Asa B., Ira C, 
Susan S.. Uoy D., Ray T., and Dana H. Mr. Jenkins has been a farmer in Ashland for 
twenty-two years. Hugh Jenkins, son of Stephen, was killed in the War of 1812. 

Kelsey, Horace, .son of Hiram, was born at Elmira, N. Y., in 1819, and dieii at Wells- 
burg, N. Y., December 28, 1877. aged lifty-nine years. March 29, 1842, ho married 
Martha N. Baldwin, who was born February 11, 1829, at Bentley Creek, Bradford 
County, Pa,, a daughter of Silas anil Zaiiianila (Slull) Baldivin. Mr. and Mrs. Kelsey's 
children were Gertrude, born July 18, 1854, married Malcome E. Lawrence, of Elmira; 
Clayton, born August IG, 1857; Candice, born August 18, 1858, died in 1878, aged 
nearly nineteen years; and Baldwin, born April 19, 18G4, married October 27, 1891, 
Ida >felson, of Yonkers, N. Y. Horace Kel.sey was proprietor of the Wellsbuig Ex- 
change .Hotel at Wellsbuig, N. Y.. for twelve years. That hotel was built liy Horace 
Wells in 1855. Mr. Kelsey's widow, Jlartha A., survives and resides at Wellsburg. 
She retains the ownership of the hotel property. 

Kidder, Samuel S., was born in Massachusetts and came to Yates County, N. Y., in 
early childhood. He is a farmer by occii|mtion and ilied in Torrey, Yates County, at 
the age of eighty-live years. He married Elizabeth Belle and their children were Da- 
vid D., Milan, and Mariain. David D. Kidder, born in Yates County near Penn Yaii, 
married Elizabeth, daughter of William Slierling, and hischildren were Bessie L, An- 



6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS TEOl'I.E. 

nie L., William, Helen, and Samuel E. The latter was born in Yates County, August 
10, lSfi3, and November 2:!, 1890, he married Ella N. Dailey. of Penn Van, N. Y., 
daughter of Josi-ph Dailey. Mr. Kidder served seven years in the N. G. S. N. Y.. First 
Separate Company, o£ Penn Yan. lie oame to Wellsburg in 1887, and is the propri- 
etor of the only drug and stationery store in that village. lie is also a member of the 
order of Knights of Pythias and a member of the Pharmaceutical Association of the 
State of New York. 

Lain, William, w;us a native of Orange County, N. Y., where he died aged about eighty 
years. His children were William, jr., James, John, David, Phebe, Sall\', and Frances. 
Mr. Lain, born on Long Island in 174:!, died in Mini.sink, N. Y., in 1811. He married 
Keziali M., daughter of Increase and Anna Matlie, who W'as also born in Minisiidc in 
1749 and died in 1814. Their children were Phebe, born in 1770; Jonathan, born in 
1771; Belhiah, born in 1770; Ke/.iah, born in 1778; William, jr., born in 1780; John, 
born in 1782; James, born in 17S.'>; Sarah, born in 1780; Moses, born in 1788: and 
David, born m 1791. William Lain, jr., a native of Minisink, Orange County, was born 
May 3, 1780, where he died December 17, 1833. He married Deborah Alger, who died 
October 8, 1848, aged sixty-six. His children were Deborah, horn June 14, 1802; 
Frances M., born Novemljer 9. 1803; Reuben, born September 13, ISO.t; William A., 
born April 20, 1807; Cyrus, born March 2. 1809; Keziah, born September 13, 1810; 
Sally, born August 10, 1812; Lawrence, born April 3, 1814; Moses, born March 13, 
1816; and Isaac, born December 18, 1820. Lawrence Lain came to Ashland on foot 
from Orange County in 1830. Here he cleareil a farm and here he has lived for fifty - 
four years. November 7, 1835, he married Hannah, daughter of Aram and Betsey 
(Crane) Brown, who died April 16, 1883, aged sixty-five years. Their children aie 
George W., born June 20, 1836; Clarissa, born Deeemlier 1, 1839: Robert C, born 
June 27, 1843; Aram B., born June 9, 1848; Horton B., born December 14, 1853; Sid- 
ney P., born Octolier20, 1858; and Tim E., born April 7, 1800. Clarissa Lain married, 
Jaimary 22, 18(!3, Lyman M. Burke, who was born December 10, 1838. a son of Will- 
iam and Mary Burke. Their children are Je.ssio M.. born August 24. 1804; Jennie, born 
September 10, 180(i; Hannah E., born July 12, 18G8; Mary A., born April 10, 1871; 
Horace G., born March 24, 1872 ; Lillie A., born September 13, 1874; Bertha P., born 
March 1, 1877; Martha A., born August 23, 1879; and Cyrus L.. born May 29, 1.SS2. 
Lyman M. Bui-ke died March 9, 1889. 

Lockwood, Edmond, born in Watertown, Litchfield County, Conn , November 24, 
1709, married, first, Nancy Judson, by whom he had two chililren, Caroline and Charles. 
He married, second. Anna Russel, March 3, 1810, who was born March 8, 179.'i. She 
was a daughter of Isaac and Sally (Gore) Ca,sh and widow of a Dr. Russel. Their 
children were: Edmund, born November 12, 1810; Abigail C, born September 14. 
1818 ; Richard C, born Sei)tember 19, 1820; Samuel S., born February 22, 1823; Mary 
Ann, born Novend)er 7, 1825; and Phebe M., born March 2, 1830. Richard C. Lock- 
wood, a native of Ulster, Bradford County, Pa., came to Wellsiiurg in 1841 and entered 
into a mercantile partnership with Guy Tracy, continuing until 1854, when they were 
burned out. He has .since been engaged in farming in connection with the lumber and 
coal trade, and also carries on a planing-mill. He was elected the first su]iervisor of the 
town of Ashland, which ollice he filled nine years, having also been postmaster several 
years. lu 1855 he married Susan Fishier, born January 21, 1821, a daughter of George 
and Johanna (Yan Scoder) Fishier, and their children were: Ulilla M., born June G, 
1850; Hoe, born August 4, 1857, died April 3, 1802; and Edmund C, born April 3, 
1864. Mrs, Lockwood is living and is seventy years of age. Mr. Lockwood died on 
Wednesday, Sejitember 2, 1891. 

Losey, Rutherford M., son of Amos and Julia A. Losey, was born in Manlius, Onon- 
daga County, N. Y., August 29, 1845, and married Anna S., daughter of David and Cor- 
delia (Sohnltz) Decker, of Elmira, and his children aie Cordelia S., Ruth D., and Anna D, 
He owns and conducts the Wellsburg tannery at Wellsburg, N. Y., which was built in 



PERSOA'AL REFER EXCES. 7 

Muy, ISGO, by David Decker. TIjl' |ilant lias tlie capacity of tanning 'J8,000 sides of 
lealiier yearly. Mr. Losey nianufactiu'cs union crop leallicr. 

Lowniaii, Jacob, a native of Pennsylvania and of German oiigin, came to Chemnng 
among the early settlers and purchased 5(10 acres, which he cleared. He died in lS4tl, 
aged seventy-one. His wife was Hnldah JJosworth, b}' whom he had five children : 
George, Laurinda, Esther, Cynthia, and Jacob. The latter retained the homestead farm 
and at the time of his death in ,1801 had 4,(100 acres of land. George Lownian. born at 
Chemnng in ITOo, died in Scptendier, 188(J, aged ninety-one. He married Lillis Har- 
rington, daughter of Pre.serve<l an<l Phelie Boileau, of Vermont. Then' children were 
William, Cynthia, John G , Maiden, Miles, Elmer, Hovey E., Edward S., and Phebe. 
Williara was born in Chemung, June 19, 1820, and married, Octolier 13, 1847, Mary A. 
Beeis, of Ehnira, daughter of Jabez and Rebecca (Wood) Beers, by whom he had these 
children: George S., Lillian R., Edward M., Mary A., Alice P., Bertha E., Klorence, 
and Harry W. Mr. I^ownian is a resident of Chemung, where he has lived since 1848. 
Edward married Inez Carr, of Monmouth, 111 , November 5, 1879. She is a daughter 
of John and Mary Carr, and their children are Idaline, Eleanor M., Donald J., Mai- 
denC. , and E. Lewii?. October 17, 1888, Florence Lowman married (jeorge B., son of 
John L. and Nancy (Randell) Myers, and they have one daughter, Ruth. The}' are 
residents of Fishkill on the Hudson. 

Mar.sliall, John, a native of Ireland, came to Canajoharie, N. V., where he died aged 
104. He .served in the war of the Revolution. His children were Eleazer, William, 
James, Thonia.s, Jacob, Lydia, Mary, Betsey, Eunice, Hannali, and Jeremiah. The lat- 
ter came to America with his father at the age of three year.s, .settling in Ashland in 
1832, and died in the town of Chennmg at the age of seventy-two. He married Nancy 
Shannon, by whom he had the following children: William, Eunice, Betsey, Lydia, 
Ann, Mary, Gershom, George. Thomas, Emanuel, and Jacob. Emanuel Marshall was 
born at Canajoharie, July 4, 1831, and July 4, 18(33, married Jennie, daughter of John 
and Sarah Ann Rockwell. They have one daughter, Dai.sy, who married, July 17, 1880, 
Lebeus Goldsmith, by whom she has four children, Elbe, Jennie, George, and David. 
Mr. Marshall is a farmer. 

Mathews, Ainasa, born in Connecticut, served in the Revolutionary war, and came 
to Schuyler County, N. Y., where he died. He was a farmer. He married Rebecca 
Cortwright, by whom he liad the.se chddren: Abner, Cortwright, Lawrence, Amasa 
Hester, Rel)ecca. Loys. Peggy, Susan, and Elbe A. Amasa Mathews was born in Con- 
necticut and lame to Hector, Schuyler County, N. Y., when twelve years old, and 
owned the farm where General Sullivan had his winter encampment when he marched 
through the Chemung Valley. He died at the age of eighty-one, in 186(!. He married 
Polly Everetts, and their children are Arzelia, Joel, Daniel, Lorinda. Lawrence, Milford, 
Lovina, Ovanda. Elmer, and Clari.ssa. Joel was born in Hector, N. Y., March 27, 1810, 
and married, .March 27, 1832, Polly, daughter of Benjamin and Merribee Bird. Their 
children were Hudson, Amasa, ^Ierrihee, AHlfoni, and Arzelia. He married, second, 
R. Jauette, daughter of Samuel and Ruth (Jay) Clark, of English descent, and his chil- 
dren Ijy her are F. Judd and A. Jay. Milford E. ^[at.hews served in Company A, Tenth 
Cavalry New York Vols., and was killed at the battle of Sailor Creek, Burkville, Va., 
near Richmond, the last battle before the surrender of General Lee. Sanuiel Clark 
served in the War of 1812 as first lieutenant of the Eighty-eighth Regiment New York 
militia, by commission from Gov. Daniel D. Tompkins. 

Merriam, Albert, born at Greene, Chenango County, N. Y., June 5, 1815. died at 
AVellsburg, N. Y., February 28, 1890. He came in 1840 to Ashland, where he married 
Harriet M. Smith, of Hector, Schuyler County, N. Y., daughter of CaleVj and Lucy 
Smith. Their children were Caleli S., born January 15, 1841 ; ^^argaret, born October 
11, 1842; Amos B., born August 14, 1844; Monroe A., born March I, XHM'r. Homer, 
born October 24, 1850; Sophronia, born May 1.'., 1852; Mary Jane, born July 8, 1854; 
George W., born May 22, 1856; and Heman S., born January 10, 1858. Monroe A. 



8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Merriam mairieil. April 10. 1872, Ella D. Sinitli, of Otego. Otsego County. N. Y. She 
was horn Keliniary 2(i. 1858. and was a daiigliler of Samuel B. and Amanda R. (Rice) 
Smith. Their children are Kdwin S., Iiorn September 2, 1873; Grace E., born J>me22, 
1875; and Kenneth A., born January Kj, 1881. He is a prominent farmer near Wells- 
burg. 

Roberts, Jonathan, son of Natlian, one of the first settlers of Well.sburg and a native 
of Orange County. X. Y.. was born in 1782 and came to Ashland ten years before his 
marriage. He cleared a farm near Wellsburg and died at the age of forty-five years. 
He serVed in the War of 1S12. Mr. Roberts married Mary, daughter of Abner and 
Catura Wells, and his children were Jasper, Henry, George W.. John, Guy N., Abner, 
William, Isaac, Sally, and Caroline. George W. Roberts was born at Big Klats, No- 
vember 5, 1808. and in 1834 married Sally Ann, daughter of Phineasand Polly Squires. 
by whom he had these children : Phineas S., Addison P., George H.. and Sarah F. 
His first wife. Mr.s. Roberts, died Februaiy 21, 188G. at the age of si.\ty-eight years, 
and he married, second, Huldah Rathbun. Mr. Roberts is a resident of Wellsburg. He 
has .served as justice of the peace in Chemung for four years and in Southport two 
years. He is eighty-one years of age. 

Scudder Family, The, are of English origin. Thomas Scudder was the first of the 
family to emigrate to this country, coming in 1657. His grandson, Treadwell O., son 
of Joel, was born on Long Island and came to Ashland in 1839, where he died on the 
Scudder farm, aged forty years. He served as supervisor in lS4(i. His lirst marriage 
was with Deborah Oakely, by whom he had si.x children, John I., Mary J., Israel 0., 
Keziah, Julia, and Treadwell. Israel 0. Scudder was born at Islip, L. I., January 24. 
1828, and married. January 14, 18G8, Julia, daughter of Harvey and Fanny L. (Smith) 
Farrand, and their children are Harvey, Fanny D., Henry S.. and Joseph F. He served 
as supervisor m Ashland from 1880 to 188(1 and now owns and occupies the homestead 
farm. Treadwell Scudder was a representative in the United States Congress two 
terms and for seventeen 3'ears in the New York State legislature, and was colonel in 
the War of 1812. 

Searles. William, was born in England and came to Dutchess County, N. Y., among 
the first settlers. Here his son John was born. The latter came in 1830 to Chemung 
County, where he died in 1849, aged fifty-six years. He served in the "War of 1812 and 
his widow received a pension in honor of his services. He married Abigail, daughter 
of Isaac Bell, of Orange County, by whom he had seven chihh-en. viz.: Hannah, Ann, 
William, Alfred. Alniira. Clarissa, and Sarah. Alfred Searles was born at Cornwall-on 
the-Hudson on May 1, 1820. He came to Chemung County with his father's family at 
the age of ten years, and married Sarah, daughter of Amos and Ruth Baker. Tlieir 
children are Josephine, Milton, Forest, and Hattie. The latter married Charles Elliott 
and their children are Fosse, Ray, and Fay. They live on the fruit homestead at the 
base of Sullivan Hill. Alfred Searles served as master mechanic on bridges, mills, and 
carjieuter work in tlie late war. having Nashville, Tenn., as headquarters. 

Snulh, Timothy, a aative of Orange County, N. Y., came to Ashland and settled on 
Seeley Creek among the first settlers of the town. Here he died aged about seventy 
years. He married Fanny, daughter of Rev. Mr. Little, and his children were Solo- 
mon L., Archil lald, Elizabeth, Job, Margaret, Hannah, Abigail. Susan, and Uriah. Solo- 
mon L. Smith, born in Orange County, came to A'shland with his father, where he 
remained until his death at the age of seventy-three. He was born in 1777 and mar- 
ried Julia, daughter of Samuel and Mercy (Bartlett) Seeley, and their children were 
Aurelia, Orplia, Margaret, Enuna, (Jrr, Hannah, Fanny L., Tunothy, Uriah, Jud, and 
Harriet. Fanny L. married twice, her first husband being James H., son of Joseph Far- 
rand. He died in lf^42, aged thirty-three years. She married, second, Ebenezer Sully. 
of Orange County, who died in Ashland aged about sixty. Mrs. Sully's children are 
Henry C, Joseph, and Julia. 



PERSOXAL HEFEREA'CES. !> 

Van Biislcirk, John, son of Peter and Lvilia Ann (Bowlby) Van Buskirk, was born in 
New Jersey in 1823 and on May 10, 181i7, came to Jai;ksonville. Tompkins County. 
N. Y., where he now resides, liis chosen profession beinp- tliat of an \mderlaker. He 
married Jane Van Dine, of Waterlmry, N. Y., daugliter of E. E. and Pliebe (Edwards) 
Van Dine, and their children are Josephine, Emma K.. Mary L.. Prank P., Pred, Willie, 
Ployd. pred E., George, and Charles E. Charles E. Van BiiskirU was born at Jackson- 
ville, X. v., .May 30, 18oo, and May 30. 1SS"J, he married Emma G. Doty, who was born 
July 17, 1802, a daughter of Benjamin 11. and Maitha \. ( Passett) Doly. His children are 
Blanche M., born Jlarch 14, 188.'!; George K., born December 22, 1884; Lora A., born 
June 20, 188(i; and Irene, born July 13, 1891. Mr. Van Buskirk came to Wellsburg on 
December 10, 1879, where he engaged in business as a furniture dealer and undertaker. 

Van Campen, John, a native of New Jersey, was massacred by the Indians. He had 
one son, Mcse.s, and they compelled hira to walk through his father's blood, which gave 
him such a strong hatred of them that lie never overcame it. Taking him a prisoner 
with several others they made a cook of him. but the others they ke])l Ijouml. Resolv- 
ing to tree lheni.selves they arranged that when the Indians came ni from a hunt one 
night, and had gone to sleep, Moses should throw .some hemlock boughs on the lire. If 
this did not awaken them Moses was to cut the thongs that bouml the prisoners, and thus 
liberated they were to massacre the Imlian.s, which they did all but iwo. An interest- 
ing account of this massacre is given in one of the historical chapters. The mother of 
this boy and the widow of John Van Campen married John Hillnian, also a resident of 
New Jersey. The}' came to Chemung, N. Y., with others of the first settlers and he 
helped to drive the Indians from the farm he afterward purchased. Clearing a spot on 
the southwest corner of what is now the Hillnian farm he built a log hou.«e and resided 
there until his death. He served in the Revolution. Mr. Ilillman had one son, Sam- 
uel, and one daughter. Sarah. Samuel Hillnian lived and died on the homestead at the 
age of eighty-one years. January 28, 1813, he married Charity Middaugh, and his 
children by lier were John, Sally, Betsey, Catharine, Plucbe, Mary, Hannah, Orplia, 
Annie. Ezra, James, and Augustus. He died in 180G, his wife surviving him a little 
more than a year. Only live of their children are living. Augustus Ilillmaii was born 
March 12, 1823, and married Deborah Hewitt, by whom he had one son, William. Af- 
ter the death of his first wife he married Lilla B. Decker, widow of Dallas Decker, by 
whom he has two children, Harry and Etta. William Hillman lives on the homestead 
now owned by his father. He married Lottie Swain, by whom he has four children. 

West, Calvin, born in Orange County, N. V., was one of the first settlers of Wells- 
burg. He served in the Revolutionary war as a ca[)tain, and built the first grist and 
saw-mill in the town, the one now owned by J. P. O'Bryan. He finally removed to 
Wisconsin, where he died at the age of seventy-seven years. His chiMren were Spen- 
cer, Dianthia, Rebecca, Almira, Harriet, and James C. James C. West was born in 
Pennsylvania and came to Well.sburg in 1802, where he died in 18G0 at the age of 
thirty-eight years. October \h, 184(i, he married Jane M., daughter of Lorez and Mill- 
icenl (Perguson) Alicr. anil their chihlren are Lorez, Calvin, Charity, and Lewis J. The 
latter married Elsie, daughter of Oliver and Mariah (Jenkins) Hunter, and they have 
one son, James 0. Charity West married Jacob, son of George and Hattie (Baldwin) 
Burt, by whom she had three children, Jane, Isabelle, and Knima. Mrs. Jane M. West 
survives her husband at the age of si.\ty-five years, and lives at Wellsburg, N. Y. J. 
West is proprietor of a meatmarket in the same village. 

Wheeler, Cobus. born in Denmark, came to Orange County, X. \'.. about 1800, where 
he died at an advanced age. His children were Timothy, Polly, Hendricks, and Sam- 
uel. All were born in Orange County. The latter settled in Ashland in 1859, where 
he died aged eighty-ihree. November 4, 1888, he married Hannah Van Houten. who 
died November 27, 18.o!t, ageil forty-seven. His children are James, born April 14, 
1833; Thomas, born October Ki, 1834; Emily J., born October 10, 183C: Mary A., 
born rtotoberS, 1839; Eliza, born September 27, 1813 ; John, born December 27, 1840; 



10 OUR COUXTV AXD ITS rEOPLE. 

Sarah, born Jariiiaiv :50, 1S48; Sophronia, born September 20. ly.'iT ; and William H. , 
l)Orn Aprils, IS-H. On December 9, 1808, he marrieil Margaret, daiigliter of Albert 
and Malinda (Smith) >[erriam, and their children are Cliarle.s B., born November 13, 
18G9, and Edna H., born July 24, 1881. He is now a resident farmer on the Wheeler 
homestead. 

Wood, Thoma.s, was a native of New York, of Scotch descent, and died in Orange 
County, N. Y. His children were John, Samuel, Thomas, Horace, Ruth, Abbey, Rebecca, 
Polly, Coe, Jane, Sophia, and James T. The lattei-, a native of Orange County, was born 
March 12, 180G, and came to Waverly in 1862, dying in Ashland aged seventy-eight. 
He married Christian A., daughter of John and Elizabeth (Rhodes) Cherry, by whom 
he had tlie following children: Frances E., Mary J., Eunice E., Jo.sephiiie, Sarah V., 
Christian A, John C. Charles B., and James H. Wood. The latter was born in Orange 
County and came to Ashland in 18G5. In the same year he married Elizabeth, daugh- 
ter of Moses D. and Polly (Burt) Herman, and their chddren are William O.. Helen, 
Jennie D., and Minnie E. Mr. Wood served in Company I, Seventy-second New 
York Voluuteens, and Company B, One Hundred and Twentieth New York Volun- 
teers, and was promoted to second lieutenant and captain. He also served in Com- 
pany E, Seventy-third New York Volunteers, and July 15, 18G5, was honorably dis- 
charged. He was elected supervisor in 1888 and re-elected in 1889, 1890, and 1891. 

Wright, Robbins, born near Burlington, Vt, came to Danby, N. Y., where he died 
at the age of si.Kty years. He was a farmer by occupation. His wife, Mary (Bradley) 
^Yright, bore him three children: Luther R., Hanford D., and Elozia M. Luther R. 
Wright was born in Tompkins County, N. Y., and was snppose<l to have been killed in 
the West. He married Eliza Cassida, daughter of Abner and Harriet (Clark) Cassida, 
and his children are Robbins D. (deceased) and Abner C. The latter was born at 
Danbv, N. Y., on January 4, 1857, aiul came to Wellsburg in March, 1878. He is a 
druggist and purchased a creamery in 1870, which has an annual capacity of 2,000 cows. 

BALDWIN. 

Harrington, Silas, a native of Rhode Island, moved to Vermont and died at Rutland 
at an advanced age. -He served in the war of the Revolution. His wife, Hannah, bore 
him .seven children: Hannah, Abbie, Silas, Sally, Davul. Allen, and Reuben. David 
Harrington was born in New York and moved to Erin, N. Y., in 1820, among the early 
settlers of that town, and cleared » farm at what is now known as Harrington's Cor- 
ners. He finally removed to Balilwin, where he died aged eighty-six. His two broth- 
ers:, Reulien and Allen, were killed in the War of 1812 at the battle of Plattsbnrgh. He 
married Annie, daughter of Thomas H. Hulett, and their children were Matilda. Avery, 
Mason, David, Lucinda, Thomas, Sail}'. Oliver, Abigail L., Chester, and Amasa R. The 
latter was born in Erin, March 27, 1827, and married Ellen Clark. Their three children 
were Melissa, Seward, and Cummings. His second wife was Elizabeth Beckhorn, by 
whom he had one daughter, Annie M. He married, third, Annie C, daughter of John 
and Caroline Mitchell. Mr. Harrington is now a general merchant and postmaster at 
North Chemung. In this biisiness he has been successfully engaged for ten years. He 
served as justice of the peace for twenty years, justice of sessions for two years, post- 
master for fourteen years, town clerk for six years, and notary public for si.x years. 
William N. Harrington, son of Oliver and grandson of David, born in Erin, September 
2G, 1846, married Catherine, daughter of Peter M. Bunlo, .and by her had four children. 
Curtis, Edward, Charles, and Burtus. He married, second, Sarah, daughter of Isaac 
Derry, and their children were Annie, William, and Sarah. He is now a farmer and 
blacksmith in Baldwin. 

Stites, John W., was born in Charlott.sburg, Morris County, N. J. His father came 
from Germany and died in New Jersey at an advanced age. John W. married Hester 



PERSO\AL REFER EXCES. 11 

Fieileiicks, of New Jersey, daugliter of Maitiii Kioiieiicks, and by lier has liad these 
children; Polly, Elizabeth, Jemima, Ann, Nicholas, and Cornelius. The lattei-, born in 
New Jersey, February 22, 181.!, came lo Baldwin, Cheminif; County, in 1850, where lie 
now re.<ides. He married Elmina, daughter of Nelson and l.ydia (Griswold) Lemon, and 
their children are Marj' A.. Adaline, and Hetty. John \V. died August 31, 1851, aged 
seventy-eight, and his wife, Hester, on March 9, 18.32, aged fifty -one. 

Smith, John, born at Monroe, N. Y., came to Baldwin in 1810 among the first settlers 
of the town. His chiMren were Hophni, Anthony D., Timothy J., Sally, Fanny, Abi- 
gail, Levi, Monroe, George, and Susan. Hophni Smith, born in Orange County, N. Y., 
came to Baldwin with his father, where he ilied in 1830 ageil thirty-two. He married 
Bet.^ey, daughter of Abram and Abigail Brewer, and their children were Schuyler, Su- 
san, John E., Betsey, and Hophni E. The lattei- was born December S, 1829, in Che- 
mung, and married, January 27, 18.59, Mary C, <laiighter of William and Margaret; 
(Conklin) Young, by whom lie h.ad these children: Sarah A.. William A., Care}' M., 
and Judd. He resides on a farm in Baldwin where he has lived for twenty-seven years. 
He has served as justice four years and as assessor for three years. William Young 
was a commissioned officer in the Revolutionary war. 

Warren, Elmer E., son of George and grandson of Enoch, is a native of Baldwin 
and was born .March 15, 1858. February 3, 188G, he married Mary Carpenter, of Che- 
mung, N. Y., daughter of Henry F. and Emeline (Drake) Carpenter, and is now a resi- 
dent of Baldwin on the homestead farm of his father. Heiir}' F. Carpenter served in 
the Reljellion. Thoma.s, his lather, served in the War of 1812 and his grandfather par- 
ticipated in the Revolution. 

BIG FLATS. 

Bradshaw, Thomas, was a native of Cambridgeshire County, England, where he died 
at the age of about eighty. He was a laborer and mariied Sarali James, of Norfolk, 
England, daughter of Robert James, and their children were Joseph, Sarali A., Jona- 
than, -Mary A., Susan A., and Robert. Joseph Brad.sliaw, born January 14, 1832, at 
Cambridgeshire, England, came to L'tica, N. Y., in 1853, and thence went to Horse- 
heads, being now a resident of Big Flats. He married, (October 27, 1851. Ann Pedley, 
of Chatteri.ss, Cambridgeshire, England, daughter of James Pedley and Sarah Green, 
and they have eight children : Heniy \V., born September ti, 1852. at Cambridgeshire, 
England ; Joseph, born at Dodington, England, October 20, 18.53 ; Mary A., born at 
Hor.^eheads, (Jctober 14, 18.55 ; Elizabeth, born at Big Flats, June 8, 1857 : Edward P., 
born at Big Flats, July 2, ls.",9; Harris M., born August 30, 18G4; and Minnie B. and 
Ella M. (twins), born >Iay 25, 1870, at Big Flats. Mr. Bradshaw has been town col- 
lector and poormaster. 

Crapo. Richard, born in Connecticut, died at New Bedford, Ma.«s., aged eighty-two 
years. His wife, Elizabeth, died at the age of eighty-one year,s. His children were 
Job. Peter, .\larican, Paul, Mary, and Eliza. Jol> Crapo, born at New Bedford, Mass.. 
came to Richford, N. Y., among the early settlers, where he died in 1874 at the age of 
seventy-two years. His wife, Maryam. die<l in Li.sle, Broome County, N. Y., aged 
forty-two year.<. She was a daughter of Stephen and Mary Ja|iliet, and by her he had 
these children : Stephen, Edgar, Job, John, Roxy, Mary E., Cordelia, and Reuben. The 
latter was born in New Bedford. Ma.f.s., September 20, 1824. ami married Mary Ann, 
daughter of Ale.xar.<ier Pitl.sley. Their children are Frederick, William H., Edgar, Oscar, 
George, Wesley J., Eliza, Mary D., and Cordelia. He married, second, Phebe J., daugh- 
ter of Charles W. Tombs, and their children are Isaac G., Adaline. Charles R., lieuben, 
Stephen, and Harry A. Edgar Crapo married Ida M., daughter of Edward Blanchard. 
They are residents of Chemung County. 

Davis, David, a native of Wales, was a farmer by occupation, and died at the age of 
about ninety years. His .son, David Davi.s, came from Wales to Bloonifield, N. J,, in 



12 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

183G, as a woolen nianufacturer. After residing; for a time in the town of Bip Flats he 
removed to the town of Portland, Wis. He married Susan Davis, of Wales, not a rela- 
tive, and in 1S77 died at the age of eiirhty-live. His son, David L. Davis, born in Mont- 
gomeryshire, North Wales, October 2^!, 1727, came with his father's family in his boy- 
hood to the United States, He studi(-d for a homoeopathic physician and commenced 
his practice in Waterloo, Wis. In l.S.i.5 he married Kliza Boorman, a native of Knp;- 
land, born in Connty Snsse.x in 1855, and a daughter of Copping and Harinali (Foster) 
Boorman, who came in 1849 to the United States, Five children have been born to 
them, two of whom, Elten and Carl S., are deceased. Their daughter Dora L, married 
Lindley M, Hull, a graduate of Lima University, in 188'^. They have had two daugh- 
ters, Wynona and llena. They reside in Wewatchie, Wash, Their .son Arthur is a far- 
mer and resides in Blaine, 111, Their youngest dauglitor. Hattie L,, married Frank- Tifi't, 
of Big Flatts, in 1890, a farmer. Dr, Davis practiced as a physician in the town of 
Waterloo, Wis,, for twenty years, when he received an appointment as olHcial physi- 
cian to the Pawnee Indians in Nebraska. He also gave medical attendance to all the 
government employees in that place. He remained there for three yeai.s, assisting both 
in the moral and religious advancement of the Indians, and removed thence to Falls 
Church, Virginia, si.\ miles from Washington, D. C, where he practiced medicine, and 
where he and his family formed a large circle of friends, Dr, Davis and his wife were 
present at the inauguration of Presidents Hayes, Grant, Garfield, and Arthur. Dr. 
Davis was also employed as physician at Monnt.Vernon, the home of Washington, and 
was with President Garfield only thirty days before his a.ssassination. The family re- 
sided in Virginia for twelve years. In 1884 they removed to Big Flats, N, Y., where 
they now live, 

Bames, Warren, was a native of Massachusetts, and a son of Josliua who served in 
the Revolutionary war. By his wife Hannah he had nine childien: Edwin, Adelia, 
George, Harriet, John, Hubert, Isaac, Horace, and Melisse, Edwin M, Eanies, a native 
of PeiiiKsylvania, moved to Danby, Tompkins County, N, Y,, ami thence to Elmira, 
where he died April (i, 1874, aged fifty-three. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade. 
He married, November 17, 1844, Ruth, daughter of Zenas and Christina (Scutt) Stan- 
nard, who was born April 28, 1825, at Paris, Oneida County, N. Y.. and their children 
were Annace D,, born August 27, 1845 ; Elizabeth, born December 20, 1840 ; Melvina A,, 
born June 10, 1848 ; Edward F., born August 21, 1850 ; Zenas W., born December 25, 
1852; Christina M., born December 11, 1854; Emily F., born January 31, 1858; War- 
ren J,, born Decemlier 22, 1859 ; and Elnora M,, born December 19, 1801. His widow, 
Ruth M,, survives at the age of sixty-five, residing at Big Flats with her son, Edward F, 
Emily F. Eames married Rolla Kames, DecembiM- 29, 1880, a son of John and Emily E, 
(Sperry) Eaines, and they have one daughter, EdnaB., Iiorn at Elmira, March 21, lb82. 

Easterbrooks, William, was born in Providence, R, I., where he died. He was a fisher- 
man and whaler by occupation, and .served in the Revolutionary war. He married Mary 
Miller, and their children were: Caleb, Martin, Nathaniel, Abial, Mary, Rachel, Charity, 
and William. The latter was born at Providence and came to Herkimer, N. Y., and 
finally moved to Hornby, Steuben Connty, where he died at the age of eighty-four. 
He married Mary, daughter of Abial and Mary (Scott) Eighma, (Mrs, Eighma was a 
sister of Gen, Winfield Scott,! The children of Mr. and Mrs. Easterbrooks were Abial, 
Mahaly, Daniel, George, Philander, Mary, Charity, William, John A,, Samuel, Abrain, 
i' ^c Mianda, and Isaac, John A. Easterbrook.s, born at Butternuts, Ot.sego County. N. Y., 
• '*"' February 29, 1814, came to Corning, N. Y., in 1800, where he now resides. He mar- 
ried, in 1838, Miranda, daughter of Abel N. and Diantha (Armstrong) Sweet, and their 
children are Diantha. Mary, Serena, John M., Philander, Newton, and Jasper, Phi- 
lander was liorn in Hornby, N, Y., September 22, 1848, and manied, April 24, 1879, 
Emma H, Whit.comb, of Big Flat.s, daughter of Zeno and Diantha Whitcomb, and is 
now proprietor of the Buena Vista House, The original Easterbrooks family were Will- 
iam, Abial, and Caleb, brothers, who came from London, England, about 1500, to 
Providence, R. I. 



PKRSOX.IL REFEREXCES. 13 

Fan-, Henry, son of Rioliiinl ami .iaiu' O^iniii) Fnir, was lioin near Bt'lfast, Connly 
Antrim, Ireland, in 1792, the vonn^'est son of a family of seven. He was educated in 
his native place, where he remained until his twenty-ein;hth year. Eniigratin<r to Canada 
ni 182.5 he remained there a short time, when he moved to Clinton Connly, N. Y., 
where he lived four years. In 182!) he came to Ehnira, and finally removed to Ri<c Flats, 
where he died February 7, 1877, at the afje of eij-hly-five. He was an earnest member 
of the Presbyterian Church, and a member in fjood standing; of the Masonic fraternity 
for fifty years. He married, in 1815, Jane, dauglitei- of Valentine and Bel.sey McCan, 
who was born June 15, 1798. Their children were John, boin January 12, 1810; Val- 
entine, born May 15, 1818 ; Eliza J., born April 15, 182,1, married Daniel F. Brown, e.sq., 
and died December 12, l^fiS; Esther, born March 5, 1826, married A. R. De Puy, 
esq.; Sarahette, born August 17, 1828, died May 3, 1855; William Henry, born January 
28, 18.31 ; James E., born April 15, 1833; George W., born October 2, 183(i, died Apiil 
2.5, 1856; Dayton S., born December 18, 1839, died March 23, 1841 ; and Mary D., born 
October 23, 1845, married, November 29, 1877, F, H. Fish, esq., of Meadville, Crawford 
County, Pa. William Henry Fan- married, January 24, 1855, Margaret M., daughter of 
John and Louisa (Camp) Storms, of Corning, N. Y. He is now a resident of Big Flats, 
where he has lived since 1855. He has been supervisor two terms, and ha.s held many 
other offices of public trust. Valentme married Mary Edminster, October 13, 1849, a 
daughter of William and Polly (Smith) Edminster, and their children are Zernah J., 
born August 13. 1850; John V., born November 3, 1851 ; Esther A., born October 21, 
1852; Martha F., liorn January 8, 1855; Mary E., born August 2, 1853; George W., 
born September 15, 1800; William E., born June 8, 1802; Abrani L., born February 11, 
1865 ; and Fanny E., born March 28, 1872. Zerah J. Fair married John Relyea, jr., 
son of John and Eliza (Gee) Relyea, and they have one adopted daughter. Paiah M. 
John K. Farr married Hattie E., daughter of John and Cordelia Chandler, by whom he 
has two children, Edna N. and George V. 

Farr. Robert, son of James, was born in Ireland and came to Big Flats with his father 
at the age of six years. He is now a cotton planter and a resident of Cameron, Scriven 
County. Ga. He married Mary M. Kimball, of Catlin, N. Y., daughter of Abram and 
Nancy (Bryant) Kimball, and their children are Cephas B., Mary I., Charles, Nancy E., 
and \Valton K. The latter was born at Big Flats, January 15, 1853, and married, De- 
cember 31, 1873, Emeline, daughter of Charles and Betsey (Leonard) Davenport, of 
Coining. Their children are Rosa E., Laura E., Lillie E., Rollin W,, Mabel L., and 
Israel N. Mr. Farr resides in Big Flats. 

Fitch, Ezra, was a native of Connecticut, as was also his father. He died there at an 
advanced age. He served in the war of the Revolution and drew a pension, and at the 
time of the war sold his faim and took his pay in Continental money, which proved to 
be worthless. His children were Ezra, David, Joshua, James, and Ross. Ezra Fitch 
was born in Connecticut, December 12, 1772, and met death by drowning in Chemung 
River on March 28, 1840. He came to Greene, Chenango County, N. Y., where he mar- 
ried Lucina Ilollenbeck, who was born December 15, 1783, and died July 13, 1855. She 
was a daughter of Abram and Margaret (Storms) Ilollenbeck. Their children were 
D.-iniel K., born January 5, 1809; John S., born July 8, 1810, died March IG, 1883; 
Orson H,, liorn February 0, 1812; Mason P., born December 12, 1814, died February 24, 
1882; Lewis, born February 14, 1816; Margaret, born April 6, 1818; Annis H., born 
May 7. 1820; Mandane, born March l.'!, 1822; and Hester M., born July 1, 1825. died 
September 1, 1840. Lewis Fitch married, first, Minerva Beckwith, of Horsehe.ids, N.Y., 
October 24, 1843, a daughter of Albert A. and Hannah (Griswold) Beckwith. Her 
father was the .second .sheriffof Chemung County. Their children are: Julia, born June 
4, 1840, died March 27, 1847; Albert B., born February 14, 1848; Ella 0., born July 
25, 1850; Towiisend B., born June 23, 1802; Roa C, born May 14. 1850, died March 
17, 1857 ; and Annah M., born January 24, 1859. He married, second, Caroline .S. Beck- 
with, sister ot his first wife, who was born March 20, 1834, and died November 21, 1889. 



14 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

By her lie had one daughter, Bertlia C, born Oclobei- 24. ]S75. Lewis Fitch, with Ins 
father and brothers, cleared a larni in Big Flats, and liis brother. Daniel IC, was the lead 
ing spirit in promoting the building of the first bridge over the Chemung River three 
miles above Elmira. The Fitches were extensive lumbermen in early days, and Albert 
B. is now a large lumber dealer in Elmira, the firm being Fitch & Aldrich. 

Gilbert, Elmer, a native of Connecticut, came to Broome County, N. Y., where he 
died at an advanced age. He was a farmer, and his children were Lazarus. Jarvi.<k, 
Jolui, Samuel, Andrew VV., and Annie. Andrew W. Gilbert was born in Ulster 
County, N. Y., and married Anne C, daughter of Hull Strattou. Their children are 
Lucretia (Mrs. Whitney), Louisa (Mrs. Scliofield), Mary (Mrs. Sheak), Lydia A., Elmer, 
Gilbert, and Uri K. Elmer was born iLirch S, 1828, in Broome County, and married. 
April '21, 18G.'), Sarah, daughter of Caleb Wolcott, by whom he has one daughter, 
Carrie, born Jul}' 25, 18GS. Mr. Gilbert resides in Big Flats, where he has served as 
justice of the peace for twenty j'ears. He manied, second, Mrs. Errainda S. Trues- 
dell, daughter of John and Mary Silj-bee, who was born July 2G, 1835. 

Hammond, Oliver, was one of three brothers, William, Lebbeas, and Oliver, who 
survived the Wj'oming massacre in the Revolutionary war. Born in Luzerne County, 
Pa., he died at Kinnian Mountains, Pa., at the age of fiftj'-four. His children were Lebbeas, 
who died aged seventy-three; Shubael, who died aged seventy-five; Martin, who died 
aged seventy-five; Rboda, who died aged eighty-four; Olive, who died aged seventy- 
six; Lucy, who died aged fif'y-four; and Ann, who survives at the age of 109 years. 
Martin Ilamiucnd was born in Soutliport, N. Y., in July, 1702, and died in July, 1865. 
He married a daughter of Guerden Oiapnian, who died in 1SG4, at the age of sixty- 
seven. Their children were Sally A., William O., Hiram B., George W., Martin, Maiy 
L., and Charles H. The latter, born at Big Flats, May 29, 1838, married, in 18(j:i, 
Amanda Kenned)', of that town, and daughter of Elias and Eliza (Dill) Kennedy. His 
cliihiren are Martin E. and Nellie M. Martin E. Hammond married Emma, daughter 
of John and Annie (Glea!«on) Steriner, who has borne him one son, Charlie M. Martin 
Hammond served in the War of 1812 at the burning of BuQalo. He came to Big Flats 
in 1822, from Southport, where he married. Charles Hammond has served two terms 
as justice of the peace. 

Johnson, Christopher, a native of Germany, came to Pennsylvania and removed 
thence to Ithaca, N. Y. Heserved in the Revolutionaj-y war and died at an advanced age. 
His children were Jacob, Mary, Catherine, Barbara, and John A. The latter was born in 
Pennsylvania and came to Ithaca, where he lived several years, but finally removed to 
Odes.<:a, where he died at the age of seventy-two, on August 30, 1869. He was a 
carder and cloth-dresser by trade. He married Sarah, daughter of Leander Stephen.s, 
who died in 1874, at the age of seventy-seven. Their children were Susan, Franklin, 
Priscilla, Sarah, Ann. Ursula, Mary Jane, Christopher, Lester, Jerome, Amos, John, 
Jacob, and George W. The latter, born August 22, 1836, in Schuyler County, N. Y., 
married, in 1868, Jlelvina Eames, of Elmira, daughter of Edwin and Ruth (Stannard) 
Eames, and their children are John E., born January 22, 1870; Albert E., Ijorn June 
5, 1874; Beatrice v., born July 27, 1880; and George M., born February 14, 1891. 
He IS a farmer by occupation and resides at Big Flats, N. Y. George W. served in 
Company E, One Hundred and Sixty-first New York Volunteers, was honorably dis- 
charged in 1865, and is now drawing a pension. Jerome B. served in the Fourteenth 
Heavy Artillery; Lester and John P. served and died in the service in 1862, aged re- 
spectively twenty-eight and thirty-two. 

Lowe, Cornelius W., was born in New Jersey and came to Big F'lats in 1794, where 
he (lied at the age of eighty. He married Phccbe Roberts, and their children were 
Nathan, Phoebe, Allie and Hannah (twins), Rebecca, and Joseph. The latter was born 
at Big Flats in I8(l8 and cleared the homestead farm, where he remained until his death 
in 1860 at the age of fifty-two. He married Julia A. Roberts, of Orange Count}'. N. Y., 
September 25, 1834. She was born May 1, 1809, a daughter of James and Mary 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 15 

(Coleman) Roberts, and in siill livinpr nt the age of eighty-three. They had one 
daughter, Cynthia, who married Jose])!] R. Lowe, of Manchester, Kng., November li.'J, 
1808, a son of Joseph and Sarali Lowe. Tlieir children are Nathan J., horn June 11, 
18U1 ; Jnlia A., born January 2, 18GG; Mary B., born ilay 5, 18(i8; Helen M., born 
December 7, 1869; Charles A., born August ol, 1871 ; and Hattie O., born ilay 25, 
1877. William Lowe was an early maiuifaclurei- and merchant of earthenware at 
Elmira. James Roberts served in the War of 1812. Cornelius W. Lowe bought the 
home farm at $1.25 per acre, and paid for it by hauling salt from S3'racuse to Elmira 
and vicMiity. 

McNulty, , a native of Pennsylvania, came to Big Flats with his family, 

John, Polly, Hannah, Catherine, William, and Andrew, when the former was but four 
years old. Here he cleared a farm and died in 1873, at the age of seventy-two. John 
marrieil, first, Eveliiie Owen, daughter of Eleazer and Margaret (Buck) Owen, and 
they had one son, D. Le Grand. He married, second. Adaline Owen, a sister of his 
(irst wife, D. Le Grand, born September -I, 18.32, died August C, 1873. He married, 
January 2-1, l-CiO, Margaret L. Tuttle, of Big Flats, who was born Februarx' 11, 1839, 
a daughter of Williiun A. and Marv (Ross) Tuttle, and their children were Marv A., 
born March 11, 18G2 : Clara, born'May 31, 1863, died October 12, 1873; Louise,' born 
November 14, 1865; William T., born January 10, 1868; and John B., born June 5, 
1871. His widow, ifargaret, survives him and resides on the homestead farm. Mary 
A. married Charles Gregory, of Big Flats, Augu.st 24, 1881 , and they have three children : 
Louise, born Feliruarv 11, 1884; Le Grand, born April 15, 1835; and Edith, born May 
17, 1887. 

Mundy, Nathan, born in Elizabethtown, N. J., May 17, 1770, died at Big Flats, May 
16. 1847. where he had lived since 1823. April 22, 1792, he married Mary Drake, who 
was born February 15, 1766, anil who died January 23, 1840, at Big Flats. His only 
son, Reuben M. Muudy. wa,s born in New Brunswick, N. J., February 28, 1793, and 
died at Big Flats, Febiuary 10, 1862. He served in the War of 1812, and came to Big 
Flats in 1819. He married at Barton. Tioga County, N. V., November 4, 1819, Han- 
nah, daughter of Benajah and ilarv Munila, of Wilkesbarre, Pa. She died at Big 
Flats, April 13, 1868. Of their children Nicholas S. was born in Barton, Tioga County, 
N. Y., December 26, 1819, and is now a resident of Big Flats. He has been in the 
mercantile business and is also a successful farmer, owning si.K fine farms. He is living 
at the age of seventy-one. In 1819 he paid for a portion of his laud $12.50 per acre; 
in 1835 he bought 100 acres at $60 per acre; in 18(i5 he bought 101) acres at $100 per 
acre; and the next year he paid $125 per acre for 100 acres more. His only brother, 
Simeon L.. was born in Big Flats, February 10, 1825, and died December 18, 1853. 
His sisters are Catherine, born August 13, 1821. and Mary L.. born August 3, 1829. 
Catherine Mundy married Alfred, sou of James Hughson, of Llulchess County, N. Y., 
by whom she has one son, Simeon M., who was born January 25, 1844, and November 
10, 1869, married Emily A. Van Order, of Ormel, Allegany County, N. Y. HLs children 
are Frederick W., born February 7, 1871, and Louisa C, born September 27, 1873. In 
1891 Simeon Ilughson was elected supervisor of the town of Big Flats. 

Ripley, James, born at Unadilla, N. Y., died at Utica at an advanced age, having 
served in the war of the Revolution. His wife, Sarah, died at the same place, aged 
eighty years, and his only son, James P. Ripley, who was born at Una<lilla, died in 
Corning in 1885, at the age of eighty-two years. He married Nancy, daughter of John 
Tallman, of Utica, and their children were George N., Frances, Charles C, Dewitt C, 
Jcdiali, and Afartha. He married, second, Lydia, daughter of .John N. Davis, by whom 
he had one son, Jud.son Ripley. Dewitt C. Ripley was born at Big Flats, July 14, 
184.'!. and April 3, 1870, he married Lucy, daughter of Daniel WoodrufT. She died in 
1881. aged thirty-twu year.s, leaving these children : William W. and Lena M. He mar- 
ried, .second, Sophronia Burd. June 1, 1883. She was a daughter of Austin Reeder. They 
now reside in Big Flats. Mrs. Ripley's first husband was William Burd, %vho died 



IG OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

March 29, 1881, at the age of fifty-one years. Tlicir chilihen were Amy A. and 
Austin R. 

Ryan, G-ilbert, was born in County Clare, Ireland, where he lived and died at the 
age of forty. He married Mary Shader, who died at the age of seventy, and their chil- 
dren were Bridget, Mary, Margaret, Kate, Tiniotliy, Patrick, and Martin, The latter 
was born in Ireland in 182".i and married, in 1851, Mary Gorman, of Ireland, a daugh- 
ter of Michael and Winifred (McMan) Gorman, who wa.^ born in 1828. Their children 
were John, Mary, Winnifred. Michael, Kate, Su.-ian, William, Annie, Martin, Marga- 
ret, and Timothy, The latter came to Big Flats, X. V,, in 1849. He is now a retired 
farmer residing in the vdlage at the age of seventy, his wife being sixty-five. 

Schuyler, Samuel, was born in Newark, N, J., and died at Hornby, .Steuben County, 
N. Y., aged eighty-four. He married Lydia M, Hilts, who died in Schuyler County, 
N. Y,, at the age of ninety-three. Their children were Samuel, Herman (decea.sed), 
Norman, Dorman, Daniel, Philip, Ann, Mary, Harriet, Eliza, and Eflie, Dorman was 
born in Ames, Schoharie County, N. Y,, and mariied, first, Sarah A., daughter of Cyrus 
and Sarah A, (Hubbel) Sanford. Their children were Denni,s, Mark, and Cj'rus D. 
The latter was born at Orange, Schuyler County, November 10, 1857, married June 2, 
1886; Dora A., daughter of John and Polly (Allen) Houghtaling, Ijy whom he has one 
son, Glenn, who was born February 15, 1887. Mr. Schuyler, a farmer and a butcher, 
resides in the village of Big Flats. 

Smith, Simeon, son of Isr.ael and a native of New England, came to Sidney, Che- 
nango County, N, Y., in 18(10, where he remained until his death, which occurred at 
the age of eighty. His wife, Patience Stockwell, also died aged eighty years. His 
children were Cliloe, Patience, Lucinda, Titus, Enos, Simeon, Joseph, Giles, and Susan. 
Titu.s Smith was born in Sidney, in 1801, and came to Caton, Steuben County, where 
he cleared a farm and lived until liis death October 22, 1865. He married, November 2, 
182-t, Lucy P, Babcock, of Stonington County, who was born July 20, 1804, and died 
October 22, 1875. She was a daughter of Elias P. and Sarah (Lewi.sj Babcock. Their 
children were Emory, born March 15, 1827; Tiewis P, born December 19, 1828; Sim- 
eon S., born July 23, 1831 ; Lucinda, born February 22, 1835; Enos S., born .May 2, 
1840; Thompson, born November 19, 1841; and James P., born March 20, 1837. 
These children were all born at Caton, N. Y., in the first frame hoiwe built in town. 
James P. Smith came to Big Flats on April 1, 1866, and November 13, 1862, he mar- 
ried Sarah J. Cross, of Caton, a native of Cambridge, Eng., and a daughter of William 
and Mary Cross. She died February 15, 1887, aged forty-two. His children by her 
were Florence, who died young; Lucy, born September 6, 1865; William, born Au- 
gust 16, 1869; and Carrie, born September 15, 1870, He married, second, Dencie Axtell, 
of Cathn, N. Y., April 18, 1888. She was born November 25, 1855, a daughter of John 
and Sabra (Brockway) Axtell. They had one son, James A. Mr. Smith is a farmer. 
With his brothers he enlisted in the late war, Simon S. and Thompson having enlisted in 
1802 in Company H, Engineer Corp.s, and survived until the close. Thompson Smith 
has been for some years hopelessly insane. Titus established the first Sabbath school 
in his town and was deacon of the Presbyterian Church. Enos S. Smith married Jane 
Pew, of Caton, November 30, 1865 ; she is a daughter of Daniel Pew. They had one 
son, Edgar, deceased. He came to Big Flats in 1873. 

Whitcorab, Joseph, son of Joseph M., was born in Grafton, Vt., and died at Lake- 
ville, Washington County, N. Y., aged seventy-four. He married Eunice Chapman, 
who died at the age of sixty. Their children were Milton, Thomas, Polly, Horace, 
Harriet, Ileno, William, Oren, and Maria, Heno Whitcomb, born in Grafton, Vt.. died 
at Big Flats, January 26, 1877, at the age of fifty-seven. ~He was a resident of this 
town for forty years, and was a soldier in the late war, being with Sherman in his march 
to the sea, as was also his brother Oren. He enlisted as private in Company I, One 
Hundred and Forty-first New York Volunteers, Colonel Hathaway, of Elmira, Mr. 
Whitcomb married Diantha Middaugh, of Big Flats, in 1820. She was a daughter of 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 17 

Benjamin and F:inny (Enirlisl]) MiJdau<;li. Their cliililren were Man'elliis, Harmon B., 
HerliertT.. Henry, ami F. Elizaheth, all ilece.used, and Le^raiid P., Josiali T., and Emma 
U. The latter, born February 2li, 1857, married Philander Easterbrooks, April 4, 1879, 
a son of John and Miranda fSvveet) Easterbrooks. Heno Whitoomli, a farmer and mill- 
wright, together with his three brothers, built four grist mills in and about SaUni, Vt. 
His widow, Diantha, survives at the age of sevenlj' yeais and resides at Big Flats. 
Daniel Middaugli served in the Revolution and was at the battle of Bunker Hill. 

Wormley, John, of German descent, was a native of Lancaster, Pa., where he died 
at the age of si.Kty-four. He was twice married, his first wife being ilaria Wise, of 
Berks County, Pa., and his second being Mary Bovver, >who was born at Lancaster, Pa., 
November 2(1, 1770. and died in Vork County, Pa., in 1848, .aged about seventy years. 
The chddren of his second marriage were Jauol); Frederick, born May 12, 1810: Maria, 
born Jamiary 17, 1808: Englehart, born Septeniber 16. 1812; Elizabeth, born Januaiy 
3, 1815; George, born April 20, 1817; and William, born June 2, 181!(. .Tacob Worm- 
ley was born in Cumlierland County, Pa, in I8tt5. and died at Goruiitg, N. Y., in 188(), 
aged seventy-three. He married Phutbe Riker.of Big Flats, a daughter of John Riker, 
and their children were John (born in IS.'U), Mar}', Jacob, George, U'illiani, Charlotte 
Isaliella, Jane, and Simeon L. The latter, liorn October 9, 1832, married Lucy A. Hub- 
bard, of Caton, Steuben County, N. Y., daughter of William and Martha Hubbaid, 
who died Augu.^t 12, 1889. aged fifty-eight. Mr. Worndey is a fainier in this town 
William F. Worndey was born in Northumberland County, Pa., June 27, 1819. and in 
1828 he came with his brother Jacob and his mother to Big Flats. He married Barbara, 
daughter of Michael Minsh, and they have hail eight children : Maria, Emma. Charlotte, 
Theopliolus. Plucbe, Lucretia, Witzel Mary, and Ellen (deceased). Eli/.abetn Worndey, 
born in Cundierland County, Pa., January 3, 181.5, married, in 1832, Barney Van Deren, 
who died October 20, 18G0, aged fifty-eight j'ears. Their children were George W., 
born April 3, 1832; Benjamin F., born Februarys, 1837; and Grant, born March 3, 
1847. Mrs. Van Deren survives at the age of seventy-seven, and resides in Big Flats. 

CATLIX. 

Eaton, Charles L., a native of Tioga County. Pa., was born October 1, 1843, and was 
for several 3'ears a resident of Steuben County, \. Y., but removed to Catlin in 1883, 
where he has since resided. March 4, 18G8, he married Sophia C, daughler of Samuel 
and Nancy (Cogswell) Bucher, who was born July 11, 1844. Mr. and Mr.s. Eaton have 
four children : Samuel W., Nathaniel L., Edna S., and Glenn K. Samuel is connected with 
the State Xormal School at Oneonta and tlie others are living at home. Mrs. FJaton is 
a descendant of a German family who came to America at an early <iay. Her grand- 
father, Jacob Bucher. was one of the early settlers in Post Creek \'alley and had a 
family of ten children. Samuel Bucher. one of the .sons, was a resident of Catlin, was 
born in 1811, and died September 4, lS8.'i. His wife waj! Nancy Cogswell, whom he 
married January 3, 183(i. She wa.s born February 11, 1809. and still survives. W their 
five children two are living. 

Soper. Thomas, was born in Bennington, Vt.. and came to Veteran. N. Y., in 1823, 
with his family, where he settled on a farm, and where he died in 1875, aged eighly- 
one. He married Betsey Boon, who died October 1, 1858. Their children were Sam- 
uel, born November 7. 1818; Johnson B.. born March Ifi, 1822; Louisa, born August 
22, 1823; Stephen, born July 22, 1S2G; Thomas T., born January 22, 1828; Ann M., 
Vjorn November 19, 1834; Charles M., born March 24. 1837; and Leonard, born March 

9, 1833. The latter married. November 4, 1858, Eliza S.. daughter of Echobed and Bet- 
sey (Riley) Meeker, by whom he had the.se children : Frank S., born August 9, 1S59 ; 
Ada E., born March 2. 1801 ; Juddie R., born December 30, 18(!fi ; Carrie M.. born July 

10, 187.^: ami lirnest L., horn September 27, 1877. Thomas Soper was the first man 



IS OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

who built a frame lioiise in Veteran. He was amon» the early settlers and died on the 
farm he cleared. Thoraa.s I., jr.. served in the Fil'tu-tli New York En;.,nneers in the late 
war. George \V. Soper was born November 22, 1823. 

CHEMUNG. 

Albertson, Daniel, was born in Orange County, N. Y., and died in Elmira at the age 
of seventy-eight. His wife bore him these children : Abraham, Daniel, Wdliam, Uriah, 
Lewis, Wineford, Ruth, Olive, Annie, and Penina. Abrahafti Albertson was born in 
Orange County, Feburary 22, 17!)-i, and died at the age of .seventy-eight years. He 
married Rany White, who was born August 1, 1793, and died aged .sixty-two. Their 
children were : Sarah, Mary, and Andrew W. Andrew W. Alliertson was born June 30, 
1821. and in 1S40 he married Hannah Warner, a native of Orange County, born in 1819, 
who died December 4, 1870. His second wife was Phebe E. Childs, who was born 
October 10, 1841, a daughter to Thomas and Fanny (Sear.s) Childs. Mr. Albertson has 
lived on a farm in Chemung for twenty-five years. 

Baldwin Family, The. — The first member of the Baldwin family to settle in Chemung 
County was Isaac, sr., who emigrated with his family from Norwich, Conn., to the 
Wj'oming Valley, where they remained only a few years, removing in consequence of 
the Pennamite and Indian war.s. They located farther up the river in the vicinity of 
Ulster, supposing they had crossed the boundary line between New- York and Pennsyl- 
vania. Here they remained one or two years, when they again removed still farther up 
the Chemung River to what is now the town of Chemung, tlien a part of Tioga County, 
N. Y. Tliis was in 1784. Isaac Baldwin, sr., was horn in Norwich, Conn., June 12, 
1730, and his wile. Patience Ratlibun, was bornin Exeter, R. 1., September 13, 1734. 
They were married Noveuiber 10, 1751, and their children were as follows: Rufus, 
born March 8, 1753. married Hannah Hascall. and died June 30, 1834: Thomas, born 
February 23, 1755. married Molly Fuller, and dieil January 10. ISIO; Wattei-man, born 
January 8, 1757. married Celinda Burnham: Atl'a, born December 14, 1759, mar- 
ried, fust, a Mr. Jenkins and .second a Mr. Harding, and died March 15, 1832; Adah, 
born October 31, 1702, married, first, a ilr. Gangez, and second, William Jenkins, and 
<1ied March 1,1815; Isaac, jr., l>orn January *8, 1765, married Alice Hascall, second 
Zeriah Hinchman. and third Ruth McDowell, and died November 21, 1815; William, 
liorn August 2(i. 1767, married Zuba Seely. ami died April 21, 1810; Henry. Iiorn Feb- 
ruary 27, 1769, m:u-ried Milly Satterlee, and died April 29. 1813: Polly, born August 3,, 
1772, married Anthony Lowe, and died November 21, 1828; Sila.s, born March 12, 
1775, married Sally Hascall, and died December 12, 1809; and Ichabod, born Octolier 
26, 1777, married Eli'/abeth De Puy, and was killed in a mill at Penn Tan, N, Y., in 
Januarv. 1835. Adah Jenkins, who settled in Chemung m 1784, was the last survivor 
ot this family. She was taken prisoner by the Indians when sixteen years of age at the 
Wvoining massacre, and was jiainted. shaved, and sent liarefooted over the mountains 
to the Delaware River at Easton. Watterman, familiarly known as " Uncle Watter- 
man," was a noted scout with the Indian chief '• Cornplanter," and as Chedayne is the 
notjd hero of that interesting vohime by Ausbnrn Towner entitled "Chedayne of 
Katono." Thomas Baldwin was colonel of the first regiment in the county, and was 
the father of Vine Baldwin, who was the first white male child born this side of the 
Allegheny Mountains, being born at Shequinta in 1784, while the settlers were en route 
up the river. He served in the War of 1812 and received a land warrant. William 
Baldwin was known as "Captain William." His son. Judge Grant Baldwin, was a 
very prominent citizen in the early history of Elmira. Isaac Baldwin, jr., was also a 
colonel of a regiment and a merchant at Newtown in company with Vincent Matthews. 
Isaac, Thomas, and William each took up 640 acres of land adjoining each other in the 
vicinity ot Wellsburg, which land is now embraced in the towns of A.shland, Baldwin, and 



J'ERSO.y.lL KEFEREACES. 10 

Chetnmig. Thomas Baldwin's land covered the battleground of Newtown, in whicli 
battle he was wounded in the knee while serving under Sullivan, lie jilanted an 
orchard on the spot where he was wounded. It is said iliat Rufus Baldwin killed the 
first Indian in SuMivan's campaign. Thomas served under General Washington in the 
Revolutionary war and [larlicipated in the capture of Cornwallis at Vorktown, Va. He 
commanded the seven njen who recaptured the Franklin family from a party of seven- 
teen Indians near Towanda, Pa. Wattcrnum was taken prisoner under ■' Cornplanter " 
and was in conlinement several years at Tonawanda Creek near Niagara. lie was in- 
llueuti;vl in consummating the treaty between Washington and Cornplanter and was the 
Indian agent for the latter for many years. When General Washington gave him his 
commission as agent the general gave Mr. Baldwin a liorse and a silver-mounted saddle. 
The horse was called " Roenoak." So intimately have the Baldwins been connected 
with the progress anil development of the valley of the Chemung that much personal 
history of the family lias been embodied in various chapters throughout the work. 

Baldwin, Vincent, son of George and Harriet, was born at Bentley Creek, Bradford 
County, Pa., in 1835, wliere he has always resided. His brothers and sisters are Isaac, 
Samuel, John, Charles, Mark, Mary, and Harriet. Vincent Baldwin married, first, Eva, 
daughter of Daniel and Minervia (Daggett) Dewey, bj' whom he had two children : 
Belle and George C. He married, second, Mary Kennedy, who bore liim one son, Burt. 
George C. Baldwin was born at Tioga, Tioga County, Pa., August 28, 1861, and mar- 
ried Ella H., daughter of Nelson and Harriet (Dewitt) VauGaasbeck. He is a general 
merchant in Chemung village. 

Bcidelman, Elias, father of Samuel, emigrated from Germany in 17o0, He settled in 
Bucks County. Pa., and died there at the age of seventy- three years. Samuel Beidel- 
man came to Chemung among the early settlers. Here he cleared what is now known 
as the George Bfidehiian farm. His wife, Sarah Cassada, bore him ten children, as fol- 
lows: Isaac. Abrjim, Jacob, Ro-ina, Polly. Betse}', Catharine. Samuel, John, and Crystal. 
Mr. Beidelnian died on his farm in Chemung in ISijiG at an advanced age. I.saac Beidel-, 
man, born at Kaston, Pa., in 179l), married Urana, daugliter of Elias iMiddaugh, and their 
children were Anson, Addi.son, Beliilda, Harriet, Anlhonj'. John, Arthur, Elizabeth. 
George, and .Samuel. The latter married Lessie Carr. and by her had three children. 
They now reside on a farm in Minnesota. Addison Beidelnian married, fust, Minerva 
Curry, and .second. Susan L. White. By the latter he hail one son. Miles C, of Sheshe- 
quin. Pa, George Beiilelman was born in Chemung, December 12, 1824, and now re- 
sides in Chemung on the homestead farm. Jacob Beidelman, son of Samuel, sr., was 
born at Easton, Pa., in 177C, and in 1802 settled on the Beidelman farm, where he died 
in 18'J3, at the age of eighty-seven. He married Sarah Cassada, who wjis born in 1782, 
a daughter of Robert Ca.ssada, and their children were; Hannah, Kli/.abeth, Enpliias, 
Eliza, Isaac, Henry S., Cynthia, and Clarissa. Henry S. Beidelman, a native of Che- 
mung, married Sally, daughter of John and Polly (Bennett) Kent, by whom he had 
eight children, viz.: George II.. Harrison, James F., Sarah, Josephine, Simeon, Elizabeth, 
and John. James K. Beidelman was born March 19, 1S-1.'J, and married, June 14, 1865, 
Mariah, daughter of John and Sarah Daiiner, of Connecticut, By her he liad two chil- 
dren : Ilattie M,, born April 11, IStiG, and Minnie D., born .March 7, 1868. Mr. Beidel- 
man resides on the homestead farm of his grandfather. Hannah Beidelman Mitchell 
survives at the age of eight-eight years, and Elizabeth Beidelman Lloyd is living at the 
age of eighty-five. Eliza Beidelman lives aged eighty year.*!. 

Bosworth, David, born in Stamford, Conn., came on foot to Chemung, N. Y., in 1780, 
guided by Indian trails. He cleared a farm on Buck's Hats, where he lived many years, 
finally removing, however, to .\thens, Bradford County, Pa., where he died in 1868, at 
the age of ninety-three. He married Fanny Daley and their children were: John, 
Harry, Solomon, Huldah, Polly, Laurinda, and Aurilla. Harry Bosworth, born at 
Athens, Pa.. May 24, 1806, married, November 18, 182'J, Mary Layton, who was born 



2(1 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

November 5, ISOO, a daughter lo Daniel anil Sarali (Clark^ Laytoti. Theii- children 
were: Sarah F., born September (!, 18j(>; John L., born Maich 8. 1833; James J., 
born December .iO. 183+ ; J. Ford, Imrn Mav 4, 1841; Harriet A., born Septeinher 28, 
1844 ; George H., born April 14, 184G; and' Guy M., born March 9, 1838. The latter 
mairied, Noveniljer 5, 1808. Mary L., daughter of Cornelius and Harriet (Kentrield) 
Beelie, of Cheniuntr, and their childien are: Walter F., Iiorn May (i, 18H9, and Marj^aret 
M., born August 11, 1872. The latter married, March 25, 1801, Clarence M. Sager, of 
Hampton, Va., son of John Sager, and now resides in that place. Walter F. Uosworth 
married Minnie D. Beidelman, of Chemung, daughter of James F. and Mariah (Tanner) 
Beidelmau, October 1.5, 18!l(l. Guy M. Bosworth served in Company E, Twenty-third 
New York Volunteers, re-enlisted in Company F, Eighth New York Artillery, and was 
honorable di.scharged in April, 18G,"j. He now draws a pension. He has served as jus- 
tice four years and as town collector one year. 

Burt, Benjamin, born at Warwick, Orange County, N. Y., March 9, 1750, came to 
Chemung in 178!) among the early settlers, where he died May 10. 1820. His wife was 
Johainia Parshall, and she was born February 16, 1754, and died at Chemung on March 
20, 1850. aged ninety-three. By her he had these children : Benjamin, Ruth, David, 
Keziah. Beldon, Israel. Asahel, and Elizabeth. David Burt, born at Sugar Loaf, Lycom- 
ing County, Pa., in 1786, married Phebe. daughter of Kenney Burnham, of Chemung, 
N. Y., and then- children were Benjamin F., George W., David A. J., Mary, Isabella 
and C. Columbus (twins), Susan, John W., Phebe A., and William H. John W. Burt 
was born at Chemung in August, 1833. He married Annie Sayre, of Chemung, daugh- 
ter of Thompson Sayre, and their children areZellaand Helen, ilr. Burt owns and oc- 
cupies his father's farm. George W. Burt was born at Ridgebury, Bradford Co\mty, 
Pa., December 28, 1823, and in 18.30 became to Chemung, where he married Harriet 
daughter of George and Polly Baldwin. Their children were Jacob, Sarah. Emma, and 
Frank. He mai'iie<i, second, Aliliie, daughter of John and Emeline (Murrey) Benedict. 
They had one son, John B. His third wife was Rachel, daughter of Abram and Laura 
(Brink) Willis, of Union, Broome County, N. Y.. by whom he has one son. Willis G. 
He is now a farmer in Chemung, where he has lived since seven years of age. He 
served in Coint)any C, Fiftieth New Yoik Flngineer.s, from Ithaca, N. Y., for tliree 
years, when he was disabled, and in 1801 he received an honorable discharge. He now 
draws a pension. 

Crispin, John M., son of George and Hannah Crispin, was born at Kent, England. 
May 21. 1820. and came to Chemung, N. Y.. in 1858, where heha.« -since lived. In 1845 
he married Sophie, daughter of John and Sarah Maize, of Bedfordshire, England, by 
wliom he had nine children : John, Sophia, Robert, George, William, Hannah, Char- 
lotte. Charles, and James. Robert T. Crispin, born at .-Ymptill, Bc<lfordshire, England, 
April 11, 1841, came lo Chemung with his fattier, and on September 21, 1881. he mar- 
ried Mrs. Emiiui Renton-Newelly. of Chemung, daughter of John and Rachel Brod- 
erict. He is now a resident farmer. He .served in the Indian war under General Mer- 
ritt, at Fort D. A. Russell, Wyoming Territory, five years, and was honorably di.s- 
charged. He participated with good icpute in the General Custer ma,esacre, as well as 
in several other important engagements, among them being the Ute outbreak in 1S81 at 
White River, Col., when the agency was burned and all killed by the Indians with the 
exception of the women, who were taken prisoners and afterward rescued by General 
Merritt's command. 

Decker, Jacob, horn in Orange County, N. Y.. came to Chemung in 1800 among the 
first settlers of the town. Here he died in 1845, aged fifty-nine years. He cleared a 
farm in Southport. His wife was Eunice Kelsey, who was born March 16, 1789, and 
died in Chemung in 1865, aged seventy-si.x years. His children were: .'Varon E., Addi- 
son, Polly, George, Thomas, Jane, Harrison, and Julia A. George Decker was born in 
Chemung. January 7, 1815, and died here January 27, 1878. He married Sarah Bent- 
ley, who died in this town March 27, 1884, aged sixty-three. His children were Grove, 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 21 

ElizB. Jacob, Polk, Dallas M., and Alexander. Jacoli Decker, born in Clieniiinp-, July 
15. 1845, married .^arali, da\i';liter of G. VV. and llarriel (Baldwin) Burt, and hi.s chil- 
dren are George B., Hattie K., Dallas M., and Cora L. He married, second, Lena M., 
daujihter of Jo.«ei)li B. and Susan (Tavlor) Payne, by whom he has one son,Furman H. 
Mr. Decker resides on the homestead farm. 

Everett. Jcsise, born in Kiigland, wa« a descendant of the Everetts who came to 
America in the Maijjhwer and .settled in Connecticut. There he lived for many years 
Jine died in Orange County at the age of about eighty. His children were Jesse, Me- 
hital)le, and John. The latter, born in Orange County, N. Y., died in Chemung in 184!) 
aged eighty-two, having come to this town in 1839. He married, first, Susanna Oven- 
ton, and their children were W'ihnott, Isaac B., and Derrmda. His .second wife was 
Catharine, daughter of James and Bet.sey Brown, and his children by her were John C, 
Andrew D., Catharine A., William W., and James B. The latter was born in Orange 
County, November '), 1S2G, and in October. 1859, married Ruth Strulile. by whom he 
had two children, Andrew D. and Harriet E. He married, second. December 2.5, 18G6, 
Harriet E., daughter of Elinus and Susan (Wheeler) Furman, who bore him these chil- 
dren : Bertha, born November 3, 18G7; John B.. born June 20, 1869; Mary H., born 
September 28. 1870; and Calvin W., born August 3, 1873. Mr. Everett has lived on 
the homestead farm since his father's death. Bertha Everett married John Van Gaas- 
beck, a farmer of Chemung. Andrew D. married Frances West, by whom he has two 
children, Clarissa and Howard. They live in Brooklyn, N. V. Southerland T., son ot 
Wilmott and Jane (llobbins) Everett, was born in Chemung. .Tune 11. 1831. and De- 
cember 31. 1859, he married Hnth A., daughter of William and Sally (Smith) Albertson. 
They have two children, William T., born January 4, 18G3, and Alice B., born February 
1». isij."). He married, second. October 23, 1873, Anne, daughter of Edward M. and 
Mary (Scally) Hignin.s, who was born May II, 1851. Their children are Adaline, born 
January 4. 1877, died Feoruary 20, 1878; Edward H.. born August 15, 1879; Kate, 
born April 11, 1881 ; and Mary, born Novemlier 14. 1883. He is now a representative 
farmer of Chemung, where he has lived since his birth. 

Gere, Dr. Ebenezer, son ot Amos ami Elizabeth (De Witt) Gere, was born in the town 
of Niles, Cayuga County. N. Y., in 1823. He worked on a farm during the summers 
until twenty years of age. and attended district .school during the winteis. In the win- 
ter ot 1840 he attended Profe.ssor Ellis's school in Skaneateles, N. Y., and in the winter 
ot 1842 the CortlandviUe .■Vcailemy. having tausrht .school the previous winter in the town of 
Skaneatele.s. In the spring of 1844 he entered the office ot Drs. Baker and Gore in 
Owasco village, as a medical student. He attended lectures at the Geneva Medical Col- 
lege during the terms of lSIG-48. graduating at the latter term, and taught .school one 
year while studying medicine. He commenced the practice of medicine m the town of 
Chemung in the spring of 1848 and has continued uninterruptedly until the present 
time. He is still in active practice. In 18.54 Dr. Gere married Emily J., daughter of 
Rev. Ambro.se and Mary (Chamberlain) Burlingame. She died in 188(). He has three 
children, one son and two daughters. Charles Sumner studied medicme with him, at- 
tended medical lectures at Buffalo University, graduated in 1879, practiced in the city 
of Elmira one year, and then settled in Chemung, where he is still practicing. His 
oldest daughter. A. Grace, married Dr. B. F. White, studied medicine, graduated at the 
Cleveland (Ohio) Homoeopathic Meilical College, and settled in the city of Bradford, Pa. 
where she has a lucrative practice. His youngest daughter, Imogen B., married James 
P. .Morgan, a dental surgeon of Eldred, Pa., but now of Boston, Ma,ss. 

GrLswold, Mijamin. son of Elisha and Ann (Shoemaker) Griswold, was born in Che- 
nnmg, N. Y.. >iarch 27, 1803, and died June 2S, 1875. He married, February IG, 1831, 
Margarate Smith, who was born October 5, 180.5. She died March 1, 1872. She was 
a daughter of Solonmn and Julia (.Seeley) Smith. Their children were : George W., 
born November 22, 1831; Edmund, born September 3, 1833; Aimer W., born October 
U, 18.35, and killed August 11, 1863, by guerrillas in Kansas ; James, born May 1 1, 1838 ; 



22 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Reuben, born July 17, 1840; Tiinotliy, who ilitd youug; Hovey K., boin Deceml)er Ki, 
1844, died February (i, ISfiC; Henry, born July 11, 1847, died August 25, 18SG; and 
Thomas B., born April 4, 1850. James Griswold married, February 7, 1864, Martha 
llamillon, who was born October 3, 1840. She is a daug'hter of David and Emily 
(Applegate) Hamilton. Tliey have had children as follows: Phil S., born June 13, lS(i(j, 
died May 21, 1878; William M., born July 'lA, 1870; Walter H., born January 8, 1873, 
died June 10, 1878; Loui.s, born February 13, 1876 ; and Hovey 11., born April 30, 1879. 
Fjlisha Griswold was born at Hillsdale, Columbia County, N. Y., April 27, 1775. and his 
wife, Anne (Shoemaker) Griswold, at Wallpach, Sussex County, N. Y., October 14, 
1777. James Griswold served in the late war in Company C, Fiftieth Engineers, and re- 
enlisted in the same company, serving till December 25, 18t)4, when he was promoted 
captain in Company F, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth New Yorlc Volunteers. Serv- 
ing until the close of the war he was honorably discharged on June 25, 18G5. George 
W. Griswold married, first, in February, 1859, Mary A. Chapman, who died March 5, 
1862, at the age of thirty years. He married, second, July 31, 1864, Mary Simcoe, 
born in Buckinghamshire, England, December 9, 1837, a daughter of William and 
Catharine (Shelford) Simcoe. of Baldwin, N. Y. Their children are ; Eveline, born 
April 14, 1865; F'anny C, bo'U November 25, 1866; Maggie, born February 11, 1868; 
and Bessie, born August 24, 1875. Eveline Griswold married on January 15, 1888, 
George B., son of Elijah and Hannah (Hillman) Smith. They have one son, Guy Em- 
mett, born March 23, 1891, of Waverly, N. Y. 

Gunderman, William, was born in New Jersey and served in the War of 1812. In 
1832 he came to Chemung with his wife and ten children and cleared a farm, where he 
died in 1835. His wife was Mary Perry, of New Jersey, who died in Chemung, aged 
seventy-two. Their children we:e: John S., Sarah, Peter, Mary, Robert, George, 
Susan, Jacob, Alma, and William Gunderman. The latter was born in Chemung ou 
June 27, 1835, and married on September 13, 1862, Ida C, born December 25, 1844, 
daughter of John C. aud Mary A. (Guiltner) Thorp, and his children are as follous: 
Carrie M., born May 4, 1863; Jumaetta, born December 3, 1866; Sarah E., born May 
29, 1868; Georgia A., born December 24, 1869; Nora, born September 18. 1871; 
Charles W., born May 16, 1873; Minnie L., born Februarv 23. 1875; Nellie E, born 
April 10, 1877; Sui^a .A., born April 12, 1879; John S., born April 2, 1881 ; Ida J"., 
born June 26, 1883; Harry O,, born November 29, 1886; Dona L.. born December 3, 
1888; Joe T., born September 29, 1890. Mr. Gunderman served in the late war iu 
Company I, One Hundred and Forty-first N.Y. Infantry Volunteers, three years, and was 
lionorable discharged in September, 1865. He is now drawing a pension. Carrie M. 
Gunderman married Fred E. Green, son of George Green. 

Holbert, Peter, a native of Orange County, N. Y., .served in the Revolutionary war, 
and died at Mmisink. Orange County, N. ¥., at the age of about seventy years. His 
children were: Adrian, Peter, Harriet, Eliza, Beth, Sarah, Martlia, My in. Mary. John. 
Susan, and William. John Holbert was born at Mini.siuk, December 29, 1800. He 
came to Binghamton in 1836 and in 1842 to Clienuing, where he died in 1864, aged sixty- 
four. He married Amanda Sayer, of Orange County, daughter of Joshua and Amanda 
Sayer, by whom he had seven children, as follows: Mary A., Joshua S., Joseph E., Will- 
iam, Martlia, George W., and Gabriel S. William Holbert was born at Minisink, N. Y., 
where all the children of the family were born, August 9, 1833, and February 9, 1859, 
he married Hannah, daughter of John and Hannah (Bailey) Ryerson. of Goshen, N. Y.. 
and their children are : John R., Sayer, Gabriel S., and Henry H. He is now a farmer 
at Chemung, N. Y. 

Lawler, Michael, was a native of Queen's County, Ireland, where he lived and died. 
His children were Clinton, James, Joseph, Sarah, and Patrick. The latter came to 
America at the age of twenty-one, and die<l in Chemung at the age of fifty-seven, in 
1877. He married in 1848 Ellen Cavanaugh, daughter of James and Mary Cavanaugh, 
and their children are : Joseph, born February 4, 1850 ; Thomas W., born in 1852 ; Mary 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 23 

A., horn .Tune 2G, 1854: Saiali, l>oin in 1858; James, horn in 1850; William, horn in 
l^tiO; Mairgie, horn in 18G2; .lennie, l)orn in 1S()4 ; Klla, horn in 18U(i; Salina, born in 
ISiiS; Kittle, born in 1870; Matlie, born in 1872; and Eddie, born in 1874. .Joseph 
Lawler married Ida, daughter of Henry and Mary (BwrtI) Cluwnberlain, of Bradford 
County, Pa., in Kelniiary, 1878, and their children are: Irving, born August 25, 1881 ; 
Matlie. born Fel>ruary 17. 1886; Nanoy. born September 12, 1889; and Pearly, born Sep- 
tember 14, 1891. 

Livings, Jonathan, a native of Monmouth County, N. Y., came to Soutliport, N. Y., 
in 1840, where he <lied in 187.'), a farmer, at the age of ninety-three year.s. He married 
Ann Anderson, whodied in 18."il), aged sixtv'-six years, and their children were: Itachel, 
Eliza, Margarate, Sally, Catharine, Mariah, Daniel, William Henry, and Pbobe. Mariah 
married J-iscomh Van Gorder, son of Emanuel Van Gorder, and their children were as 
follows: Anne E. and Lafaj'ette, who now reside near Chicago, III. Phebe Livings is a 
resident of Chemung, N. Y., on what is known as the Westbrook farm. William Henry 
Livings married Sally Gnney. They are now residents ot Southport, N. Y. 

Lowman, John G., a native of Chemung, N. Y., born April 28, 182G, married Susan 
E. Carpenter. She was born January 8, 1829, and was a daughter of Jesse and Emma 
(Sayrei Carpenter. Their children were: Clara, born February 18, 18.59; Jesse C, 
borii March 13, 18112; Mettie E., born May 2.5, 18()5; and Thomas B., born August 23, 
l.'^57. Mr. Lowman is now a resident farmer on the homestead which belonged to his 
grandfather. He has served as supervisor four years. Jacob Lowman built two saw- 
mills and a creamery at Lowmanville. His brother, George, also built two saw-mills at 
the same jilace. 

Marvin, Lewis, a native of Connecticut, served in the Revolutionary war and moved 
to Monroeville. Orange Count)', N. Y., where he died at an ailvanced age. He was a 
farmer. His children were: Seth, Grant, Jeffrey, Hector. Hettie, and Ilehecca. Jeflrey 
Marvin was born in Orange County m 1780 (May 5) and died March 30. 1835, at Mini- 
sink. He married Mary Little, wlio was born .lanuary 19, 1780, and died in 1870. 
She was a daughter of John Little. Their children were: Harriet, born June 23, 
1804 ; .Schuyler, born July 1. 180(i ; Simeon, born Octobei 0. 1808: Andrew, liorn No- 
veint)er 20, 1810; Lawrence F., born November 27, 1812; John L.. born May 9, 1813; 
Mary E., born April 3, 1818; Sally, born October 3, I8'J0; and Julia A., born Decem- 
ber 30, 1824. Lawrence F. married, Jannaiy 3. 1830, Arminda Masteson, of New Jer.sey, 
daughter of Samuel and Sarah Masteson, by whom he had children as follows : Harriet 
A., born May 10, 1837, and Jared I., born June .5, 1839. The latter married Catharine, 
born March 3, 1.827, daughter of William and Anne (Alexander) Foulke. Mr. Marvin is 
now a resident farmer of Chemung. 

Morris, Tartara, was a .son of Hezekiah and Mercy (Baker) Morris, both natives of 
Chemung County, K. Y. Hezekiah came to Chemung, N. Y., liefore his marriage, and 
died in Penn.sylvania at the age of fifty-three, in 1802. His wife, .Mercy, djed in 1841, 
aged thirty-eight years. Their children Were as follows : Maranda, John X., Julia A., 
Emily. Mary A., Laura, and Celesta. The latter was horn September 9, 1831, and mar- 
ried. December 18, 1.S.j2, Cornelius Doolittle, who died Febauary 17, 1804. a son of 
Timothy and MaryA. (Brock) Doolittle, and they had one .son, Isaac C., born July 27, 1856. 
Isaac had two chihlren : Lilla M., born March 29, 1.''87, and John P. II., born March 3, 
18.S9. Cornelius Doolittle served in the late war in Company I, One Hundred and Forty- 
first Xew York Volunteers, for three years, and died in a field hospital at Sheel Mound, 
Temi. He was promoted for lieutenant at the time of his death. Isaac C. Doolittle 
married Carrie La.sher, March 19, 188.5, and she died April 23, 1891. Celestia Morris 
Doolittle served as a missionary at Five Points Mission, New York, with great success, 
for fifteen years. 

Newton, Robert, was born in Warren County, N. J., where he died at an advance 
age. His children were Robert W. and Isaac. Robert W. Newton was born in War- 



24 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ren County, N. J., November 24, 1785, and died April 28, 1SG2, aged seventy-six. 
His wife was Ann Angle, who was married June 22, 1800, and who died March 11, 1826, 
aged thirty-seven. She was a daujrhter of Abram and Rachel Angle, and their children 
were: Hughes, born July 14, ISIO; George, born October 9, 1812; Perniiila, born 
March 2. 1816; Charles W., born July 14, 1818; Isaac, born March 2.^, 1821 : and 
Catherine A., born November 22, 1825. Charles VV. Newton was married December 10, 
1842, at Susse.x County, town of Warren, N. J., and he is now a farmer in Chemung. 
His children are: Cynthia J., born August 21, 1846; Permdla, born January 2.'>, 1840; 
Priscilla E, born April 26, 1851; Sarah, born July 20, 1854; Harriet C, liorn January 
10, 1857; Henrietta I., born May 20, 1859; Ida May, born July 18, 1861; and Carrie, 
born October 8, 1865. 

Parshall, Israel, born on Long Island, October 7, 1736, came to Chemung, N. V., Janu- 
ary 22, 1791. Some two years prior to this date, which is the date of the deed signed 
by Governor Clinton he took a deed of Lot No. 10, and came two years before the <ieed 
was signed, being among the first settlers of the town. He cleared a farm on Che- 
mung River ten miles below Elniira, where he died February 18, 1827, having served 
in the war of the Revolution. His wife was Ruth Howell, born June 22, 17.j3. and 
died July 20, 1808. Their children were: Johannah (Mrs. Burt), Israel, David, Keziah 
(Mrs. Ilultz), Jesse, Asa, Lydia(Mrs. Annis), and Annie (Mrs. Keoney). Asa Parshall 
was born on Long Island, N. Y., March 2(), 1770, and married, in Chemung, January 
22, 1797, Susanna Keeney. She was a daughter of Deacon Thomas and Mercy (Lamb) 
Keeney, and was born March 5, 1781, and died October 19, 1865. Thomas Keeney 
was a Revolutionary soldier and a pensioner. Their children were: Isaac, born Feb- 
ruary 5, 1798, died February 21, 1858; Amasa, born June 6, 1799, died November 2(i, 
1867; Mercy, born March 21, 1801, died February 21, 1882; Ruby, born November 
26, 1802. died March 30, 1811; Benjamin, born June 21, 1804, died January 10, 1866; 
Thomas K., born March 24. 1806: Ransom, born March 23, 1808; Luther, born ilarch 
22, 1810, died January 29, 1870; Elizabeth, born October 28, 1811, died December 16, 
1854; Asa, 1st, born April 9, 1813, died January 25, 1814; Israel, born May 4, 1815, 
killed by accidental discharge of his gun ; Susannah, born June 4, 1817, died Decem- 
ber 6, 1888; Ruth, born February 10, 1819; Louisa, born October 24. 1820; Jesse, 
born March 30. 1822; Lemira, born August 26, 1826; and Asa, 2d, born April 20, 
1825, and married July 1, 1858. Asa Parshall, 2d, married Salina Phelps, who was 
born in Schoharie County, N. Y.. near :Middlebury, January 15, 1830, a daughter 
of Hiram and Martha (Lennon) Phelps. Their children have been as follows: Jud- 
son H., born Mav 1, 1861, died May 18, 1865; Carrie A., born February 7, 1863, died 
September 19, 1890; Mattie M., born March 21, 1865, died May 29, 1889: Asa I., 
born May 22, 1808; and Susie M., born November 14, 1870. Asa Parshall, 2d. still 
retains the homestead farm of liis grandfather, on which the first brick house erected in 
town was built in 1825. His father, Asa. and his brother, Isaac, built the first grist mill in 
the town o£ Chemung in 1819, which was operated by them for twenty years, and 
by J. L. McDowell until the Erie Railroad destroyed it in 1848. Mr. Parshall is an 
enterprising bu.siness man and eminently sustains the reputation of this pioneer family, 
having much statistical information contributed to their history. The treaty at New- 
town (now Elmira) was made over a year before the date of Governor Clinton's deed, 
and Asa. then nearlj' twenty years of age, was able on that gathering to beat their best 
Indian by four feet in a race of twenty rods. 

Roger.*, Solomon, was born on Long Island, where he lived and died, aged ninety- 
eight years. He served in the Revohitionar}' war and drew a pen.sion. His wife, 
Rebecca, was a daughter of Sealer Smith, and their children were Phinea.s, Amelia, 
Margarate, Solomon, and Bashaw. Phineas Rogers was born on Long Is^land and 
came to Cliennnig in 1813 among the early settlers. He served in the Wai- of 1812 and 
cleared a farm, where he lived and died aged ninety-three years. He married Riith 
Rogers, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Rogers, and their children were : Minervia, 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 25 

Allien. Martin, Irvin, Edwin, Emma ^^., William, Rebecca. Jolin R,, Ilawley B., and 
Ruth A. John R. Rogers married Jane Walker iind had by her two oliildren, Maiy M. 
and Lewis. He married, .second, Delia Straitor, a daughter of Silas and Abigail (Cut- 
ting) Peck. Mr. Rogers is now a resident farmer in Chemung. His daughter, Mary 
M., married N C. Conley. and ihey have one daughter, Lilla. Hawley li. Rogers, born 
in Chemung, .May 11, 1827. married Julia M. Whitney, daughter of Samuel and Cath- 
erine Whitney, and theirchildren are: Edwin E., Frances A., Irvin H,, Alvina D., Alonzo 
M., Annie C, Olive M., and Sidney H. He i.s now a farmer in Chemung. 

Ro.gers, William, was born in 1754 in New Salem, Conn., and dieil on Long Island 
in 18114. His wife was Esther Hawley, who died on long Island in 18.5:!. His children 
were: Ruth, William. Elkana, Lydia, Laurinda, Piatt, William, 'Jd. Hawley, and 
Thomas. Hawlej' B. Rogers married Charlotte Leflbits, daughter of J<ihn Leiiorls, by 
whom he had three children : George, Louisa, and Buell L. The latter was born at 
Huntington, L. I., January 14, 1810. Mr. Rogers is now a resident farmer and came 
to Chemung in 1888. He married Frank Ann Rogers, daughter of Hawlev B. and 
Julia (Whitney) Rogers, and their children are: Edith L., Julia W., Charlotte A., 
and Ilawley B. William Rogers eidisted in the Continental army in 1777 and was dis- 
charged in 1780. He was quartermaster-sergeant in Colonel Malcolm's rt-giment and 
his widow drew a pension of $120 per year. 

Ruggle.s, Timothy, was a native of Vermont, wlicre he died at an advanced age. His 
wife bore him six children, who were Nathaniel, Alvah, Abijah, Lucy, Minervia, and 
Homer. The latter was born in Vermont, December .'lO, 1702, and came to Chemung 
in the early history of the town. He served in the War of 1812. He finally removed 
to Gaines, Potter County, Pa., where he died April 9, 18(i.5, pged seventy-two years, 
three months, and ten days. He married Mercy Morse, born in Vermont, November 5, 
1794. a daugliter of Jonas and Luc}' Morse. She died in Potter County, Pa., July 4, 
1870, aged seventy-five years, seven months, and nine davs. His children were : James, 
born July 6, 1819; Charles S., born May 2, 1821 ; Daniel, born March 10, 1833; Lucy, 
born March 2, 1823: Lura, liorn November 2il, 182."): Jane, liorn January 21, 1827; 
Miranda, born January 2, 1829; George B., born February 14, 1831 ; Emily, born July 
2, 183.5; and Joseph, born December 28, 1837. Charles S. Ruggles married Brittania. 
born Septemlier 29, 1823. daughter of William and Elizabeth (While; Jackson, of 
Dauphin County. Caxton Township, Pa., near Ilarrisburg. His children are Mary, born 
November 13, 184.5; Wil.son, born July 8, I8.V2; Martha, born March 2, l.S.')4; Eliza- 
beth, born March 20, 185(); and Cordelia, born August 28, 18.o7. Wilson Ruggles 
married Adell Foster, a native of Cliemung and a daughter of Lot and Sarah (Dewitt) 
Foster, by whom he has two children, Edna and Sarah. He is now a general merchant 
with his father, where he has lieen engaged successfully for twenty-six years. Charles 
Ruggles has served as town clerk for two years and postmaster twenty-three years. 
Wilson Ruggles is now postmaster of Chemung, has been town clerk eleven years, and 
supervi.sor for 1891-92. 

Smith, Loton, was born in Orange County, N. Y. lie afterward removed to Kansas, 
where he died at an advanced age. By his wife, Hannah (Simrall) Smith, he had the 
following children : Jackson, Mary. Luther, Moses, Charles, Daniel, Harrison, Elizabeth, 
Sarah, and Edward. Luther Smith was born in Orange County, N. Y., and came to Big 
Flats, N. v.. in 1890, when* he now resides. He married Hannah B. Vandemark, and 
their children are Rolland, Mary F., and Charles N. The latter was tiorn in .Sullivan 
County, N. V.. November 2, 1817. and married Josephine, Iiorn in Chemung, October 
25, 1853, a daughter of Daniel R. and Mary (Webb; Harris, by whom he had four chil- 
dren : Albert, Harry, Ernest, and Edna. He is now a farmer in Chemung, N. Y., 
where he has lived seventeen years. 

Snell, Abram, came to Athens, Pa., being the first white man in the town, where he 
lived and died at an advanced age. His children were: Abram, John, Joseph, and 



26 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Ilenry Samuel. Tlie latter was Vjorn April 12, 1777, and married Catharine Beidelinan, 
born September 14, 1778, a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Beidehnan, their children 
being Jacob, born at Atliens, Pa., April 26, 1801; Elizabeth, born January 27, 1803; 
Mary, born Septend)er 13, 1805; Samuel, born November 14, 18t)8; Gordon, born 
in Chemung, November 16, 1812; Harriet, born June 26, 181(i; and George born 
November 16, 1820. The latter married, IJecember 24, 1851, Lemiia Parshall, born 
August 27, 1827, daughter of Asa and Susannah (Keeney) Parsliall. Their children 
are: Alida J., born August 11, 1854, married Fletcher Snell, now lesidents of Chemung, 
N. Y. ; Kate A., born July 12, 1857, married Phillip H. WynKoop, and ha< two chihh-en, 
Roy B. and Fletcher S. ; Nora L., born November 5, 1858, married Dr. Charles S. Geer, 
of Chemung; and George B. Snell, born Octoljer 8, 1863, married Elizabeth Dewitt, 
and their children are: John H., born April 24, 1867, now a resident of Boise City, 
Idaho, and a locomotive engineer, George, Elida, Kate, and Nora. Gordon Snell, son 
of Henry, married lihoda Greatsinger, February 20, 1850, she having been boin May 
3, 1821, in Elmira. She was a daughter of Christian and Mariah (Smith) Greatsinger. 
Mr. Gordon died October 13, 18S4, in Chemung, at which place his widow still survives 
him at the age of seventy, on the homestead farm. His children are: Mary E., born 
November 6, 1853: William C, born May 25, 1857; Sarah L., born August '.',, 1859; 
and Fletcher W. Snell, born February 17, 1851, married June 20. 1882, Elida J., 
daughter of George B, and Leinira (Par.^luill) Snell. Thej' are now residents on the 
homestead farm. William C. Snell married Mary E. Beidelmen, December 4, 1878. 
She was born in Chemung, September 14, 1857, and was a daughter of Henry S. and 
Sally (Kent) Beidehnan. They have one son. Ward H., born March 15, 1887. Mary 
Snell married John Bennett, and has one daughter. Lulu. They are now residents of 
Say re. 

Tarble Zachariah, was born in Chenango County, and came to Chemung in 1832, where 
he died in 1869. aged seventy-eight. He married Annie Dings, of Chenango, and their 
children were Ophelia, Libbie, William, and Grace. William Tarble was born at Che- 
mung Center, July 28. 1858, and December 25, 1883, married Maggie, daughter of Sam- 
uel and Sarah Cumber, by whom he has two children, Mable and Harry. Mr. Tarble 
is now a farmer in Baldwin, N. Y. Zachariah Tarble served in the War of 1812, and 
his wife, Annie, is now living, aged sixty-seven, and is drawing a pension. 

Theetje, Andrew, was born in Chemung County, N. Y., where he died, aged — . 
His children weie Hai-riet, Esther, Eliza, Rosanna, Oliver B., William, Henry, and 
Clinton. Oliver B. was born in Chenango County, N. Y. (where all the children were 
born), in 1811, and came to Chemung in 1839, where he now resides. He nuirried 
Polly, daughter of John Roberts, of Chemung County, N. Y., by whom he has the fol- 
lowing children : Betsey E., Andrew, Oliver B., John, Robert, Julia, Aldrioh, George W., 
William, Julius, Winford, Marvin F., and Daniel L. The latter was born in Afton, 
Chenango County, N. Y., March 14, 1838, and married Emeline, daughter of David and 
Electa (Higg) Wheat, by whom he had seven children, viz. : William, born Decenilier 
27, 1861 ; John W., born December 1 1, 1864 ; Emmett, born June 19, 1870 ; Albert H., 
born May 29, 1871; Edwin, born August 13, 1875; and Harry, Ijorn June 2, 1873. 
He served in Company K, One Hundred and Forty-seventh New York Volunteer.s, dur- 
ing the war. was honorably discharged, and is now drawing a pension. He was wounded 
at Mine Run, Va., by the explosion of a shell. 

Van Campen, Daniel, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Chemung among the early 
settlers, and here he remained until his death. Ills father, Mo.ses Van Campen, served 
in the Revolution, was taken prisoner by the Indians in Wyoming Valley. Pa., and 
made his escape by killing seven Indians. Daniel Van Campen married Rosanna Shaw 
and his children were: Daniel, Jerod, Elijah, Moses, Hannah, Annie, Sally, Lorinda, 
Henry, and Polly. Daniel Van Campen, jr., married Hannah, daughter of Gideon and 
Molly (Mallory) Griswold, and their children are : John, Mary, Margaret, Electa, Susan, 
Lillis, Catherine, Clarissa, and Lemuel. Susan Van Campen married Alexander Vance 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 27 

ami llu'ir oliililron are Tlieoiloro ami .IdIiii Vance. Tlie latter inari'ied Liu-imia M., 
(laiiffliter oC LawriMice and Charlotte (Vamlerlip) Carpenter. Tljcii- cliililreii are .lacob 
and Lawrence. 

Warren, Enoch, born in Connecticut in 1700, came to Chemung' among the earliest 
settlers and bought 1,500 acres of land (now known as the Warren Flats). Here he re- 
mained until his death at the .age of seventy-five years. lie was a prominent business 
man, served his town as supervisor many years, and held other ollices of trust. He 
married Betsey Selleok, who died in Chemung at the age of ninety-nine j'par.s. Their 
children were Sylvanns, John G., Molly, Fands, Ray, Betsey, Nelson, Guy, George, and 
Nile. George Warren was liorn in Chemung, N. Y., where he remained until liis death 
m 1890, at the age of seventy-nine years, fie w.is a farmer, and mairit-d Celestia, 
daughter of Abraham and Betsey Middaugh, of Chennmg. Their children were Arminda. 
Sylvanus, Sally Ann, George 11 , Knieline, Ursula, Birdie, Su.san, Elmei- Iv. and Jame.s. 
The latter was born in Chemung, August 4, 18.33, of which place he has been a life- 
long resident. He married, July 2.3, 18.").'3, Julia A. Cooper, who was born Uctober 30, 
183:'., a daughter of William and Agnes (Longcoy) Coo|)er, and by her he had two chil- 
dren, George N., born September "JS, 1S54, ami Josephine, born Novemlier 19, IS.JC. 
He is proprietor and owner of the Warren Hotel at Chemung, and is al.--() a farmer, 
tobacco gi'ower, and cigar manufacturer. His son, George N. Warren, married .Susan, 
daughter of Jo.seph II. Harris, of Bradford, Pa. She died in October, 1879, aged thirty- 
three, leaving one dau<;hter, Sarah, liorn November 11, 1877. George N. is a resident 
of St. Paul, Mmn., and a builder and dealer in real estate. Ho has served .as repre- 
sentative two terms. .losephine Warien married, in 1881, Henry Cornell, of Chemung, 
who died in 1882 at the age of twenty-eight. Nelson Warren, born August 2(1. I80G, 
married. August 19, 1832, Gerucia, daughter of Gideon and Zuba (Scoltj Griswold, of 
Chemung, by whom he had the following children: Tabatha S., born October 9, 1832; 
Ray. born July 5, 1834; Sally A., born'jiily 17, 1830; Nile, born October 20, 1837; 
Isabella, born April 22, 1840; and Zachanas. born December 27, 1847. Ray Warren 
married Charlotte, daughter of William and Anges (Longcoy) Cooper, by whom he has 
three children : Calista 1., Nelson W., and Sands G. Mr. Warren resides on the home- 
stead farm. Nelson Warren liuilt the saw-mill located in the north part of the town of 
Chenmiig on the Warren farm, and is living at the age of eightv-two, his wife being 
seventy-eight. Sands Wheeler was born in Chemung, where all his children were born, 
and died in 1878, aged eighty-two. His wife. Electa (Griswold) Warren, ilied in 1872, 
aged sixtj'-two. She was a daughter of Gideon Griswold. Their children were Theo- 
dore M., Kulandus B., Frances, and Betsey. Kulandus B, born May 2.5. 1824, mar- 
ried Lucy Greatsinger, by whom he had four children : Sands, of Texas!, George and 
Frank, of Wayne, and Martha (.Mrs. Tuttle). She was a daughter of his first wife, 
Emily (Mitchell) Warren. Mr. Warren resides on the home farm, which comprises 500 
acres. He was named after the first physician in Elmira — Dr. R. Bancroft. 

Westfall, .Solomon, was born in Sussex County, town of Wantage, N. .T., where he 
lived, and died in 1835, aged aliout eigiity. He .served in the War of 1812. His chil- 
dren were Mariah, Rosilla, Harvey, Jacol>, and John. The latter, born in Sussex, N. J., 
came to Steuben County, N. Y., where he settled on a farm, and died aged seventy- 
five. He married Sarah, daughter of .Samuel and Mary (Rollison) Brink, and they had 
one son, John Westfall, who was born in Wantage, N. J., January 17, 1828, and mar- 
ried, January 9, 1850, Almeda, daughter of William and Mary Babb, of New York. 
She was born July 23, 1S2,S, and died May 21, 1801. Their children were: Mary E., 
born December 18, 1856, and John W., born March (i, 1859. Mr. Westfall married, 
second, Martha E., daughter of Charles and Asenath (Mills) Seeley, who was born May 
13, 1834, and his children by her were Emmett, born July 10, 1805, and Allie, born 
April II, 1868. Mary E. Westfall married Elliott L. Bensley and they have three chil- 
dren : Gertie L., Nellie L., and Daniel W. John W. Westfall married Agnes Giles and 
they have one daughter, Gussie R. 



28 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Wells, Henry, was born in Chemung, N. Y., about 1780. His father, Benjamin A., 
a native of Connecticut, was one of the early settlers of Cliemuii'r and cli-ared the Decker 
farm, where he lived and died. By his wife, Clarissa, he had three children, Guy M., 
Henry, and Catharine. Guy M. Wells was born in Chemung, March G, ISlIC, and died Feb- 
ruary G, 1851. He married Martha Warren, who was horn April 18, 1812, and died Sep- 
tember 8, 188G. She was a daufrhter of John G. and Anne (Burtj Warren. Thi-ir chil iren 
■were: Miles, born August .'JO, 18:il ; John W., born November", 183G; and Escourt Cress- 
well, born April 1, 18i2. The latter married, in 1803, EmmaC. Pease, born at Warehouse 
Point, Conn., January 20, 1848. a daughter of Ilarlow and Maiie fHaydeu-Wliite) Pease. 
They have one daughter, Maliel C, born February 2G, 1884. Mr. Wells is a farmer on 
the John Macdougli farm. He enlisted in Company C, Fiftieth Engineers, ui the late 
war fiir three years, and was honorably discharged January 26, 1862. John W. Wells 
married Helen, daughter of John and Mariah McLane, and their children are: Guy M., 
Ida M.. Martha, Mary, John. Harry, Calharme, Escourt, and Lewis. Ida M. Wells 
married Milton Bodme and tiieir children are Emma and Eli. Martha Wells married 
Frederick Chamberlain and resides in this town. 

Wood, Israel, a native of England, came to Orange County, N. Y., among the first 
settlers, and died there. His son Daniel also lived and died in Orange County. His 
children were Israel, William, James, John, Joel. Daniel, Betsey, and David. Joel 
Wood was born in Orange County, N. Y., near Bellvale, and died in Warwick aged 
eighty-two. His wife was Betsey Giey, and their children were Joel, Elizabeth. Eliza, 
William, Daniel, George, Sarah, Charity, Mary, Harriet, and Sophronia. Harriet mar- 
ried John Cohvell. Their children were : Richard, James H., Daniel, Charlotte, 
Sarah M., Debby J., Emily, Susan, Maryette, and Harriet. Mrs. Harriet Cohvell mar- 
ried, second, Isaac Hicks, who died in Chemung aged about eighty. She is still living 
in Chemung Center on the Sweet farm, which she has owned and occupied for fifteen 
years. 

Wood, John N., born in Dutchess County, N. Y., came to Chemung soon after his 
marriage. His wife was Phebe Ni.xson and his children by her were Egbert H., Zebbe 
Ann, Joseph, Martin, Charles, Elizabeth, James, John, Lewis, and Phebe. He married, 
second, Mrs. Elizabeth Cooley, daughter of Cornelius Quick Egbert H. Wood married 
Adelaide, daughter of W. and Lucy"(Ruggles) Swayne, and his children are John, Perry, 
Lena, Genie, Sadie, and Madge. He is a farmer in Chemung. Mr.s. Elizalieth Wood 
is living aged .seventy-one years. Sue was born in 1820 and married, in 1842, Benja- 
min Cooley, who died in I'STl, aged fifty-seven years. Cornelius Quick served in the 
War of 1812 and had a land warrant. 

Wynkoop Family, The. — Two lirothers by the name of Wynkoop came from the 
United Netherlands to New York city in the early days, and one of them settled in 
the Hudson River Valley, where he died leaving six sons. Benjamin Wynkoop, a de- 
scendant of the family, was born at Danbury, Conn. His children were John, Abram, 
Peter, William (who served in the Revolutionary war and was taken prisoner on a Brit- 
ish prison ship, where he was starved to death), and Benjamin. The family were liv- 
ing in Danbury at the time of the burning of that place, when his wife and children fled 
from the town. Benjamin Wynkoop was liorii in Connecticut, April 10, 17G9, and 
came to Chemung in 1780, among the early settlers, where he died at the age of 
sixty-four years. He married Hannah, daughter of Maj. William Wynkoop, of Che- 
mung, by whom he had children as follows: Harriet, born May 19, 1797; Julia A., 
born May 18, 1799; Alonzo I., born June 17, 1801; Alraira, born July 19, 1803; Ni- 
nolia, born August 19, 1805; Nile F., born November 9, 1807 ; Annie, born January 25, 
1810; Archimides B., born June fi, 1812; Cornelia A., born October 6, 1814 ; WiUiam 
T., born May 2, 1817; and Delia H,, born August 29, 1819. Nile F. Wynkoop mar- 
ried, in 1840," Sarah A., daughter of Philip and Mary (Fellows) Hermans, of Scranton, 
Pa. Their cliildren are Guy, born Julv U, 1841 , Sayer, born May 12, 1844; Delia A., 
born September 29, 1846; Alice L., born September 1, 1852; Philip H., born Septem- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 29 

ber 25, 1854: Ada B., born Octoljer :U, 1857; ami Joe, born >[ay li<'., 18G4. Guy 
^Vynkoop served in tlie Tenth New York Cavalry and was taken prisoner to Ander- 
sonville, wliere lie was starved to death. Sayer Wynkoop served in Company E, 
Twenty-tliird New York Infantry, two years, and is now living: in Michigan. Maj. 
William Wynkoop served in the Revolutionary war and was one of the earliest settler.s 
in Chemung, coming hence from the Hudson River country in 1783. The government 
presented him with a deed of G()0 acres of land in the town of Chemung, which he cleared. 

ERIN. 

Alexander, John, was horn in Ireland and came to America at an early day. His son 
Robert was a native of New York State. His son Joseph, born in Tompkins County, 
N. Y., in 1801. was a farmer and married, December 9, 1823, Loretta Starr, of Newfield, 
N. Y. Their cliildren were Benjamin S., Charlotte A., John S., Ransom W., Rachel, 
Arlo M., Elizaheih, Joseph R., Adelina A., and Juliette. Benjannn S. Ale.xander was 
born at Newfield, N. Y., December 3, 1S24. and was educated in the district schools. 
He came to Erin at the age of nine and married Saiah, daughter of John and Pliebe 
(Ennis) Barnes, who was born February 25, 1831. Their children are Elbert F., born 
January Hi. 1803, and Fhineas W., born September 20, 1865. Mr. Alexander is farm- 
ing where he located in 1832. 

Eeckwitb, Nathan, was born at East Haddam, Conn., in 1782. His ancestors landed 
on Plymouth Rock ; he died at Lyme, Conn., at the age of .«eventy-six. Bv his wife, 
BeUsey, he had five children : George W., Harriet, William, Elizabeth, and Mary Ann. 
George W. was born at East Haddam, Conn., in 1709, and came to Erin, N. Y., among 
the early settler.s. Here he cleared a farm which he retained untd his death, at the age 
of about sixty-five. He married Mary Ann Tredway, of Salem, Conn., daughter of 
Alpheus and Phebe (Gates) Tredway, and their children were Mary A. Hammond, 
who ha.s two cliildren (Carry and Cora), and Henry E. Beckwitli. wlio was born atjiast 
Haddam, Conn., in 1827, and came to Erin with his father at the age of two and one- 
half years. He married Sarah A., daughter of Philip and Rachel Thomas, and is pro- 
prietor of the Beckwith Hotel, which lie built in the north part of the town. 

Wheeler, Peter, was born in Schoharie, N. Y. He came to Erin and cleared the 
farm on which he now resides. He married Margaret, daughter of William Downer, 
and their children are Catharine J., Emily, Alice, Grace, Vira, Abner D.. Jay R., and 
Lewis N. The latter, born in Erin, December 20, 1858, married Alida J. Earl, of Erin, 
daughter James and Sarah (Butts) Karl, and they have one daughter, Maude A. Mr. 
Wheeler is now a general merchant and postmaster at Park, in the north part of this 
town. He is also a publisher at the 324 East Water street, Elmira. 

HORSEHEADS. 

Bachman, Join;, great-grandfather of .Martin \'an Buren. came from Alsace-Loraine, 
France, previous to the war of the Revolution, and located near Trenton, N. J. Henry 
Bachman, son of John, was born there, and had ten cliildren, one of whom, John, the 
father of Martin Van Buren Bachman, married Mary C. WyckoU", of Hunterdon, by 
whom he had five children who grew to adult age, viz.: Susan W., Sarah J., Harriet E., 
Martin V. B., and Jolin W. John Bachman came with his father to Seneca County 
about 1814. Martin Van Buren Bachman, born in Catherine, Chemung County, June 
13, 1838, at the age of eighteen began to study law with J. A. Christie, of Ilorseheads, 
and was admitted to the bar in November, 18G1. In company witli Lathrop Baldwin, 
of Elmira, he enlisted a company of volunteers for the One Hundred and Seventh 
Infantry New York Volunteers, and served as first lieutenant until March 20, 1803. 
He was promoted captain of Company E of the same regiment, and served until the 



30 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

close of tlie war, being liiscliargeil June 19, 1865. At Elmiia lie was breveted major. 
Hi.s father and family moved to Ilorseheads in 1849. December 20, 186.5, he married 
Caiherine T., daughter of Col. A. C. Mor<;an, of Lindley, Steuben County, N. Y. He 
formed a co-partnership with Walter L. Daily, which lasted four years, and was then in 
business for himself until 187'2. Removing to New York city he was associated in the 
practice of law with Edwin A. Doolittle until 187.5, when he returned to Ilorseheads, 
and in 1878 or 1879 was elected supervisor. He has had three children, all deceased. 
Mr. Bachman is still practicing law. 

Bailey, Lewis D., was born in Tompkins County, N. Y., in 1808. He married, first, 
Miss McMillan, by whom he had seven chihlren, and second, about 1842, Piuebe Ihim- 
iston, of Tompkins County, who lioro him nine children, viz.: a son who died in infancy, 
Lewis, Marietta, Helen, Emily, Cornelia, Eva and Emen (twins), and David. The latter 
was born in Van Etten, August 7, 1857. He attended the district school and learned 
the blacksmith's trade. He married, October 8, 1879, Ella, youngest daughter of James 
and Eli/.aljeth Pam, of Van Etten, and they have had three children, of whom Lester 
and Ada died in infancy. Their son Lee was born October 22, 1880. 

Barlow Family, The.— The ancestors of the Barlow family, three brothers, came from 
England and located in Connecticut. Samuel was a soldier in the Revolutionary war 
and was a sergeant of Washington's body-guard. Some years later he moved to Dela- 
ware County, N. Y. His son James H. was born in Fairfield County, Conn., and mar- 
ried Anna Payne, by whom he had ten children. His second son, Cyrus, was born in 
Berkshire, Tioga County, N. Y., December 7, 1815, and in 1837 he married Dotha Ij. 
Heiidrick, who was born in Connecticut. They had four children, of whom Edwin A. 
died at the age of twenty-two, and three survive, viz.: Thomas M., Homer R., and 
Estella A. For his second wife he married Mrs. Mary A. Granger, ?u'e Fitzsimmons, 
who lived only eighteen months. By his third wife, Lottie J. Simons, he has had two 
children, Vena M. and Nellie S. In 18G0 Mr. Barlow was admitted to the bar at 
Binghamton, N. Y., has practiced law since that time, and is still as vigorous and active 
as if but fifty years of age. He has been justice of the peace twenty-five years, 
supervisor three years, and has resided here for over fifty yeans. Of this family of ten 
children of James H. three are living: Cyrus and James, of Horseheads, and Charles of 
San Francisco, Cal. 

Bennett, Morris D., son of Horace and Sarah, whose history is well known in Che- 
mung County, was born August 28, 1843, in Big Flats. He attended the public schools 
and is a farmer. He married, December 11, 1872, Nancy, oldest daughter of Abram 
and Mary V. Rockwell, of this town, and they have four children, viz : Mary L., born 
December 27, 1874 ; Willard M„ born March 2, 1877 ; Linnie F., born March 12, 1879 ; 
and Floyd S., born October 18, 1887. Mr. Bennett has been a resident of this town 
about eighteen years. 

Bennitt, John, a brother of Comfort and father of Josiah Bennitt, was liorn in Orange 
County, N. Y., April 4, 1786. His ivife was born on the same date and in the same 
county. He married Sarah Rockwell, who bore him eight children; Comfort, Jerusha, 
Deboiali, Thomas, Elias, Josiah, Hannah, and Miles. Josiah, jr., born in Big Flats, is a 
retired farmer and owns 700 acres of land. He married, February 20, 1845, Harriet 
Edininster, of his native town, and they have two children, Sarah J, and Georgiana. 
Sarah J. married John McXish, of Horseheads, April 11, 1867, and has one son, born 
October 26, 1873. September 23, 1873, Georgiana married Collins L. Hathaway. 

Best, James, who came to Orange County, N. Y., in 1843, was born near Leeds, 
Yorkshire, England, March 11, 1822, About 1844 he married Lucinda Johnson, of that 
county, and they have five children : Mary A., Elizabeth, Amanda, Emma, and William A. 
In 1851 he came to Southport and worked for Charles Evens for si.\ years, and in 1857 
he moved to Ilorseheads, locating on Newtown Creek. He removed in 1868 to near 
Breesport and built a woolen and carding-mill, putting in about $4,000 worth of ma- 
chinery suitable for custom work. He has conducted the business successfully for thirty- 
three years. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 31 

Bishop, Henry D., was born February 14, 1851, anii is a stationary engineer. Ili.s 
father, Jolin \V., was a fanner, born in New York city, of Enghsh parentage, and carae 
with his fatlier's family to Ronuilus, Seneca Connty, N. Y. He married Mary A. 
Vaness, and they liad five children, viz.: Sarah S., Richard S., Isaljella, Emma E., and 
Henry D. Tlie latter has been a resident of Horseheads since 1870. 

Bishop. Hiram, born in 1792, was a .soldier in the War of 1812. He married Polly 
Bassell, and they have these children: Sally W,, Betsey M., William C, Louisa A., 
James S., Kmily J., and George W. James S. Bishop was born in Yates Count}', Jan- 
uary 28, 1829. He is a farmer and live stock dealer. He married, July .3, 1853, Emily, 
oldest daughter of William and Mary Mitchell, of Orange, Scluiyler County, N. Y., 
and they have five children : Alice L., born Aprd 19, 184-1 ; George W., Ijorn December 
14, 1856; Lawren E., born September 7, 18G3 ; Galen 11., born September 1, 18C8; 
and Charles W., born Ma}' 18, 1875. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop have resided in the county 
twenty-five years. 

Breese, Charles E., an hotel-keeper, was born April 17, 1851, and December24, 1879, 
married Matie, daughter of J. Riley Tremblev, of Horseheads. They have had three 
children, viz.: Floyd T., born March 28, 1881, died July 23. 1S81; Claudie E., born 
August 24, 1882 ; and GroVer C, Ijorn Febru.ary 19, 1885. Zopher, falhei-of Charles E., 
was born June 2G, 1810, and married Amanda Humphry, of Erin, who was born May 
12, 1817. They had ten children, as follows: Mary M., Antoinette, Cornelius H., Phi- 
letus, Helen L., Silas B,, G<5orge II., Charles E., Ada A., and Lucinda I. J. Riley 
Trembley was born November 19, 1827, and died October 17, 1883. Zopher Breese 
died May 26, 1869. 

Breese, John, was born near Horseheads in 1791, married Mary A. Truesdale, and 
they had thirteen cliildren. Of this famih' Horace J., born March 31, 1837, is a farmer 
on the old homestead, his si.ster Angeline being his housekeeper. This farm has been 
occupied by some of the Breese family for a century. The family dates back to the 
days of William the Conqueror. 

Breese, Matthew C, was born in Breesport, June 24, 1853 December 24, 1873, he 
married Amy D., daughter of Abraham G. and Deborah V. D. Walker, of Erin. Her 
father was born in Deckertown, N. J., and came with his family to Chemung at an 
early day. They have three children, viz.; Seymour A., born August 11, 1876; Carrie 
C, Dorn August 22, 1878; and U. Fred, born August 15, 1884. Silas Breese. grand- 
father of Matthew C, was born May 1, 1785, and located on the farm which has since 
been owned in the family. His ancestors came to this country from Wales as early as 
1735 and were the first settlers in the town of Horseheads. 

Burgess, Edwin D,, was born October 22, 1850. May 25, 1873, he married Mary L., 
daughter of Joseph and Rebecca Swartwood, of Breesport, and they have eight chil- 
dren, as follows: Clara L., Lydia A., Ella L., Joseph B , Fannie B., Maggie E., .lulia, and 
Stephen D. Mr. Burgess was appointed postmjister under Garfield's administration 
and again in 1888 under President Harrison. He has served his town creditably in 
various ofificial capacities. The name Burgess is a civil title or oOicial representative of 
a burg or borough, and is of English origin. The first known of the family was one 
Thomas, in England, who came to this country about lG30and located at Salem. Bar- 
zilla, father of Edwin D., was born March 8, 1823, at Whorham, Ma.ss., and married 
Lydia A. Jones, of Dedham, N. H. He was a general merchant and came from Rhode 
I.sland to Elmira in 1851 and to Breesport in 1800. where he wa-s postmaster twenty 
years. He had three children. Edwin 1)., Benjamin F., and Frederick D. Jlr. Burgess 
died June 10, 1885, and his wife Jlarch 10, IS'SG. 

Bush, Hon. Robert P., was born in Branchport, Yates County, N. Y., March 31, 1842. 
The name of the family was formerly Terboss, which originated in Holland. Robert's 
great-grandfather was'an adjutant in the Revolutionary war in the Fourth New York 
Regiment and his grandfather served in the same army at the age of sixteen. His 



32 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

father, Dr. Wynan Bush, came from Orange County about 1830. His wife's nanie was 
Juha Ann Loomis, and she was lioin in Coventry, Conn. Robert P. is the youngest 
son of ten children. He tauglit scliool when quite young, earning money enough to 
attend the Frankhn Academy at I'laltsburgh and the Cortland Academy at Homer. 
N. Y. In ISGl, upon the President's call for volunteers, he enlisted in Company D, 
Twelfth Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry, and served two years, particijiating 
in many battles in Virginia. Mr. Bush returned to the academy and graduated and at 
once began to leach in Cortland Academy, at the same time taking up the study of 
medicine. In ISli'l lie again enli.^ted, this time as captain of Company E, One Hundred 
and Eighty-fifth New York Infantry Volunteers. His three brothers were in the Union 
army. He was promoted major of his regiment. His horse was shot from under him 
in the battle of Hatcher's Run and he was made a prisoner. He was mustered out of 
service May 29, ISG.i. After the war he taught in Penn Yan Academy, still continuing, 
however, the study of medicine. In 18G8, after attending a course of lectures at Bellevue 
Hospital Medical College and having procured a license from the Yates County Medical 
Societv, he began the practice of medicine with his father at Branchport, N. Y. In 
1870 lie took charge of Horseheads Onion Free School and continued its principal for 
more than three years, leaving it to attend lectures at the Buffalo Medical College, from 
which he was graduated February 24, 1874. Returning to Horseheads he formed a 
co-partnership with Dr. 0. S. Greenman, and in 1875 was elected school commissioner 
of Chemung County for three years. In 1883 he was elected coroner and in 1885 
member of Assembly, which office he has held continuously for six years. The doctor 
is an earnest Mason and has been elected eminent commarder of Jerusalem Com- 
mandery, K. T., of Penn Yan, high priest of Horseheads Chapter R. A. M., and master 
of Horseheads Lodge F. and A. M. He married, September 1, 1870, Laretta A. Lud- 
low, of Penn Yan, a former pupil. They have had nine children : Robert S. (who died 
when twelve years old), Rho L., Julia M., Walter 'W., Elliot, Phcebe, Laretta, Henry, 
and Helen. Dr. Bush is captain of the Twenty-sixth Separate Company N. G. S. N. Y. 

Carpenter, Daniel, born April 7, 1845, is the proprietor of the Halt-way Hotel, which 
has been in existence since soon after the Sullivan campaign. He married, April 13, 
1868, Phebe J., oldest daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Sample, of Horseheads, and 
they hav<' one daughter, Lizzie, born August 8, 1876. His father, John, was the third 
son of Daniel, who married, first. August 16, 1831, Nancy Beckwith, by whom he had 
five children, viz.: Eliza A., Mary E., Thomas D., John, and Nancy. For his second 
wife he married Phi.ebe Tubbs, April G, 1842, and February 22, 1843, he married, third, 
Sally M., daughter of John and Esther Truesdal, of Horseheads. Their children were 
Daniel and Esther. 

Carpenter, Joshua, grandfather of Benjamin C, came to Newtown (now Elmira) in 
^ 1877. and located permanently the following year upon the homestead which his grand- 
son still owns. At this date Elmira had but one house. His son Daniel, born near 
Newburgh, Orange County, N. Y., in 1776, came here in 1788 with his parents, and 
about 1798 married Rebecca Dunn, who was born in New Jersey. They had ten chil- 
dren, viz.: Sarah, James D., Burt, John, Thomas, Elizabeth, Catherine, Rebecca, Will- 
iam, and Benjamin C. The latter, liorn March 16, 182-5, has always been a farmer and 
a bachelor. The town line runs through his house. 

Cline, John, of German descent, was born in New Jersey about January 20, 1760, 
and was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. He married Elizabeth Shipman, of 
New Jersey, January 22, 1789, and located in Elmira (then Newtown) before 1791. 
Charles Cline, son of John, was born at Elmira, August 25, 1811, and was a lumber- 
man in Pennsylvania for four years. He was also a merchant miller for twenty yeans, 
but still owns his line farm. December 23, 1835, he married Mary Hetfield, of South- 
port, and they had one daughter, Elizabeth, born April 29, 1839, died November 25, 
1865. Mr. Cline has retired from active business and resides on Main street in the vil- 
lage of Horseheads. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 3;) 

Colegrove, Eliphalet, grandfather ot Dr. Walter E., came to Yates County, N. Y., at 
an early day and to Cliemiing County in 1840. His olilest son, Benjamin 1''., was born 
in Yates County in 1S25, and May 18, 1854, he married Sarah A. Wlnlnian, ot Chemung 
County. He died January 31, 188.'). Their two children were Sarah U , horn in 1860 
(dei'ea.<ed), ami Waller E., horn January 22, 1802. He wa? educated in the graded 
schools and in Elmira Academy, and began the study of nieilicine with Dr. C. W. M. 
Brown, of Elmira, and afterward entered the Western Reserve Medical University of 
Cleveland, graduating from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore, Md., 
in March, 1882. He was vice-president of the Alumni A,«sociation of that college. Dr. 
Colegrove began the practice of medicine at Chemung and in 1885 came to Horseheads. 
He married. June 11, 1884, Cordelia, youngest daughter of Charles Huggles, of this 
county, and they have one .<oii, Beiijainin R, born September 9, 1886. He is also chief 
engineer of the fire department of Hor.seheads. 

Compton Family, the, is of Dutch descent. Stephen Compton came from New Jersey 
and located near Ithaca, N. Y. His son Garrett, bom Felmiary 8, 1801, married three 
time-s first Anna E., daughter of Tneodore and Elizabeth Valleau, of Veteran, Chemung 
County. They had seven children, viz.: Theodore, Elizabeth, William, Marv, Stephen, 
Daniel, and Anna E. His .second wife was I.yilia A. Jackson, of Jackson. Pa., by whom 
he Iffid four children : two daughters who died in infancy, and Brainard T. and Orville, 
who served in the Rebellion, where Brainard T. died. He manied, third. Lavina Com- 
fort, of this county. Stephen Compton, l)orn in Jackson, Pa., March 4. 1833, married, 
Octolter 3, 1855, Julia Augusta, only daughter of John G. and Julia A. Garry, of Wat- 
kins. Schuyler County, N. Y., and they have had five children, viz.: Cora H. (^^rs. Man- 
ning), who died January 14, 1889; Mary A., who married Wiiliatn B. Tiffany, of 
Athens, Pa.; Anna J., who married Orin J. Sears, of this town ; and Sarah L. and Helen 
K., who reside with their parent.«. Mr. Compton enlisted as first sergeant, February 23, 
1864. in Company A, One Hundred and Seventy ninth New York Volunteer Infantry, 
and December 23, 1804-, was commissioned second lieutenant, was wounded in the head 
before Petei-sburg, was mustered out June 8, 1865, and was discharged with his regi- 
ment on the 22d of the same month at Elmira. He was breveted first lieutenant for 
meritorious service. Mr. Compton is a retired merchant residing in the village of 
Horseheads. 

Cordvling, Jonathan Stoddanl, with his wife, Juliana Sayre, and three children, 
Ebenezer, Joseph, and Stoddard, came from Bloomington, Orange Counl_v, N. Y., in 
1791. A daughter, Susannah, born in 1793, was the first death among the white fam- 
ilies. Their other children were William, born in 1794; \'incent, born in 1.^02; Eliza- 
beth Trowbridge, born in 1797 ; Rebecca Maxwell, born in ISOO ; and Susan Iletfield, born 
in IS05. The family all lived and died in this county, except Klizabeth. who moved to 
ilichigan at an early day. Capt. Vincent Conkling and Sarah \V. Mathews, daughter 
of James Matthew.^!, of Southport, were married in 1829, and nine chililren were liorn to 
them, three of whom died in infancy and six grew to manhood, viz : James M., Fletcher 
v., Stoddard H., and Hammond M. Susan E. Gue and Rebecca M. Salterly reside in 
North Carolina and Hammond died in 1881. Vincent Conkling, son of Jonathan Stod- 
dard and Juliana, was born October 10, 1802, and in 1823 he opened the first tavern in 
the house built by his father and the same in which he was born, upon the site of the 
present Holiman Hotel. He continued in business for six years. In 1826 he opened a 
dry goods and grocery establi.-ihment, and in 1837 built the first flouring and grist-mill. 
He was at one time the largest landowner in this section. Mr. Conkling was made a. 
Mason in 1826 in Elmira and was a charier member of Union Lodge of that city. When 
the bill was pending in the State legislature for the construction of the Chemung Canal 
he took a team, went to Blossburg before there were any bridges across the Canisteo or 
Tioga River.'!, obtained a wagon-load of coal, and sent it to Albany in a wagon for the 
inspection of the Committee on Canals. He was a captain in the light-horse militia, 
whence his title as captain. Vincent Conkling died November 13, 1887. His wife 



34 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Sarah died in May, 1890. Sarah \V. Mathews was a granddaughter of Lebens Ham- 
nioiid.'who survived the Wyoming massacre. lie lived and died in Southport. His 
grandson, Hammond Mathews, is still living on the old farm. 

Day Family, The. — Tradition has it that the family of Day originally oanie from 
Wales. In a book of heraldry is shown the coat of arms of William Day, D.B., pro- 
vost of Eaton College and dean of Windsor, Ocloljer 21, 1582, in the twenty-fourth 
year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He is said to be descended from tlie dean of 
Wales (named after a river there), "being a younger son of Richard Day, who was the 
son of Nicholas." Within the first tliirty years after the settlement of New England 
eight persons of the name are found ui)on the record there. First, there is Itoliert Day, 
of Cambridge, who arrived in 1G34, and who is the ancestor of the Days in America. 
Thomas S. Day was born September 26. 1805, in Durham, Greene County. N Y., and 
July 5, 1834, he married Lucy Gilbert. They had one sou who survived, Eliziu- C, born 
May 5, 1835. He was educated in the graded schools and in the Elinira Academy. His 
father came to Chemung County in Apiil, 18;!5, and October 23, 1872, Elizur C. mar- 
ried in Brooklyn Nellie M., daughter of Wilson and Hulda Tole-s of Michigan, and their 
six children were Lucy A., born August 15, 1873; May B.. born October 6. 1874; 
Alice D., born October 8, 187li ; Thomas Stanley, born December 21, 1879; Jidia, horn 
December 28, 1881 ; and Wil.son Tole.s born September 15, 1883. Mrs. Day died Jiine 
36, 1880. Mr. Day has been a resident of Horseheads for thirty-four years and of the 
county for fifty-five years. His great-grandfather, Thomas Stanley Day, was a soldier 
in the Revolutionary war, and Elizur C. has in his possession the musket that he carried. 
Lucy Gilbert Day died May 6, 1889; Thomas Stanley Day died March 10, 1890. 

Dean, Samuel R., was born May 5, 1848, in Spencer, Tioga County, N. Y. He 
attended the public schools and Spencer Academy, and studied and practiced dentistry 
with Dr. D. R. Hines, of that village. For nearly twenty years he has been practicing 
dentistry in company with his brother George W. in the village of Horseheads. He 
married, January 1, 1872, M. Belle, oldest daughter of Alfred and Almira Vose, of Danby, 
Tompkins County, N. Y. They have two children, A. Earl, born September 29, 1873, 
and May Belle, born May 13, 1878. Mr. Dean's father, Grin F., was born June 16, 1815, 
at Bridgeport, Pa., and married Mary W. Watson, of Spencer, Tioga County, N. Y., 
who was born May 25, 1816. They had si.x children, of whom William E. and Andrew 
died in infancy, and four survive : Charles 0., Oliver L., Samuel R., and George W. 

Donahue, James, born in Binghamton, N. Y., December 7, 1852, is a son of Thomas, 
who was born in County Connaught, Ireland, in 1804, and married Mary Hogan, by 
whom he had three children, John, James, and Timothy. Mr. Donahue, sr., came to 
America in 1844 and located at Binghamton. His son James was in early life a farmer, 
but is now a custom boot and shoemaker at Horseheads. He married, November 4, 
1882. Josie H. Beardsley, of Odessa, Schuyler County, N. Y., and their two children are 
G. Montgomery, liorn May 22, 1884, and Lottie, born January 10. 1887. Mr. Donahue 
resides on Franklin street. 

Duck, Rev. Thomas, M.A., born September 4, 1851, at Hambridge, Somersetshire 
England, came with his parents to America, settling in Cayuga County, N. Y., at the 
age of three years. He graduated from Hobart College in 1878 and from the General 
Theological Seminary in New York city in 1882. He married, June 15, 1882, Clara 
Mabel Badger, of Penn Yan, N. Y. Going immediately to Gunnison, Col., he labored 
there for two years in completing the church and building a rectory, and in estalili.shing 
missions at Salida, Crested Butte, and Aspen. At Aspen he lived one year. In Octo- 
ber, 1885, he took charge of St. Paul's Church at Havana, N. Y., and while there or- 
ganized St. Mark's mi.ssion at Mdlport. From January, 1887, to October. 1889, he was 
connected with missionary work in Buffalo. He now has charge of St. Matthew's 
Church in Horseheads, St. Mark's in Millport, a mission at Croton, and St. John's 
■Church in Big Flats. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 35 

Ellsworlli. Ira D., of Horselieads, of Scotch and German descent, was l)orn in Brad- • 
ford County, Pa., August 13, 1840. In 1802 nine brothers came from Baden-Baden, 
Germany, one of whom, Charles L , was the grandfallier of Ira D. His son Almond 
married Charlotte, daughter of Col. Philip .■\ngle, of Scotland. They had thirteen chil- 
dren. Ira D. is a cousin of the Colonel Ellsworth who was killed at Alexandria. 

Fell, John, horn March 29, 1849, married, Deceniher 4, 1878, Ella daughter of Will- 
iam and Elizabeth Carpenter and granddaughter of Daniel Carpenter, who located in 
Elmirain 1788. They have five children, viz.: William C, horn November IG, 1879; 
Laurene, born September 20, 1881; Alliert Ryle, born August IG, 188.!; Jennie E., 
born May 13. 188G: and Annie E., horn August 2(), 1890. Mrs. Fell was born on the 
old homestead in Horselieads, where they now reside. William, father of John, was 
born on the Isle of Man, England, Ootolier IG, 1810. About 1841 he came to America 
and located in Big Flats, N. V. He married, in 1848, Ann Higgins. of County Sligo, 
Ireland, and they had five children : John, William. Elizabeth, Mary, ami Sarah A. 

Frost, Frank P., was born in Millport, N. Y., May 5, 1841, and was educated in the 
public schools. lie enlisted on July 16, 18G2, in Company D. One Hundred and 
Seventh Infantry New York Volunteers, and was promoted to first lieutenant and bre- 
vet captain. He was in the battles of .Vntietam. Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, was 
west with General Hooker, and participated in all the battles from Lonkout Mountain to 
Atlanta, Georgia, being also with General Sherman in his inarch to the sea. Aftei- an 
honorable discharge in June. 18G.5, he returned to Elmira, and in 1882 was chosen com- 
mander of Bahlwiii Post. No. G. G. A. R., and to his present position as quartermaster 
of the New York State Soldiers and Sailors Home at Bath, Steuben County. N. Y. In 
November, 18G.5. he married Rhoda Hutchingsand they have one daughter, Josephine, 
and one son. William P. 

Haviland, Lewis, mairied. March 4, 1854, Catherine, daughter of Samuel and Magda- 
lene Brink, of Havana, and they have had born to them two children: Erie D.. bom 
March 17. 1858, died July 30, 18G4, and Jennie M., horn May 24, 1870. Mr. and Mis. 
Haviland have resided near Breesport for fifteen year.s. ijis father. Cornelius, came 
from Schoharie County to Havana with his father. William, who was one of the first 
settlers there, owning the first carding anil woolei; factories in the county. Cornelius 
married Emily Mead, by whom he had twelve children: Ruth, Solirina, Sarah, Char- 
lotte, Lewis, James. Susan, Rachel, John, Hudson, Ilarlaud, and Wilminia. 

Hibbard, Thomas, jr., born in London, England, April 26, 1847, came to Elmira with 
his parents when two years old. He served three yea.-s at the tanner's trade with 
Richard Armitage, and July 26, 1871, came to Hor^eheads and formed a co-partnership 
will) John W. Lovell in the tinware and stove busine.s.s. About 187.5 they made hard- 
ware a specialty and so continued until the death of Mr. Lovell in 1890. when Mr. Hib- 
bard a.ssumed .sole control. Mr. Hibbard in 1844 Joined Horselieads Lodge, No. 36G, 
K. ami A. M.. and Horselieads Chapter, No. 261, R. A. M. He has held every office 
from junior dean to master and from master of veil to high priest in the chapter. He 
has been trustee of the village for seven years, two years of which he was president of 
the board ; for one year he was chief of the Hor.'seheads fire department ; and was one 
year town clerk and supervisor of the town for three years. February 24, 1880, he 
married Elmira A., only daughter of Horace W. and Martha Beard, of Ilor.seheads. 
They have had five children, of whom a son, Walter B., died when about two years old 
and four survive, viz.: Josephine, born January 22, 1881; Alice Maud, born Novem- 
ber 29, 1S.':<2; Thomas R., born November 11, 1884; and Mary E., born July 29, 1890. 
Thomas, father of Thoma.s, jr., was born in London, December 25, 1802, and was a 
stair builder. After his arrival in this country in 1848 he built the stairways tor the 
principal public and private buildings in Elmira. About 1842 he married Martha M. 
Knapp. Three of their children were born in London and three in the United States. 

Hulett, Benjamin Franklin, was born January 16. 1818, in the town of Reading, Vt. 
His ancestors were English and emigrated lo America as early as the year 1620. His 



36 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

great-giandfatlier settled in Hadley, Mass. His prandfatlier located in Wallinirfoid, 
Rutland County, Vt. One of his cliildren. John, lalher of Benjamin F., niairit-d ilai- 
tha, daugliier of Deacon Clark, of Weathersfielcl, Vt., and had thiileen cliildien. nine 
boys and four girls, viz ; Laura, Guy, Clark, A.saliel, John JI., Cliailis, Ahnira, Martha, 
Mason, Nehemiah A., Mareia A., and George W. and Benjamin F. (twins). T«o of 
the brothers, Gjiy and Charles, preceded the family to the town of Veteran. Guy was 
a physician and came first in the year 1825, and Charles later. The family followed in 
the year 1827 with the exception of one brother and two sisters. Benjamin F. was 
educated in the pioneer schools of his day and was a farmer all his days until he re- 
tired. He was elected supervisor of the town of Veteran. November 28, 1839, he 
married Sarah C. Schafer, of the town of Veteran. Her family were among the earli- 
est settlers of that town, and was of German e.xtraction by her father and English by 
her mother. They had five children, three girls and two boys: Sarah E.. born Janu- 
ary 31, 18+1, married Dr. Norris, of Spencer, N. Y.; Charles A., born August l(i, 18-13, 
married Emma Howell, of the town of Veteran, and is now on the old homestead 
farm ; Francis, born February 6, 1847 ; Lois, born October G, 1850, died April 27, 1864 ; 
Kate, born September 26, 1857. Francis married Jane Hollenlieck, of the town of 
Erin. Kate married Charles Garlick, of Broome County, N. Y. Mr. Hulett has always 
been a Democrat in his politics. On the 28th of Novemljer, 1891, he had been married 
fifty-two years, and has resided in the town of Horseheads, Chemung County, nine- 
teen years. His family located in the county at an earl_v date. He is a man o[ integ- 
rity now living a retired life. His father died Januaiy 12, 1847, aged eighty years. 

Jackson, Thaddeus P., was born November 7, 1840, in Ithaca, Tompkins County, 
N. Y. He moved with his parents to Indiana, where he obtained an academical educa- 
tion. In June, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Twenty-first Indiana Infantry (after- 
ward the First Heavy Artillery Volunteers), and was promoted second lieutenant on 
March 30, 1864. He resigned March 31, 18G.5, on account of ill health, and returned to 
Chemung County in 1886. September 14, 1870. he married Harriet, daughter of John 
A. and Mar\' H. McKey, of Veteran. Mr. McKey was a soldier in the War of 1812. 
Mr. Jackson taught school eleven years and was elected school commissioner in 1887. 
His grandfather was a captain in the Revolution. Willard C, father of Thaddeus P., 
-was born in 1815 in Delaware County, N. Y., and came with his parents to Newfield, 
Jackson Hollow, Tompkins County, N. Y. About 1838 he married Hannah Bowers, 
of Tompkins County, and they had eight children as follows: Thaddeus P., Susan E., 
Frances A., Charles A., William H., Emma C, Olive S., and Eva. For his second wife 
he married Kate Dalton, by whom he had four children : John, Mary, Alice, and Isabel. 
His third wife was Kate Scholtz. 

Jansen, Thomas H., born in Dutchess County, N. Y., came when quite young to Car- 
oline, Tompkins County, N. Y. He taught school most of his life. He married Betsey 
E. Barbour, of Chemung County, and they had six children: Spencer H., Mary E., 
James, Seymour 11., Daniel, and Joel M. The latter was born January 3, 1843, and 
was reared on a farm. When eighteen years old he enlisted in Company C, One Hun- 
dred and Forty-first Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry, and served until the 
close of the war. He was promoted fife-major of the regiment, was with Sherman 
during his march to the .sea, and was discharged June 8, 18G5. November 9, 1865, he 
married Philena M., daughter of John and Mary Breese, of Horseheads, \>y 'whom he 
had four children, viz.: M. Maud, who married Eugene Atkins, superintendent of the 
poor of Chemung County ; Winifred, who married Bela C. Tifi't, of Horseheads, agent 
for the Well.s-Fargo Express Company ; and Ernest D. and Bessie M., who reside at 
home. Mr. Jansen was keeper of the county-house for six years, and resigned the 
position on account of the de.ith of his wife, January 8, 1888. He was solicitor of in- 
surance for Chemung County outside of Elmira till March 1, 1891, when he was re- 
-appointed keeper of the poor-house, which position he still holds. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 37 

Judson, Cardwell, was liorii in Ilorselieads, September 25, 1847. In 1864 he enlisted 
in Company F, First Veteran Cavalry New Yt)rlv Volunteers, and was honorably dis- 
oharj;ed June 8, 1805, at Camp Piatt, W. Va. November 2G, 1873, he mariied Ida, 
oldest daughter of ^clillless and Amanda Breese, and lliey have two children, Elmer 
B., born November Tl, 1874. and Clayton L., born August 18, 1882. His father, Elijali 
Juilson, was born in Connecticut, December 24, IS(K). and came eaily to Orange Comity, 
removing to this county in 184'). He married Mary Thompson, of that county, and 
tliey had eleven chiUlren : William, Caroline, ilaiy A., Daniel, Juliett, James, Sarah, 
Marllia, Regina, Cardwell D., and Harriet. 

Kinley, Adam, liorn in Dnsslingen, VVurtemberg, Gerraanj', January 14, 1825, came 
to the United States on August 20, 1849, witli fifty cents in money. In 1851 he re- 
moved to Manaliting. Sullivan County, where he worked for David Decker for ten 
years. In March, 1853, he married, first, Mary Freer, of Wurtemberg, Germany, and 
tliey had four children: Carrie, born January 9, 1857, died October 18, 18G1 ; Anna 
B.. born June 18, 1855. died November 11, 1804; Charles H., born November 14, 1859; 
an<l William, born March 25, 1803. His second wife was Mrs. Gannon, by whom he 
h:iii one son, George, born August 22, 1871. October 19. 1882, Charles H. married Alice 
H.iriling. of Breesport. In I8O1I Mr. Kinley moved to Wellsburg and in 1808 came to 
Elmira. Shortly after his arrival he formed a partnership with Stephen Couch and 
Jacob Kinley and built the Grove tannery, which he operated four years and then .^old 
to Couch & Thomas. In 1871 he came to Breesport and built the Breesport tannery, 
and tanned hides on shares for Barnes & Merritt, of New York city, and on commis- 
sion tor other firms. In 1884 the tannery burned, entailing a loss of $15,000. It was 
relniilt with a capacity of 220 sides per day, and in March, 1890, he began business for 
himself. 

Longcoy, Abraham, born in Tioga County, N. Y., married Barbara Ackles, of Oneida 
County. N. V., and had born to him four children, viz.: Abraham, Curtis, Jnmes, and 
William II. The latter was born in Tioga County, N. Y., May 25, 1843, and on Au- 
gust 11, 1862, enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Seventh New York In- 
fantry Volunteers, as a corporal, serving until the close of the contest. He was in fif- 
teen general engagements and wounded three times at the battle of Cliancelloisville. 
He married, September 8, 186G, Eliza J. Van Kouten. of Veteran, and they have four 
children: Elmer E., Edith, Effie, and Sarah. Mr. Longcoy is the patentee of a shaft 
and pole coupling of great value and practical use. His business is in Horseheads, while 
his home is in Veteran. 

MacConiiel, Augustus, was born August 11, 1838. His great-grandfather, Matliew, 
came from New Jer.sey and patented 093 acres of land in the old township of Che- 
mung on February 28. 1791. His grandfather, John, was appointed by Gov. De Witt 
Clinton a judte of Tioga County in 1822 and in 1828 was made postmaster of North 
Elmira, Tioga County, by Postmaster-General John McLean. Mr. MacConnel's father. 
Daniel, was a farmer and died in 1872. Mr. MacCounel was an a.«!iistant observer and 
student at Harvard College Observatory, Cimibridge, Mass., in 1864. In 1867 he was 
sent to France l»y Bond h Son, of Boston, in charge of their astronomical instruments 
at the E.xposition. In 1873 and 1874 he was astronomer of the boundary surveys of 
Wyoming Territory. He returned from Boston in 1876 and in 1883 was supervisor of 
his town. 

Mallory. Silas, was born in Connecticut, June 28, 1804, and came with his parents to 
Chemung County wlieu an infant. He married Kowena Chamberlain, of Veteran, and 
they had eight children, viz.: Lucy A., James B., Electa A., Harriet L., Ezra J., Sarah A., 
Elizabeth A., and Abigail A. James B. Mallory was born in Veteran, July 30, 1820, 
acquired a common scliool education, and is a carpenter and builder by occupation. He 
married, September 2.5, 1847, Rebecca, oldest daughter of Nicholas and Laura Wood. 
They have had three children : Frank J., born Novembers, 18.56, died August 20, 1881 ; 
Flora E., born December 13, 1860; and Frederick C. born March 7, 1863, died August 



3S OUR CO US TV AND ITS PEOPLE. 

23, liStH. Mr. Malloi-y enlisted on Aujjust 15, 1302, in Compar.y H. Fiftieth New York 
Eiiffineers, and was discharjjed June 15, 1805. Flora E. married William vS. Shawer- 
man (deceased) and they had four children: Laura. Frederick, James, and John. 

Mar.shall, Levi, was born in Orange County, N. Y., and came to Chemimg Comity, 
N. Y., with his parents about 1838, when only a boy. He married Elizabelli 
Trenholm, and they had three sons: Peter T., Henry B., and Magor A. Henry B. 
Marshall was born in Di.x, Schuyler County, N. Y., June 10, 1851, was educated in the 
public schools and in Alfred University, and married. November 5, 1879, Delia M., 
youngest daughter of Alfred and Sarah Wheat, of Horseheads. They have two sons: 
Levi, bom October 19, 1880, and Samuel, born November 28, 1889. The family are of 
English de.scent. 

Marshall, Peter T., was born January 25, 1849, at Moreland, Chemung County (now 
Schuyler). His parents moved to a point near Horseheads, where his boyhood days 
were passed, and in 1870 to their present home. After attending the common .schools 
he entered Alfred University, taught school for several terms, and graduated from Dart- 
mouth College in the class of 187(3. The summer of 1875 he passed among the mount- 
ains of New Hampshire with Professors (juinby and Young. During his course at 
Dartmouth he became conversant with astronomical instruments and on the recom- 
mendation of Professor Young he was appointed assistant in the Dudley Observatory. 
Later he entered the law office of Smith, lloberl.son &L Fa.ssett. At this time Judge 
Walter Lloyd Smith and Hon. J. Sloat Fassett were students. Mr. Marshall was ad- 
mitted as attorney at Ithaca in May, 1879, and as counsellor at Saratoga Spa in Sep- 
tember of the same year. On November 20, 1879, he married Milhc T., daughter of the 
late J. B. Mosher, of Horseheads, and they have three children : Hannah Hose, born 
in Horseheads; Elizabeth, born in Palatine Bridge; and Bernice, born in Hudson. Mrs. 
Marshall before her marriage held several responsible positions, the last being a chair in 
the vocal department of the Lyons Musical Academy. Mr. Marshall is now principal of 
the Union Free School at Horseheads. In 1887 he visited Europe. 

Marshall, Samuel, a farmer, was born in Westchester County, N. Y., Feliruary (i, 
1822, and came with his parents to Orange County when one year old. His father re- 
moved to Chemung County in 1838, where Samuel has resided for fifty years. June 10, 
1863, he married Mary D., daughter of Thomas and Sally Decker. His father, Joseph, 
was born in Westchester County, March 2G, 1780, and about 1817 married Rachel Sea- 
man, of Orange County, by whom he had five children, viz.: Hannah, born June 3, 1819 ; 
Samuel; Levi B., born October 22, 1824; Josiah. orn July 20, 1827; and Isaac born, 
Octol)er24, 1831. The family belong to the Soceity of Friends. 

McConnell Family, The.— The McConnell family is of Scotch origin. Joseph Mc- 
Connell, from Orange County, N. Y., one of the first settlers in this town, built a log 
house near the Junction. His son Ziba, a farmei', was born in Horseheads (then Elmira) 
in 1790. In 1820 he married Phebe M., daughter of Abner and Polly Hetfield, of this 
town. Their children were Hiram H., Philip, George, Elizabeth, Mary, and Nancy. 
Hiram H. McConnell, born September 0, 1822, was reared upon a farm. He has had 
the oflioes of constable, police officer, and justice of the peace, serving in the latter posi- 
tion about thirty-six years. In politics he is a Democrat. He has been station agent 
for the Northern Central Railroad since the 4th of March, 1805, and his son Jay /\. has 
been his clerk since 1873. September 27, 1845, he married Eliza, daughter of Horace 
and Mary Stowell, of Bainbridge, Chenango Coimty, N. Y., and they have had thirteen 
children, of whom eight are living, viz.: Ella, Horace S., Frederick W., Susan A., Jay 
A,, Nettie B., Nancy B., and Mary. Ella married John S. Dickenson, of Rochester, N. Y,; 
Horace S. married Sarah Derin, of Corning, N. Y.; Nancy B, married James Mulligan, 
of Rochester, N. Y.; and the others reside at home with their parents. 

McDougle, Jesse, a farmer by occupation, was born in the home which he now occu- 
pies on November 10, 1841. He married, February 7, 1872, Albertine A., daughter of 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 39 

Henry J. ami Afatilda L. Tibl>ett.s, of Veteran, and tliey liaveone son, Karl J., Iiorn April 
■J". 1?77. Jesse's graniifatlier. John McDougle, came from Scotlan<l when a boy anil lo- 
cated one mile east of Millport. One of his sons, Harry, the father of Jesse, was born in 
Veteran. May 9, 1808, and married twice, lirst, December I!, 1829, Purlellia Weller, by 
whom he had two children, Horace and Catherine. His second wife was Phebe Hen- 
nett, whom he married March 28, 1S39. They had four chddren : Samuel B., John \V., 
Je.s.<e, and Hannah. 

McKey, Alexander VV., was born July .'5, 184.">, in Erin, N. Y., and September 15, 
1875, he married Jennie, daughter of Elijah and Ann Hewett, of Veteran. They have 
one daii<rhter. Maud H., liorn June 12, 1889. His father, John, was born in Galloway- 
shire, Scotland, aliout I7S.'i and came with his parents to the United States when a lad. 
He married Mary H. Heller, of Breesporl, and they had five ehildren : Myers H., Sarah 
A., Alexander \V., Hattie, and ElHe. 

McLaughlin, Jonathan, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, was one of the earliest set^ 
tiers of Elmira (tlien Newtown). His son John was born there in 1802 and by trade was 
a niolder. In 1830 he nuirried Margaret A. Huberts, of Elmira, by whom he had twelve 
children. Edgar A., the sixth child, born March 3, 1844, at Elmira, received an 
academic education an<l is a machinist. April 7, 1S()2, he enlisted in Company II, 
Sixty-fourth New York Infantry Volunteers, and served three years. He was wounded in 
the hand at the battle of Fair Oaks. December 29, — , he married Martha, only daughter 
of Ira Peester, of Horseheads, by whom he has two daughters and one son, viz.: Nellie 
M.. born Jidy 29, 1870; George E., born August 20, 1872; and Bertha L., born S«ptem- 
ber 13, 187-i. Mr. and Mrs. McLaughlin reside ou Franklin street in the village of 
Horseheads. 

McMillan, Albert, born in Erin, October 30, 1842, taught school for twenty years and 
is now a farmer. In June, 1804, he enlisted in Company A. First Veteran Cavalry New 
York Volunteers, and was honorably discharged June 8, 1805, at Camp Piatt, W. Va. 
December 0, 186G, he married Helen M., daughter of Edmund and Mary Breese, of Van 
Etten, and they have fr)ur children: Mary H., born May -31, 18G8; Daniel B., born 
Aprd 20, 1870; Carrie M., born December 9, 1871 ; and George E., born May 19, 1870. 
Mary 11. married William H. Collins. Mr. McMillan's grandfather, James, was born in 
Scotland and came to America in 1788 or '89. He married Isabella Kirk, of Scotland. 
His son George K. came to Chemung County in 1832 and married Maria Hush. They 
have eight children: Sophia, Isabella, Henrietta, Harrison, Albert, Joseph, William, and 
George E. 

Miller, Emmett, a farmer, was born in Tioga County, N. Y., September 0, 1841, and 
came to this county in 1849, He mariied, December 0. I8G2, Catherine, youngest 
daughter of Thomas and Amy Carpenter, of this county, and they have had children as 
follows: Sidney C, born September 19, 1803; Motte A., born November 2.'), 1864; Amy 
E., born December 20, 1800, died January 12, 18G7 ; Elliott W., born February 2, 1§G8; 
George T., born July 11, 1870; Kittle L„ born August 27, 1872; Harry, born Decem- 
ber 12, 1873; Emmett, jr., born September 22, 187G; Joel L., born January 7, 1879; 
and Grace and Chase (twins), horn January 13, 1883. Mrs. Miller's father serred in 
the War of 1812. His father, Samuel, was born in Massachusetts in 179.5, and came 
with his parents to Cayuga County when thirteen years old. He married Eunice Stark, 
of that county, and they had thirteen chddren, viz.: Emeline, Julia, Cyrus, P. Nancy, 
Daniel, John, William, Lucinda, Augustine, Alida, Francis, Peter, and Emmett. 

Moss, Hiram U,,was born in Mansfield, Pa., October 13, 1852. His father. William, came 
to the United States from England when twenty- one years of age and located in Penn- 
sylvania. He married Eunice, oldest daughter of I.saac Manning, of Horseheads. They 
had five children, of whom one died in infancy and f mr survive, viz.: Sylvester .1., Giles 
S., Hirara U., and Wdliain E. Iliraiu U. Moss came with his parents to Horseheads 
wlien two years old. He married, Noveinber 20, 1871, Viola, oldest daughter of Edwin 



40 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and Amanda Branch, of Castleton, Pa., and they liail three cbihlren : Sadie M., born 
September 24, 1872; William E., born August 27. 1877; and Mabel V., born August 
U, 1880. Mr.v Moss died October 2.'), 1889. Mr. Moss is a farmer. 

Murphy, John C, was born August 10, 1859, in llorseheads, and is a farmer and mar- 
ket gardener. March 3, 1886, be married Mary C, daughter of Thomas H. and S. Ann 
Donnelly, of Big Flats. Mr. Murphy has been trustee of the village one year. 

ilurphy, Michael C, born September 7, 18G1, when twenty-one years of age was 
elected a member of the village Board of Trustees and served for two years. He is al.so 
a farmer and market gardener. In politics he is a Democrat, being a member of the 
Chemung County Conunittee. He is also foreman of the Pioneer Hose Company. 

Murphy, Patrick, father of John C. a^nd Michael C, came from Ireland to England 
about 1849, and married Mary Corbitt. He came to the United States in 1853 and 
settled in llorseheads. He had six children : Ella C, John C, Michael C, Martin H., 
Lizzie C, and James H. 

Musser, Phillip, a Prussian soldier in one of the eight regiments hired by England in 
the Revolutionary war, was captured at Trenton. His son, Piiillip. jr., born in Lancas- 
ter County, I'a., moved with his parents to Center County, Pa., when a child. His son 
John G., born about 1820, married Julia A. Hubler, and they had six children, four of 
whom are living, viz.: Ralph M., Adam C, Emma C, and James B. Raljih M , born in 
Center County, Pa., April 12, 1844, was educated in the common schools and in the 
Dickinson Academy at Williamsport, Pa., and August 1, 18(il, enlisted in the State 
militia. On November 17th he was mustered into the United States army as a volun- 
teer in Company F, Fifty-sixth Pennsylvania Infantry Volunteers, was taken prisoner 
early in the war, and being soon exchanged he was wounded in the battle of Gaines- 
villt, August 28, 1862. He participated in the engagements at Fredericksburg, Chan- 
cellorsville, Gettysburg, Seven Days' Fight in the Wilderness, Hatcher's Run, before 
Petersl>nrg, and at Five Forks, and was discharged at the clo.se of the war. He was 
promoted while at Gettysburg to the non-commission staff for brave and meritorious 
service. June 11, 1874, he married Emma C, daughter of Martin and Eliza Chappell, of 
Lewisburg, Pa. They have one daughter, Nettie M., born April 18, 1885. In the fall 
of 1885 they moved to Horseheads. 

Xorris, John, great-great-grandfather of Deborah (Norris) Walker, was married May 
10, 1722. Stephen Norris, his son, married -Abigail Keeler. November (i, 1765. Her 
grandfather, John Norris, born June 20, 1770, married Rachel Northrup. Mathew N. 
Norris, born March 15, 1798, married Julia T. Van Duzer, Se[)teml)er 14.1818. Rev. 
Peter Compton was born June 26, 1813, and April 30, 1835, he married Amy Norris, of 
Orange County, N. Y. They had one son, Norris M., who was born April 26, 1836. 
The latter received a common school and academic education, graduating from the 
Wyoming Seminary at Kingston, Pa. He was a traveling salesman for J. Richardson & 
Co.,«)f Elmira, for nine years, when he went into business for himself at Horseheads, 
handling a patent shafting and pole coupling. In March, 1855, lie married Mary L. 
Brighain, of Elmira, iiiid their four children are Ida W. R., Edith, Lena, and William R. 
The latter is chief examiner in the Sixth Auditor'* office in the Treasury Department 
at Washington. 

O'llanlon, Colon, liorii in Elmira, August 25, 1830, married, October 22, 1863, Sarah, 
daughter of Henry and Mary Dibble, of Catlin. They had one son, Owen, born Octo- 
ber 5, 1864, who is a farmer and speculator. Colon O'Hanlon died September 22, 1884. 
Mrs. O'Hanlon survives him. 

O'Hanlon, George, was born in Elmira, January •), 1826. lie was educated in the 
graded and high schools of that city, and for many years was owner and captain of 
canal boats on the Erie Canal and was afterward a farmer. In 1870 he was elected 
sheriff of the county and served tliree years, and has been assessor of his town nine 
years. November 3, 1859, he married Clara, oldest daughter of Peter and Jane Van 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 41 

"Vleet, of Romulus, Seneca County, N. V.. and they have six children, viz.: William, 
born December 1, 18(i0 ; Anna B., born March l;j, 18(J3 ; Charles E., boin June 20, 
1865; Ida M., born September 1, 18G7; George, jr, born May 4, 1870; and Clara S., 
born October 2, 1877. Mr. O'Hatilon has lived in Horselieada for fifty years, and the 
homestead has had but two owners since the deed was given by the State. Owen 
O'llanlon, father of George, was born in Ireland in 178G. He came lo the I'nited 
State.s and settled in Newtown (now Elinira) in 1818. He married Anna Filzsinnnons, of 
Southport, a lady of Dutch descent. They had six children: Thonia,s, George, John, 
Hugh, William, and Colon. 

Olmstead, Dr.William H.,wa.s born in Elmira, May 17, 185G. He worked on the farm 
summers and attended school winters, with two terms at Starkey Seminary, until he 
was twenty years of age. He taught school two winters, studied medicine with Dr. 
C. M. Colegrove, of North Chemung, and graduated from the BulTalo University in 
1887. He began the practice of his profession in the village of Chenunig. The same 
year became to Horseheads, of which place he is health olhcer. November 24, 1S80, 
he married Cornelia, daugliter of Calvin R. Woodhouse, of North Chemung. 

Ormiston, William, son of John, was born in Bovina, Delaware County, N. Y., Sep- 
tember 21, 1821), and by occui)ation is a farmer. He came with his parents to Elmira 
when about six years old. October 31, IS.^o, he married Mary C, only danghler of 
Thomas H. and Elizabeth B. Janseii. of Horseheails, and they have had six children: 
Charles C, Lizzie, Frank J., Grace, Willie H., and Nellie. Charles C. Ormiston married 
Maggie Coulton, by whom he has one daughter, Eva M. Frank J. Ormiston married 
Myntha Ells, of Horseheads. They have three children, Harry D., Myron C, and 
Susan Caroline. Mr. Ormiston has been an elder in the Presbyterian Church for 
twenty years, and has lived m the vicinity of Bi-eesport for Sfly-five years. William, 
grandfather of William, came from Scotland and located in Delaware County. N. \ . 
His son John, born in Delaware County, July KJ, 18tiG, niarried, in 1828, Helen Coidter, 
by whom he had seven children : one died in infancy, William, Nancv, Mary, Fanny, 
James, and Anna. They came to Elmira (ihen Tioga) on October 21, 1835. 

Peck, Abraham D., a merchant aiul a farmer, born in New York city about 1808, 
married Sarah J. Campbell, of Campbell, Steuben County, N. Y., whose father was one 
of the first settlers there. Thomas K,, son of Abraham D., was born in Hambur", 
Livingston County, Mich., May 14, 1843, and came to New York in 18G3. He married, 
March 2G, 1872, Hattic L. Briggs, of Corning, Steuben County, and had two children: 
George C. born July 23, 1873, and Jesse B., Iiorn February 3,'l87G. Mr. Peck came to 
Horseheads in 1887. 

Perkins, Edward S., the father of Edward A. and James S., was born in Talmadge, 
Summit County, Ohio, July 7, 1833, an<l has served several terms in the Ohio legislature. 
He married, A\igust 3, 185G, Adeline, daughter of John and Clara Stokes, of Seville, 
Medina County, Ohio, and they have nine children ; Edward A., Newton I., Mary D., 
Adeline H., James S., Bessie L., William S., Ruby E., and Morton D. Newton I."Per- 
kins dieil at the age of fourteen. July 1. 1S8!I, Kdward A. and James S. formed a co- 
partnership at Williamsport, Pa., f.ir (he cimstniction of iron bridges, and August I 
1890, they located permanently at Horseheads, where they have better shipping facili- 
ties. They are young men, sober, industrious, and enterprising. 

Plait, Jerome Rudolph, youngest son of Rufus and Elizabeth Piatt, was born July 
21, 1847, in Horseheads, N. Y. Educated in the public schools he later stuilied with 
Professor Lang, of Waverly, N. Y., and in early life was a merchant and afterward a 
clerk for his father in the hotel. On the latter's death he succeeded to the business. 
He married twice, first, October 24, 1872, Susie E. Wells, of Spencer, Tioga County. 
N. Y., by whom he had two children : Maud Adelia, born August 10, 1875, and Josiali 
Rufus, born August G 1877, died August 19, 1877. Mr.s. Piatt died August 12, 1877, 
aged twenty-eight years, seven months, and sixteen days. For his second wife Mr. 



42 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Piatt married, July 31, 1879, Sarah Kate, (laughter of James ami Catherine Reddell, of 
Port Dover, Canada. They have two children: Allen Rufns, born June 23, 1882, and 
Susie Edna, born July 14, 1886. Rufus Piatt wa.« born February l;2, ISlf), and on 
February 17, 1841, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Leroy and Nancy Jones, of 
Hunter, Greene County, N. Y. She was born June 30, li23. They had three chil- 
dren : Maroia A., born April 3, 1842; Albert B., born March 12, 1844; and Jerome 
Rudolph, born July 21, 1847. He was a farmer and a hotel keeper, conducting the 
hotel now known as the Piatt House and kept by his son, Jerome R. 

Quinn, James;, born in County Tyrone, Ireland, came to the United States in 1839 
and located on Staten Island. November 23, 1844, he married Jane Quinn and soon 
thereafter moved to Providence, R. I., and thence to Keene, N. II., and afterward to 
Orange County, N. Y. In 1851 they came to Sonthport and aliout 1870 located at 
Horseheads. They have had seven children, of whom Susan, Mary, and Patrick sur- 
vive, and John, Catherine, Chrysostum, and Arthm- are deceased. Mr. (^uinn died June 
30, 1878. Patrick Quinn, born March Ci, 1801, was educated in the Deaf and Dumb 
School at Buffalo, N. Y. He resides with his mother at Horseheads. 

Rainsdell, Frederick D., onl}' son of Lyman and M.ary Ann Ramsdell, was born in 
Wyoming County, Pa., July 2, 1839, and came with his parents to Chemung County 
when six years old. In 1855 he was appointed clerk in the postoftice in Elmira under 
Pierce's administration, serving until 18G1, when he was appointed assistant postmaster, 
which position he held for six years under Postmaster D. F. Pickering. After a trip to 
California he became a book-keeper, and September 5, 1801, married Jeannie S. Miller, 
adopted daughter of Henry Kingsbury. They have two children, Mary D. (Mrs. Tyler 
Woolever), of Swartwood, and Charles F., who married Kittle Phillips, of IJreesport. 
In 1881 Mr. Ramsdell entered the employ of Joseph Rodbourn at Swartwood and came 
to Breesport in 1884. He is no\v employed by the American Ice Company of Wash- 
ington, D. C, as book-keeper. Mr. Ramsdell is a member and past master of Ivy Lodge, 
No. 397, F. and A. M., and past high priest of Elmira Chapter, No. 42, R. A. M. 

Reynolds, David D., only son of William and Jane (De Groff) Reynolds, moved with 
his parents from Dutchess County, N. Y., to Horseheads about lift}' years ago. He 
was born in Dutchess County on July 22, 1835, in early life was a merchant, and for 
some years was a luinber dealer. In company with Schuyler Reynold.s, Cieorge Ben- 
nitt, and Joseph Livesay Mr. Reynolds started about 1868 Reynolds, Bennitt h Co.s 
Bank in Horseheads. He resided in Elmira for many years, serving there as alderman 
and town supervisor. October 23, 1860, he married Ellen M., daughter of Joseph and 
Sally Livesay, of Big Flats, and they have live children: Joseph L., born October 27, 
1861; William D., born November 5, 18G2 ; Ella M., born December 22, 1863; Harry 
B., born February 19, 1865; and Kate, born January 3, 1867. All are married. Mr. 
Reynolds is a retired banker and merchant, and resides on Main street in Horseheads 
village. 

Rickey, John, great-grandfather of Mort W., was born in Connecticut, and moved to 
New Jersey, and thence to Lycoming Valley, Pa. He served in the Revolutionary war. 
His first wife was killed in the Wyoming massacre while he was fighting the Indians. 
He married, second. Alia Lowe, whose husband was killed at the same time. Mrs, 
Lowe and her five children fled to the woods, where they lived seven days on ground 
nuts. Mr. Rickey moved to this county about 1791, and located at Wellsburg (old 
Southport), where his son Mordecai, grandfather of Mort W., was born June 11, 1793. 
The family nu)ved thence to the town of Elmira (now Horsehead.s) in 1797. ifordecai 
married Harriet Gobell, and participated in the War of 1812. Wilson, the father of 
Mort -W., was born April 12, 1833, and January 27, 1863, he married Martha, daughter 
of John R. and Jane E. Brown. They have one son, Mort W., born November 1, 
1872, who is a farmer of the fourth generation on the homestead farm. 

Rockwell, Abram B., was born of English parentage in the town of Big Flats (then 
Elmira), January 10, 1819. His grandfather, Jonathan, and two brothers emigrated 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 43 

from England at an early day. Jonathan was bound out to labor at Newburgh, Orange 
County, N. V., to pay his passage. He afteiwaid settled at Warwiek on a farm. One 
brollier .settled in Pennsylvania and the other in New YoiU, where he became a 
wealthy jeweler. Jonathan and Phebe Uoclcvvell were the parents of si.x children : 
William. Jonathan, Benjaiiun, Esther, Hannah, and Sally. Esther married Abrain Vail, 
a prominent citizen of Orange County and a general in the Uevolutionary war. They 
were the grandparents of Mrs. Aliram Koc-kwell. llannali married a Mr. Hopper and 
removed to the West. Sally married John BennitI, brother of the late Comfort ]{en- 
nitt. of Chenuing County. William llockwell, father of Abram B., was born Septem- 
ber Hi, 1~8L -Vt the age of ten he removed with his parents to Sing Sing in the town 
of Big Flats. The journey from Orange County was made with an o.\-team and occu- 
pied some five weeks. November S, 1801, he married Ann Kelsey, who died Decem- 
ber 19, 1806, leaving one daughter, Anna, who married a Mr. Scholield and moved to 
Ohio. The .second wife of Mr. Rockwell was Nancy Bennitt, a sister of John aiid 
Comfort Bennitt, w'hom he married February 15, 1807. She was born August 26, 1791. 
In 1822 he purchased the farm where he resided until his death. May '14, 1863. The 
children of William and Nancy Rockwell were: Daniel B., Irorn January G, 1809; 
Esther V., born October 26, 1811. died aged seventeen years; Asa M., who died in in- 
fancy ; Silas B., born Juue 28, 1815 ; Mary B., born October 28, 1817 ; Aliram B., born 
January 10, 1819; Jonathan B., born March 7, 1821; Ezra M., born March 26, 1823 
Andrew J., who died in infancy ; Charles D., born August 26, 1827 ; Isaac O., born 
August 17,1829; Philiuda R., born February 5,1832; and John D., born August 27, 
1834. Abram B. remained with his father until twenty-eight years of age, when he 
purchased a farm and began business for hiin.self. lie mairied Mary V., daughter of 
Ira and Hannah (Vail) Hawkins, of Chester, Orange County, X. Y., on January 2, 
1849. Slie was horn March 29, 1824. Their children were : Nancy, who married Moi- 
ris I). Bennitt, December II, 1872, and who.se children were jMarv L. (iiorn December 
27, 1874), Willard M. (born March 2, 1877), Linnie F. (Ijorn March 12, 1879), and 
Floyd S. (born Octolier 18, 1887); Hannah, who married Willis B. Sayre, jr., September 
30, 1835; Linnie, who married Albert B. Fitch, January 21, 1877; and Addie, who 
married John I. Howell, of Goshen, Orange County, N. Y., December 13, 1888, and 
their children were Ira Abram (born September 28, 1889) and Mary R. (born October 
14, 1890). Abram B. Rockwell was signally successful as a farmer, accunndating prop- 
erty by his rare tact and industry, owning at the time of his death a large and valuable 
farm between Ehnira and Ilor.seheads. He held .some of the offices of this town and 
was .scrupulous in the discharge of every duty. He preferred his farm and home life to 
political office, and was a kind husband, a loving father, and a friend of true and noble 
qualities. 

Rockwell, Fletcher H., a farmer, was born in Horseheads. April 5, 1840, and July 22, 
1802, enlisted in Company C, Fifth Heavy New York Volunteer Artillery, and par- 
ticipated in numerous engagements. He was discharged as duty sergeant June 22, 1865, 
at Harper's Ferry, and paid oil' at New York city in July, 1865. He married Frank, 
daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth Schofield, of Horseheads, and their children are: 
Mina C, born January 10, 1868. married Bert W. Hathaway, of Horseheads; Lena 
Purl, born August 28, 1876; and Harry Fletcher, born November 17, 1882. Mr. Rock- 
well resides on Main street in Horseheads. 

Rockwell, Daniel, of Scotch descent, was born in Big Flats, January 10, 1809. He 
was a farmer, and was married twice, first, to Mary Breese, of Horseheads. by whom 
he had eight children; William L., Celestia D., Andrew J., Edmund S.. Henry F., 
Miles C, Mary F., and Ella O. His .second wife was Frances A. Coleman, of Orange 
Co\mty, N. Y. Mr. Rockwell died about 1824. Ednnmd S. Rockwell, born May 8, 
1838, near Horseheads, was reared on a farm. When twenty years old he learned the 
trade of a blacksmith, m wdiich he is now engaged. January 2, 1861, he married Han- 
nah A. Baker, of Erin, and they had children as follows: Miles, born April 19, 1865, 



44 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

died aged fifteen ; Frances G., born October 20, 1S62 ; Bernice J., born October H. 1868 ; 
Erama S., born May 5, 1873 ; Minerva M., born November 20, 1878 ; and Lena R.. born 
March 6, 1881. William Rockwell, grandfather of Edmund S., was born in New 
Jersey, September IG, 1781, and died May '24, 1863. 

Rockwell, William L., eldest son of Daniel and Mary Rockwell, was born in Horse- 
heads in 1831, and married Miami, daughter of Rev. Jacoli and Catherine Allingtan, of 
Van Etten. They had two children, George W. and a daughter who died in infancy. 
William Rockwell died in 18G0, in Rockton, Winnebago County, III. The mother of 
George W. Rockwell married, second, Noali D. Hammond, and they have one son. 
Chandler A., born December 11, 1867, in Horseheads. George W. Rockwell was born 
in Van Ettenville, April 22, 1855, was educated in the common schools of Horseheads. 
and is now one of that town's enterprising hardware merchants. He married, January 
31, 1883, Minnie, only daughter of John and Emma Van Wert, of Bradford County, 
Pa. They have one daughter, Blanche, born March 30, 1888. 

Rodbourn, Joseph, born in County Berkshire, England, July 19, 1821, came with 
liis parents to the United States when eight years of age. He attended the New Wind- 
sor private school in Orange County for three years. In 1837 his parents moved to 
Elmira, where he was a clerk for John Arnol, sr. In 1842 he engaged in business for 
himself, and in 1847 he built a steam saw-mill at the headwaters of Latta Brook. He 
began his pre.sent business in Breesport in 1858. For eighteen years from 1858 he was 
superintendent of the poor. He Iniilt the hotel in Breesport that was burned in 1887. 
Mr. Rodbourn has a large lumber yard and general store at Swartwood, and others in 
various places on the line of the Elmira, Cortland, and Northern Railway, of which he, 
in company with Ezra Cornell, of Ithaca, and William L. Burt, of Boston, was largely 
instrumental in building. He also does a large business in Rodbourn, Ky., under the 
firm name of the Hixson & Rodbourn Lumber Co. He ownes with his brother James, 
of Erin, 25,000 acres of timberland there. Mr. Rodbourn was the oldest son of Charles 
Rodbourn, who married Ann Sadler, by whom he had two other sons, Ezra, general 
superintendent of the steam saw and grist-mill at Breesport, and James, who is in part- 
nership with his brother Joseph and also has large business interests of his own at Erin. 
Roe Family. The. — The name of Roe is of Norse origin. Members of this family 
were among the invaders of England under William tlie Conqueror. The first of the 
name who came to the L'nited States was John Roe in about 1630. They have been 
.soldiers in most of the important wars for 000 years and two are known to have en- 
gaged in the French and Indian wars, and in the war of the Revolution and the War 
of 1812 they were conspicuous. Jefferson Roe, born February 0, 1804, in Orange 
County, N. Y., married, February 16, 1826, Mary, daughter of Theodore and Elizabeth 
Valeaii, who was born September 30, 1808, at Ithaca, Tompkins County, N. Y. Her 
father was born August 27. 17S6, and his wife in Apr, I, 1 786. They were married March 
8, 1806. The surviving cliildren of Jefferson and Mary Roe are Charles F., Mary E.. 
Augusta v., and Minnie. Capt. Charles Roe was born in Newburgh, Orange County. 
March 17, 1830, and January 16, 1851, he married Lydia F., only daughter of Obediah 
S. and Mary C. Ruinsey, of Washmgtonville, Orange County. They have three chil- 
dren, viz.: Ella S., born April 28, 1853, married Isaac B. Crane, of Newark, N. J.; Jef- 
ferson, born December 29, 1854, married Anne E. Van Houtin, also of Newark; and 
Charles F., born October 3, 1856. In April, 1861, Charles F. Roe enlisted in the 
Ninth Hawkins Zouaves New York Volunteers as corporal, and was dischargeil May 20. 
1863. The same year he enlisted in Company G, Thirteenth New York Cavalry Vol- 
unteers, as first lieutenant and on the llth of August, 1863, was transferred to the 
Third Colored Troops. In April, 1864, he was made chief of scouts with full authority. 
July 28, 1866, he was made second lieutenant in the Twenty-si.xth Infantry of tlie 
regular army and April 24, 1868, was promoted captain. June 10, 1868, he was pro- 
moted first lieutenant and December 15, 1870, was assigned to the Eleventh Infantry. 
July 15, 1887, Captain Roe was examined by the retiring board and has since been 
placed on the retired list. He resides on Sayre street in Horseheads. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 45 

Rose, David, was born July 2, 1757, and during the War of 1812 was in the employ 
of the government, furnishing a gunlioat for the protection of New York harbor. After 
the close of the contest he bought this boat, remodeled it, and used it for many years. 
He had three sons in the American army. Samuel Rose, born near West Point, Orange 
County, Novemlier 25, 1792, niarrieii three time.s. first, Betsey Swim, by whom he had 
six children. He married, second, Catherine Thompson, by whom he had eight children, 
three of whom are living, viz.: William J., Smith T., and Tyler A. William J. Rose 
was born in Orange County, town of Cornwell, November 12, 1835, and is a carriage- 
maker by trade. He married, February 5, 1862, Ann il. Gunn, of Elmira, who was 
born at Marblehead, Mass. They have Ave children: George VV., born June 1, 1864; 
Willis J., born November 4, 1865; Jesse S., born October 4, 1870; Lillie B., born Au- 
gust 16, 1872 ; and Clara K., born April 20, 18&5. 

Ryant, Homer, with his family, consisting of a wife and two children, settled in 
Horseheads about 1840, and was closely identified with the progress and business in- 
terests, being engaged in mercantile and in other liusines.s. He was born in Salisbury, 
Conn., in 1809, and died at Horsehea<ls in 1857. His son Chester W., a man of more 
than ordinary ability and business capacity, was born in 1834 and died November 18, 
1870. He was one of the most progressive business men Horseheads possessed, being 
engaged extensively in business pursuits and the growth of the place, prominent among 
which were mercliant, tanner, and builder. He was also a real estate owner. In poli- 
tics he was a stauncli Democrat and exerted much influence in the councils of his party. 
He was one of the first comiiu.ssioners of the Elmira, Cortland, and Northern Railroad. 
In 1856 Mr. Ryant married Mi.ss E. Fitzwarren Pease, of Hartford, Conn., a descendant 
of John Pease, sr., of Enfield, Conn. She can trace her lineage to the year 900. Since 
the death of her husband Mrs. Ryant has continued to reside in Horseheads. A son 
and a daughter were born to them. The former, Homer P., born in 1858, received an 
acadehiic education and graduated with high lionors. He chose the profession of civil 
engineering, which he followed until his early death at the age of twenty-nine years. 
The daughter, Isabel R., born in 18C2, was educated at the Union School and the Young 
Ladies' Seminary at Mt. Morris. May IG, 1888, she married Prof. Arthur Pierce 
Nichols, of Horseheads, who was born in Owego, N. Y., December 18, 1858. Profes- 
sor Nichols is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Normal School and the Toronto College 
in Canada, and immediately aftor his graduation began teaching. He has been princi- 
pal of union .schools and academies, and in 1884 was elected school comniis.sioner of 
Chemung County, holding the office for three years. In 1888 he took the principalship 
of a large grammar school at Bristol, Conn., until failing health caused him to resign. 

•Sayre Family, The. — Two brothers by the name of Seely became contractors for the 
government to furnish supplies to the army in the war of 1776. Through the deprecia- 
tion of Continental money they lost all their property together with (he sureties which 
belonged to their three brothers-in-law, James, Ebenezer. and John Saj-re. The Seely 
brothers again began working at their home in Orange County, and when they had 
sufficient money to pay three shillings per acre for land they purcha.sed about 800 acres 
in Chemung County where the village of Horseheads now stands. This land was given 
to the Sayre brothers as part payment in compensation for the loss they had sustained in 
1792. The .Sayre brothers, in company with their brother-in-law, Jonathan Conkliu, 
and their ageil mother came to the Cliemung Valley and took possession of this property, 
.lames, the father of James, Jona.s. and Mathew. settled where the Hon. Jonas Van Duzer 
now resides. Three acres were cleared. It had the appearance of a former site of an In- 
dian village. Tlieir family etleots were brought u]i the river from Wilkesbarre, Pa., in dur- 
ham boats. James and Ebenezer h.id been soldiers in the Revolutionary war. John 
.sold his portion of land to John 15ree.se and moved to Seneca County. At this time 
there was quite a numtier of Indians here who had not complied with the treaty. The 
small-pox broke out among them, which proved fatal in most cases. James and his son 
Jnnips buried great number-; nf ibetn. For two years following their settlement the 



46 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

crops failed. Wild plums were their only fruit. Mathew Sayre married Fannie Ben- 
nitt, and their children were Willis B.. Elouisa O., Julia, James, and Frances Ellen. 
Willis B. in IS-tO married Annis II. Fitch; their children are Elouisa B.. Luie M., Wil- 
lis B., George M., Jonas S., Fannie May, and Edward M. Luie married F. II. Wheeler; 
they have two daughters, Annah, and Fannie. Willis B. married Hainiah Kockwell. 
George M. married .Sadie Holden ; they have two children, Holden and Grace. Fannie 
ilay married Nelson Wells; they have two children, Sayre and Mary. 

Sayre, George M., the second son of Willis B., was born June 4, 1852, and received 
an academic education. He is a commercial traveler. February 17, 1885, he married 
Sarah J., adopted daughter of Hon. Charles C. P. and Sarah J. Holden, of Chicago, HI., 
and they have three childien, of whom Isabel R. died in iufanuy and two survive, viz.: 
Holden^ born October 26, IS86, and M. Grace, born Octolier G, 18SU. James, sr., grand- 
father of Willis B., sr., was a native of Orange County, N. Y., and married Mercy See- 
ley. They came to Horseheads in 1 792. Their children were Jame.s, jr., Susan, Sarah, 
Elizabeth, MyriUa, Julia, Jonas, and Mathew. The latter, the father of Willis B., was 
born in Orange County, and January 15, 1817, he married Fanny, daughter of Piatt 
and Martha Bennitt. Their five children were Willis B., Julia M., Elouisa C, James 
M., and Frances B. Juha M. and James M. are deceased. Willis B., sr., born Octo- 
ber 2, 1817, in Horseheads (then Elmira), acquired his education in the district schools 
and in the Lima Seminary. January 11, 1843, he married Annis H., daughter of Ezra 
and Lucina Fitcli, of Chenango County, N. Y., and they have seven children, viz.: 
Elouisa B., born in October, 1843 ; Luie M., born June 17, 1845 ; married F. H. Wheeler, 
of Rutland, Vt.; Willis B., jr., born March 29, 1850, married Hannah Rockwell, of 
Horseheads; George M.; Jonas S., born September 8, 185.J ; Fanny M., born in Novem- 
ber, 1859, married Nelson A. Welles, of Wyalusing, Bradford County, Pa.; and Edward 
M., born August 1, 1862. 

Sayre, Samuel S., a farmer, was l)0rn in Horseheads. December 31, 1831, and De- 
cember 25, 1862, he married Malissa C, daughter of Abijah and Henrietta Fisk, of 
Veteran, by wliom he has had two sons, William F., born September 8, 1865, and 
Charles, born November 20, 1870, died October IG, 1881. Mr. Sayre's father died 
April 14, 1842, and his mother July 1, 1877. Hector Sayre, born in Orange County, 
N. Y., February 25, 1878, married, November 13, 1823, Sallie, daughter of Samuel and 
Eunice Strong, of Southport. They had seven children, Sylvina, Harriet, Charles, Eliz- 
abeth, Samuel S., Ebenezer, and Mary. 

Schaple, Emil, born in April, 1855, near Berlin, Germany, came with his parents to 
Elmua, N. Y., in 1856, and January 9, 1870, he married Mary, daughter of Daniel and 
Elizabeth Gardner, of Southport. They have three children living, viz.: Lizzie, born 
September 9, 1881 ; Laura, born October 11, 1884; and Emma, born August 15, 188G. 
The family located west of Breesport in 1888. Mr. Schaple is an extensive brick man- 
ufacturer. 

Shappe, E. Bartlett, born November 19, 1883, has always been a farmer. December 7, 
1858, he married Mary, daughter of Isaac and Ardsee Tbomp.«on, of Veteran, who bore 
him three children, viz.: Luie E., born September 10, 1859 ; Lamotte, born August 25, 
1861; and David B., born July 17, 1863, married Louise Stephens, of Ithaca, N. Y. 
He has resided on the homestead nearly all his life. The Shappe family is of French 
extraction. Ashkenay, grandfather of E. Bartlett, was a Virginia rifleman in the Rev- 
olutionary war. He came from Orange County to EIraira soon after the Sullivan cam- 
paign, and married Mary Cooley. When the treaty was made with the Indians at El- 
mir^ Red Jacket, the Indian chief, stopped at their house for a meal. David P. 
Shappe, father of E. Bartlett, was born in Elmira, September 5, 1792. November 18, 
1816, he married Jemima Lounsbury, of Horseheads (then Elmira). He was a soldier 
in the War of 1812. They had seven children: James, Mary, William, Rebecca, Sarah, 
Elizabeth, and E. Bartlett. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 47 

Shappee, George P., born June 18, 1820, at Elmira, N. V., has worked at the tiade 
of liarnessraakiiifr since he was twenty years of ase. October 6, 1842, lie married Mary 
M.. daughter of Benjamin F. and Dolly B. Saunders, of Pennsylvania, and they have 
had nine children, four of whom are deceased and five survive, namely : Oscar B., born 
August 5. 1843 ; George, horn August 25, 1845 : Mary F., born June 4, 1847 ; Clarissa 
D., born September 3, 1840: and Guy M., born May 7, 1H52. His father, Jesse, born 
at Geneva, Ontario County, N. Y., married Clarissa, daughter of Brenton Payne, of 
Geneva. George Shappee was the youngest of four brothers. His grandfather, 
Ashkenop, came from France at an early day, and located at Geneva, N. Y. 

Shepard, William A., was born in Reading, Steuben County (now Schuyler County), 
N. v., July 28. 182S. After the death of his father in 1832 he moved with his mother 
to New Jersey, and October 26, 1850, he married Elizabeth Bingham, of Stillwater, 
Sussex County, and removed thence to Orange County, N. Y. They have had five chil- 
dren, of whom three are deeea.sed. One son wont West and has not since been heard 
from. Eliza married Simon P. Webb, of Tompkins Count}', N. Y. Mr. Shepard en- 
listed December 22, 1863, in Company B. Twenty-sixth United States Colored Troops, 
and was discharged September 1, 1865. He is a member of Baldwin Post, No. 6, G. A. 
R., of Elmira. 

Shoemaker, John C, born in Veteran, February 29, 1836, is a carpenter and builder. 
The family is of English and Scotch descent. October 20. 1858, John C. married Fannie, 
oldest daughter of Oiimel and Fannie R. Dean, of Veteran, and they have had one 
daughter, Ida B., born January 16. 1860, who married William Caywood, of New 
Jersey, and has had three children, viz.: Clara V., born January 30, 1884; Fannie E., 
born March 26, 1886; and Mary L., born September 30, 1887. Mrs. Caywood died 
November 9, 1889. Mr. Shoemaker's father, James, was born in Van Etten in 1800, 
and in 1827 he married Agnes McKay, of Delaware County, N. Y. They had nine 
children : James M., Alexander M., John C, William A., Peter F., Frederick B., Hec- 
tor M., Elizabeth J., and Anna M. 

Shoots Family. The. — The Shoots family is of Dutch origin. .John Shoots was born 
in the Mohawk Valley in 1800. He married, about 1830, Elizabeth Winegar, who was 
born in 1810. Their seven children were William, Jay, John, James D., Angeline, 
Charlotte, and Benjamin. James D. ShooUs, a weaver bv occupation, was born June 22. 
1835. in Pike, Wyoming County, N. Y., and came to Tlor.oeheads as superintendent of 
Tliorne, Andrus & Barbour's woolen factory. He married, .March 4, 1801, Charlotte 
Parker, of Hume, Allegany County. They have three chililren living, viz.: Nina B., 
born March 12, 1864; Jay W., born September 7, 1866; and James D., born March 22, 
1879. Xfr. Shoots has followed job printing for fifteen years. 

Smith, Phillip, the father of George W., born February 20, 1798, came with his 
father from FLshkill, Dutchess County, N. Y., when eighteen years of age, and soon 
after removed to Chemung County, locating near West Junction in the town of Horse- 
heads. In 1819 he married Ann E. Gardnei-, of Orange County, and they had thirteen 
children, as follows : Mary, Catherine, IDIeauor, Martha, Michael, Samuel, Margaret, 
Hannah G., Town.send C, George W.; Phillip J. and Ann E. (twin.s), and Helen R. 
George W. Smith, born February 24, 1838, married, November 22, 1860. Sophia Mc- 
Millan, of Erin. They have six .sons and an adojited daughter, viz.: Albert, born No- 
vember 23, 1862; George K., born March 21, 1865; Richard E., born April 5, 1867 
Edward H., born July 6, 1809; Frank C, born August 26, 1871 ; Phillip, born October 
8, 1874; and Myra S", born March 11, 1S8S. Albert died October 7, 1865. Mr. Smith 
owns and resides on the farm on which he was born. 

Smith, Zelotus G., is a son of John L., who was born July 30, 1828, and a grandson 
of Samuel C, who was born March 22, 1802, and is now living. John L. Smith was 
married twice, first, to Esther M., a daughter of Elder Zelotus Grennell, who was born 
February 9, 1833. They had five children : Martha, Zelotus G., Irene M., Edwin L., 



48 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and Samuel C. Zelotus G., born September 18, 1855, received a common school edu- 
cation and is a farmer. Ilis father's second wife was Sarah P., daughter of Jeffrey 
Bartley, one of Horsehead's first inhabitants. Mr. Smith came to Horseheads when 
about five years of age from Orange County. N. Y. Jan\iary 7, 1885, he married Mary 
E., daugliter of Daniel S. and Eliza O. Slcpfield, of Horseheads, and they have three 
children : Fred S., born November 1, 188G; Bessie E., born July 20, 1888 ; and Walter 
Tracy, born February 12, 1891, His great-grandfather was Deacon Joseph Smith, who 
was born May 19, 1776. 

Stratton, David, was the son of William and Alice Stratton, who came from Glaston- 
bury, Conn., and located near Ithaca, Tompkins County, N. Y. David was born there, 
and on January 21, 1SG4, he married Luerelia Hollister, daughter of Halsey and Sarah 
Buck, by whom he had two sons : William B.. born February 16, 18C5, and Ro.';coe W., 
born November 11, 1870. William B. is a graduate of Cornell University and is now 
an architect in Detroit, Mich. Eoscoe W., upon the death of his father, December 'I'.i, 
1887, took charge of the farm. Mrs. Stratton is a descendant of Thomas Hollister, a 
lieutenant in the Revolutionary war. 

Stratton, Edward A., born in Thomp.son city, Sullivan County, X. Y., September 27, 
1837, attended the public schools and is a contractor and builder. He came to Che- 
mung County in 1857 and entered the employ of James S. Locke as foreman in his 
sash and l)liud factory, and was also a partner in boat building. He married, July 2, 
1862, Sarah S., daughter of James S. and Emeline (Bronson) Locke. She was born in 
Canada on April 26, 1814. They have had three children : Charles L.. born May 2, 
1866, died January 28, 18,8; Willie B., born August 28, 1870, died January 17, 1878; 
and Fannie, born July 22, 1874, died January 12, 1878. Mr. and Mrs. Stratton have 
lived in Horseheads eighteen years. His father, Alby, was born in Catlin, Chemung 
County. The family came from Connecticut and were of Englisii descent. When 
Alby was ten years of age he went to live with his uncle. Uriah, in Sullivan County, in 
which place he married Mary J. Howse. They had seven children: Albert E., Cyrus 
J., Edward A., Mary M., George D., Milton A., and Lucmda A. 

Stryker, George S., born May 23, 1825, in Southport, N. Y., was reared on a farm 
and learned the blacksmith and carriagemaker's trade. He married twice, first, 
March 15, 1848, Abigail Little, of Southport, by whom he had one daughter, Libbie T., 
born February 1, 1849. who married Henry Miner, of Southport, November 23, 1854. 
For his second wife Mr. Stryker married Emma J. Ayre.«, of Southport, and they had 
two children, A. Delia, who married Jacob S. Burrett, oE Horseheads, and <lied Octo- 
ber 11, 1885, and Kate J., born April 2D, 1860, who lives with her parents. Mr. Stryk- 
er's father, Abraham, was born at Southport, April 13, 1799, and married Rachel Giles, 
by whom he had nine children, viz.: Seth, who died aged twenty : Cordelia, who mar- 
ried George Gardner; David R., who married Susan Kelly; Samuel C, who married 
Jane Bovier; ilargaret, who married John S. Baker; Nancy, who married Ellison A. 
Ayres; Barnett J., who married Esther Reynolds; and William E., who married Ellen 
Impson. George S. Stryker has resided in Horseheads for twenty-one years. 

Thorne, Charles E., was born August 22, 1839, in West Town, Orange Count}', 
N. Y. His father, Samuel, a grain dealer, married Julia A. Miller, and moved from 
West Town to Veteran, Chemung County, when Charles E. was less than one year old. 
They had six children: Charles E., Sarah A., ^Mary C, John M., Orm S., and Eliza- 
beth. In 1855 they cjime to Hor.seheads. Charles E. Thorne was educated in the 
public schools and in the State Normal School at Albany, and was a teacher two 
terms. August 22, 1862. he enlisted in Company E, Forty-fourth New York Infantry 
Volunteer.s, and was in the battle of Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864. He was wounded in 
the head with a piece of shell. On June 13th he was taken from the hospital at 
White House Landing to the General Ho.spital at York, Pa., and was discharged from 
the service May 14, 18C5. He has been postmaster here for ten and one-half years. 
November 9, 1870, he married Amanda, daughter of David and Elizabeth Baker, of 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 40 

Coniinj;, Steuben County, wlio was born January 'Jl, 184'J. She was a graduate of the 
State Normal School of Albany. They have two children, Alice born October 14, 
187"2. and Fred A., born April "23, 1^74. ifr. Thome's healtli is much impaired by 
wounds and exposure in the army, and conse(inently lie is obliged to do light work. 
Mr. and Mrs. Thorne are members of the Baptist Church of Horseheads. Her grand- 
father was a soldier in the Revoiiitionarj' war. 

Tunis, William J. H., born March 27, 1846. at Allay, Schuyler County, ,V. Y., is the 
only sou of Daniel and Mary A. Tunis. Daniel Tunis was born in Morristown, N. J., 
and his wife in Connecticut. They were married at Altay, Schuyler County. William 
J. II. enlisted June 'I'A. 18(i2, in Company A, One Iluiulied and Seventh New York In- 
fantry Volunteer.'!, ami was discharged May 1, 18G3, from Anlietam Hospital for disa- 
bility. Augusts, 1854, he re-enlisted in Company L, New York Heavy Artillery Vol- 
unteers, and was discharged July 6, 18()5, b\' general order. November 23, 18(10, he 
again enlisted in the Fifteenth United States Infantry, served three years, and was 
honorably di.scliargeil at Fort Cummins, N. M., January 1, 1871. Mr. Tunis married 
Hannah A. Casterline, of Newlield, Tompkins County. N. Y., and they have two chil- 
dren : Jay II., born March 18, 1872, and Carrie M. S. H., born June 20, 1874. Mr. 
Tunis Wiis appointed keeper in the Elmira Reformatory, where he served nine months, 
and May 9, 18S8, he was appointed keeper at Auburn State I^rison. He is a member 
of the Ma-souic Lodge No. 775 of Van Ettenville, of liaklwin Post, No. 6, G. A. R., of 
Elmira. and of Steamer No. 1 of the fire department of Horseheads. 

Tut tie, William, came from Wales in 1(534 and located in New Haven, Conn., upon 
the land he afle ward sold to the trustees of Vale College and upon which they erected 
the college buildings. William A. Tuttle, born in Greene County, N. Y., came at an 
early day to Big Flats. He was a general merchant and his son was for many years in 
the same busine.«s. November S, 18GG, William E., sr., married I'Vances M., daughter 
of David and Sarah (Reynolds) I'.onham, of Elmira, and they have had five children, of 
whoiu one is deceased and four survive, viz.: Fannie B., born June 17, 18()8; William 
E., jr.. born December KJ, 1870; Isabel R., born August 2G, 1872; and Arthur, born 
July 28, 1874. William E., jr., is a graduate of Elmira Academy. He attended Cornell 
University two years and is now superinten<lent of his father's lumber yard. 

Updike, Alvah N., was born in .Missis, Tompkins County, N. Y., June 30, 1839, the 
fifth son of Abraham and Lorinda Updike. The family date back to the year 1G34 and 
is of Engli.sh and Dutch descent. Alvah N. was reared upon a farm, and September 29, 
1862, he enlisteil in Coin))any E, Sixty-fourth New York Infantry \'olunteers, and was 
discharged for di.'-abilily March 21, 18G3, from the Continental Hospital at Baltimore, 
Md. September 28, 187(i, he married Nettie, daughter of Henry and Jane Scofield. of 
Urbana, Stebuen County, N. Y. Their four chililren are Bertha J., born July 3, 1871, 
who married William J. Shoots, a mechanic in Elmira; Mit.ta E., born in Dundee, 
Yates County, February 8, 1876; Satie. born in Dundee, Yates County, Februarys, 
1879; and (Jlive M., born September 10, 1882. Mr. Updike owns a livery on Main 
street in the village of Horseheads. 

Van Duzen Family, The. — The ancestors of this family came from Holland to the 
United States and first located in Dutchess County. N. Y., later removing to Che- 
nango County, N. Y. Nathan Van Duzen, born June G, 1815, settled in Horseheads 
about bS'io and was one of the first in that place who joined the order of Masons. He 
was for many years a hotel-keeper there. He married twice, first, June 1, 1837, Louise 
Kellog. by whom he had three children, viz.: Frank, George S.. and Louisa. George S. 
died July 22, 18(i2. February 13, 1878, Mr. Van Dusen married, second, Malissa, daugh- 
ter of Adam and Emily ililea, of Millport. He died September 8, 188G. 

Van Duzer Family, The. — The Van Duzer family is of Dutch descent. Willian Van 
Duzer, grandfather of Jonas S., came from Orange County, N. Y., to Chemung County 
about sixty-seven years ago, and located with his family in the town of Veteran. Will- 



50 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

iam Henry, one of liis sons and father of Jonas S., was born in Oranqre County, Febru- 
ary 16, 1821. In January, 1844, he married Snsan K. Sayre, of Horselieads. and six 
children were born to them, namely : Jonas : .hilia E., who married Kev. Jiidson Tits- 
worth, of Milwaukee, Wis.; Catherine S., who married Dr. 1{. 1). Eastman, of BeiUshiie, 
N. y,: Selah, wlio married Eiimia Beiniett, who died in ISbi); W'ilham. wlio marrird 
Estelle Uicl<oclc ; and Iiewis S., who married Louisa Averill,of Elmira. Hon. Jonas S. 
Van Duzer, born at Ilorseheads, December 2, 1S4G, fitted for college ai Alfred Univer- 
sity, lie attended Amherst College, class of 1870, but left there in 18()7 to accept a po- 
sition in a wholesale drug store in New York city. He m.-iixied, March 2, 1809, J. 
Amanda Koge s, of Plainlield, N. J., and they have one adopted daughter, Julia. In 
1872 he was elected school commissioner, which position he held for three years, and 
in 1883 he was elected member of A.ssendily and was re-elected in 1884. Mr. Van 
Duzer is an uncompromising Republican aiul received the appoinlmtnl of postmastei- in 
December, 1889. lie resides near the village. 

Van Gorden, Jolin M., born May 11, 1853, at Breesport, has always been in the mei- 
cantile busine.ss. June 26, 1889, he married Urania Chamberlain, of Dutchcs.s County. 
His father, Jereunah, was born in Cayuta (now Van Etten), December 28, 1811, and 
married twice, first, Eliza Weed, b}' whom he had two children, Martha and George \\'. 
For his second wife he married Pamelia Harding, of Breesport, and they had three chil- 
dren, viz.: Jonathan, who died in infanc}', and two, John M. and James S., who survive. 

Waters, Levi, jr., born in Westchester County, N. Y., Decendjer 1, 1842, has been a 
farmer the greater part of his life. He enlisted in Company I, Fifty-sixth New Y'oik 
Infantry Vohinteers. and re-enlisted in the s.ime company and regiment, servuiguntil the 
close of the war. He was promoted corporal, sergeant, and first lieutenant. Mr. Waters 
married twice, first, August 20, 18.o9, Mary Ann Collins, of Sullivan County, by whom 
he had one son, Milton W., born September .30, 18G0. Mrs. Waters died in 1804 while 
her hu-baud was in the army. July 4, 1807, Mr. "Waters married, second, Emma, 
youngest daughter of Jacob and Frances Romer, of Mountain Dale. Sullivan County, 
N. Y. They'have had five children: Flora, born Marcli 10, 18G9, died May 7, 1877; 
Elda, born August 12, 1881, died March 20,1884; Charles A., born March 27,1808: 
Anna, born July 14, 187.3; and George S.. born May 7, 1887. Mr. Waters has resided 
ill Chemung County twenty-one years. His father, Levi, born in England, came with 
his father to America when he was twelve years old, and located in Westchester 
County, N. Y. About 1834 he married Mary Sager, and they had eight children, viz.: 
Sarah, Catlierine, Levi, jr., Joseph, Thomas, Elizabeth, Ambrose, and Eli. 

Zimmerman, Eugene, the well known caricaturist, w'as born in Basil, Switzerland. 
May 25, 1802. His father, a native of Alsace, France, conducted a bakery in the little 
town of Mulhause in that province, whence he moved to Switzerland, wiiere Eugene 
■was born. His other children were Adolph and Amelia. When Eugene was two years 
■old his mother died and he was placed in the care of an uncle and aunt in Tliann, 
Alsace. The fatlier came to America with his son Adolph just before the Franco- 
Prussian war, and Eugene was brought here when seven years of age by a friend of 
the family. His father located at Paterson, N. J., where Eugene pursued his education 
in the Paterson Free School. At the age of twelve the boy was bound out to a farmer, 
working summers and attending school winters. But two years afterward lie returned 
to the city and entered the employ of a baker, later, however, entering the insurance 
and real estate office of E. M. Weiss. Possessing an aptitude and decided inclination for 
drawing and caricaturing he engaged in 1870 w-ith the sign painter Bra.ssinglon, who 
taught him sign writing in all its branches. In 1876 bolli the painter and young Zim- 
merman removed to Elmira, N. Y., where after four years the latter entered the employ 
of a manufacturer of advertising signs. It was at this time that some of his colored 
caricatures came to the notice of Keppler, one of the publishers of Puck, and soon 
afterward Mr. Zimmerman was made one of the staff of that paper. Here he worked 
assiduously for tliree and one-half years, contributing to Pucl; many of the famous 



PERSONAL REFERENCES\ 51 

political colored caricatures daring the Cleveland-Blaine camiiaign, besides niukini,'^ 
numerous small sketches of a humorous nature. In 1.S8C, the Judtje havin}; changed 
owners and publishers, Mr. Zimmerman was oll'ered a leading position on the stafl" ot 
that paper, which he accepted, and wliere he is stdl pursuing his cherished vocation. 
Associated with him in the olliceof Judge is Mr. Gillam, ihe famous cartoonist. Besides 
his regular duties Mr. Zimmerman has contributed sUelclies to numerous periodirals in 
the United States, notably among which are Scrilmer's and Lijipincoll'x Magazinen. Once 
It Week. Light of Chicago, Franii Leslie's Week-hj. and tlie New York Dramatic Mirror, 
liesides doing cousideralile work for Edgar \V. Nye (Bill Nye). In September, 1880, 
Mr. Zimmerman married Mabe! Beard, of llor.seheads. this county, and two years later 
a daughter was born to them and slill later an orphan nephew was adopted into the 
family. Mr. Zimmerman makes Hor.>;eheads iiis permanent residence, going to New 
York city occasionally to look after liis business interests. 

SOUTH POUT. 

Barlow, William, was horn in New Jersey, served in the War of the lievolution, and 
camo to Ulys.<es. Tompkins County, when about eiglitj'- live years of age, at which place 
his wife Samantha died at the age of ninety-four. Their children were Samuel, Fred- 
erick, David, William, Milieu, Minor, John, Eliza, and Samantha. Millen Barlow was born 
in New Jersey and died at Roseville. Tioga County, Pa., age<l seventy-one years. He 
was a carpenter and joiner. He married Betsey E., daughter of Abramand (Harring- 
ton) Updyke, and their children were John, George. Charles, William. Catharine, Sam- 
uel, Eliza, Cynthia, and Oliver. The latter was born in Knfield, Tompkins County, N. Y., 
November 17. 18.'5.i, and married, January 2, 1855, Laura, daughter of Jacob and Sally 
Benson, by whom he had two children, Ilowanl and Annie. He married, second, 
Charlotte, daughter of Granville and Catharine Jones, and their children are Alfred, 
Willie, and John. Mr. Barlow is the proprietor of th.e Pine City Hotel on the plank 
road in Southport. William Barlow and his son John both .'served in the War of 1812. 

Beckwith, Capt. Daniel G., the oldest son of the late Col. Robert and Julia Beckwith, 
was born on .the farm he now owns March 20, 18-l.'i. His education was acquired at the 
Young >ren's Seminary of Elmira, and in April, ISGI, he enlisted as a private in Com- 
pany K, Twenty-lliird New York Infantry Yolunteers, Col. H. C. HolVman command- 
ing. They left Elmira for the front August 29, 1802. Mr. Beckwith was wounded and 
taken prisoner in the second battle of Bull Run, and was released and joined his regi- 
ment November 2, 18112. In the second day's fight at Fredericksburg, Va., he was 
struck with a rannon-ball in the left leg, which had to be amputated above Ihe knee. 
Returning home he was in the provost-marshal's office until the close ot the war. In 
February, 1805, he received a commission as first lieutenant in the Veteran Reserve 
•Jorps, but was not mustered into service. In March, 1874, he married Bettie B., 
youngest daughter of H. R. Smith, of Webb's Mills, Southport, N. Y., and they have 
ime son, Charles D. Mr. Beckwith is a successful farmer in Southport. He lias been 
elected town clerk two terms and justice of the peace four years. In politics he has 
always been a strong Republican. 

Bower, William, born in Wittembiirg, Germany, came to America in 1851, and has- 
lived in Southport since 1855. He lived on and developed his farm in the German set- 
tlement until 187.'3, when he removed to the river road section, where he has been suc- 
cessfully engaged in the cultivation of tobacco. He has served the town many years as 
commissioner of highways and justice of the peace. He has a family of four sons and 
five daughters. 

Breese, George H.. whose ancestors for three generations have been residents of the 
town of Horseheads, his great-grandfather coming from Wales, England, and being the 
first settler in that town, and his great-grandmother being of German origin, was born 



52 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

at Horselieads, September 20, 1848. He has been engaged in farming and in the lum- 
ber trade, and is now the popular landlord o£ Hotel Breese at Pine City. He is married 
and has three children. 

Breese, .lolm P., born in Susse.x County, N. Y., in 1719, died in Veteran, N. Y., aged 
eiglity-four, having served in the War of 1812. He married Merilda Welib, by whom 
he had these childien : Louisa, (Jharles P., Henry V'., Margaret A., John J., Henry M., 
Pliebe F., Ho^ea R , Harriet, and Sylvester The latter was Ijorn in New Jersey on 
August II, 1805, and came to Southport in 183.5, where he dieil aged seventy-si.x. He 
was a blacksmith b}' trade, and married Nancy, daughter of John and Margaret Ste- 
phens. His cliildren were Margaret, Abram W., and Mary L. The latter married Ste- 
phen, son of Samuel McWhorter, and thej' have two children, Margaret and Louise. 
Mr. McWhorter is a fanner in Southport. 

Brown, Ezelciel, a native of Vermont, came to Pultney, Steuben County, N. Y., 
where he died. His children were David, Charles, McCord, Russell, Betsey, Polly, 
Sally, and Thomas. The latter, born in Vermont, October I'j, 1800, died at Cameron 
Corners, Stenlien County, aged seventy-four years. His wife was Lucinda, daugliterof 
Aaron and Elizabetli Borden, and tlieir children were Jane, Levi (deceased), Charles, 
Aaron (deceased), McCord and Phebe (twins), Ezekiel, Lucinda, Electa, Elizabeth (of 
Wisconsin), Mahaley, and Lsrael R. The latter was born at Pultney, Steuben County, 
January 0, 1825. and November 20, 1844, married Lucina. daughter of Alvin and Annie 
(Johnson) Merrills. Their children were Levi S., born Februray 16, 1840, and Charles 
R.. born Novemlior 1, 1852. Mr. Brown served in the war of the Rebellion in Com- 
pany K, One Hundred and Si.Kty-fii-st New York Volunteers. His sou Levi S. also 
sei-ved in the same company. Both were honorably discharged and are now drawing 
pensions. 

Card, Jont^than, born in Penn.sylvania, moved to Candor, Tioga County, N. Y., 
where he remaine<l until his death, aged sixty-six year.s. He was a millwright, and 
married a Miss Tuttle, who died at the age of eighty years. His children were William, 
Samuel, Timothy, Sarah, Levi, George, and Elnathan. The latter was born in Potter 
County, Pa. April 22, 1830, he married Mariah, daughter of William and Levantia 
(Knapp) Hulsander, bj' whom he has these children: Alfred J., William. F., Norman, 
and Dana V. Alfred J. Card was born in Candor, Pa., January 14, 1862, and on March 
J50, 1886, he married Emily J. Beckman, who died aged twenty-eight years. He mar- 
ried, second, Grace, daughter of Oliver and Rachel (Forbes) Skinner. He is now a 
blacksmith at Webb's Mills in this town. 

Cassada, Miles T., son of Samuel, was born in Southport, April 22, 184;i, and has 
been a merchant at Webb's Mills for twenty-two 3'ears. He established bu.sine.'S there. 
He has .served the town as supervisor for five succe.-:sive terms, being chairman of the 
board for three years. Mr. Cassada married, March 14, 1865, Mary J. Beneilicl. They 
have four children : Eva S. (married), Anna, Belle, and Harry. 

Cassidy, James, came to Southport while young, where he died aged seventy years. 
He was a carpenter by trade. He married Abigail, daughter of Enoch and Sybil Ken- 
yon, and their children were Janette. Hannah, Harris, Enoch. Robert, Lyman, George, 
James, and Samuel. The latter (now postmaster at Webbs Mills) was born in South- 
port, May 0, 1817, and married, November 5, 1841, Elizabeth, daughter of Hezekiah 
and Nancy (Smith) Dunham. Their children are Miles T. and Frank J. Mr. Cassidy 
is a resident farmer of Southport. Frank J. Ca.ssady married Frances Brown and has 
three children, Lewis. Ida, and Katie. He is sheriU'of Chemung County, being elected 
in 1888. Miles T. Cassada married Mary, daughter of Harry T. and VVealthy (Miller) 
Benedict, and his children are Eva, Annie, Belle, and Harry. He is a general merchant 
at Webb's Mills and has been supervisor of Southport five terms. 

Chamberlain, Thomas, a farmer, was born in Berkshire, England, in 1790, where he 
•died at the age of eighty-five years. He married Elizabeth Cook, and his children 



<^ 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 53 



Avcre: Sarah, Emma, Ann, Mary, Sophia, Martha, and Georfre. The latter, born at the 
alcove place November Tl, l>^2", came to Chcimnif; County, N. Y., October 22, 1S52, 
clearing a farm in Soiithport on what is known as '• Dry Run. " July 15. 1857, he mar- 
ried Catharine, daughter of Anthony and Hridget (Kennedy) Fox, of Tipperary, Ire- 
land. Their children were Thoma-s, Emma, George, Charles, Julia, and Elijah F., all of 
whom survive and reside in Chemung County, N. V. .Mr. Chaiuberlain is a prosper- 
ous farmer near Elmira. Elijah F. Cliamherlaiu was born at Uig Flats, August 19, 
IStiS, and married in February, 1800. Mary, daughter of August and Philhelraina Mintz. 
He resides on the homestead farm of his father. 

Clark, Richard, was born in Orange County, N. Y., of English parentage, and served 
in the Revolution under General Washington. lie afterward drew a pension. His 
wife, Sarah, was of Scotch descent, and both died in Orange County, N. Y. Richard 
was eighty-si.\ years old at the time of his death and his wife wa.s seventy-hve. 
Their children were Richard, Hannah. Margaret, Annie, Ivate, Betsey, Sally, Julia, and 
William H. The latter was iiorn in Orange County in Wd'i and died October 8. 1867, 
in Warwick, Orange County, at the age of seventy-five. He served in the War of 
1812. He married Sarah Gilson, by whom he hail these children: Betsey A., Julia, 
Hannah, Matilda. Drusilla, Margaret, Mahaly, Sally, Harriet, Julia, 2d, and William. 
William Clark was born in Warwick, Orange County, July 19, 1815, and December 23, 
1837, married Abigail, daughter of Joshua and Dolly ( Rider) ililler. Their cliildren 
are Wellen, James, William, Daniel, Harriet, Sarah, Wells, and Wells, 2d. 

Cleveland, William, born in Connecticut, came to Bainbridge, N. Y., where he died, 
having served in the War of 1812. He married Nancy Baker, and his children were: 
William, John, Ailaline, Sally, Mary, Samuel, Ludlow, Orm, Leonard, Merritt, Miles, 
and Josiah. William Cleveland, jr., was born at Troy, N. Y., November 7, 1800, and 
came to Southport after his marriage, where he engaged in farming and lumbering, be- 
ing also a miller. He married Julia, daughter of William and Eunice (Ford) Drake, and 
their children are: William H., Jame.*, Bessie, Harriet, Loville, and Martha. Jane 
Cleveland married Ilezekiah Osbiirn, who died in 1875, aged sixty-four. His widow 
lives in Southport at the age of sixty-one years. 

Collier, Lyman, was born in Morris, Otsego County, N. Y., where he died in 1858. 
He served in the War of 1812. His children were Lewis, Bdmond, Harri.son, Russell, 
Ifajor, Susanna, Matilda. Mary, and Aaron B. The latter was born in Morris. N. Y., 
in 1812, where he dieii at 'he age of sixty- eight 3'ears. He was a farmer and married 
Millieent Carpenter, by whom he had the following children: Hannah, lantha, Defar- 
rett, Dewaj'ne, Edward, Edwin, and Charle.s. Defarrett Collier was born in Morris, 
Otsego County, Jfarch 2, 1840, and married, June 5, ]8Gti. Henrietta, daughter of James 
R. anil Laura M. (Learned) Crowell, by whom he had two children, viz.: Charlie, born 
December 25, 180S, and Devillo, born December 22, 1873. Mr. Collier served in Com- 
pany F, First New York I/igiit Artillery Volunteer.s, and was honorablj' discliarged in 
1805. He is a carpenter and millwright. Charles Collier married Louise, daugliter of 
Conrad and ifaiy (Kraus) Keigler, who was born January 28, 1871. 

Crowell. J. R., though not a native of Chemung County, being a descendant of good old 
Connecticut stock, has been a resident of the town of Southport for the last forty-three 
yeare. By occupation he is a mill and bridge builder, having operated in several 
States of the Union. He has for the past twenty years been assessor of the town of 
Southport. 

Curran, John, was a native of County Antrim, Ireland, where he lived and died at 
the age of eighty-four years. He was a merchant. By his wife, Jane, he had six chil- 
dren : William, John, Thomas, Mary, Jane, and Ellen. William Curran was born in 
Antrim, Irelaml, and died there in 181(1, at the age of forty-seven j'ears. His wife was 
Rose, daughter of Xeal McNeal, a Scotchman, and their children are William, Joseph, 
«nd Thomas. The latter was born in County Monnaliaii, Ireland, November 7, 1838, 



54 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

aud came to Soutliport, in 18G5, where he manied Isabella, daughter of Robert and 
Jane (Lattimore) Simmons, and tlieir children are Robert, David, Thomas. Fanny, Al- 
bert, Harry, Georgia, and Isabella. Mr Curran is a farmer in Soutliport on the Rhodes 
farm. Mrs. Isabella Curran died March 8, 1890, aged forty years. 

Devoe, Jeremiah, born in New Jersey of Dutch descent, came to Soutliport from 
Yates County, X. Y., where he lived for many years, finally removed to Elniira, N. Y., 
where he died aged seventy-four. He married Clarissa, daughter of Jacob and Phebe 
Commings, by whom he had these children : Henrietta. Phebe, Betsey, John, Martin, 
James Jeremiah, Clarissa, and Sarah. His daughter Phebe, born June 20, 1820, in 
Yates' County, N. Y., married, July 20, 1840. Eaton N. Cholas, n'ho died April 12, 
1854. His children are Lyman C, Matilda J., Schuyler B., and Lawrence D. She 
married, second, Joel, son of Ezra Bostwick, who died April 4, 1881, aged seventy 
years. Reserved in Company H, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth New York Volun- 
teers, and was honorably discharged. His widow, Phebe, survives him aged sixty-eight 
years. She lives in Southport. 

Dickinson, Jay T., M.D., born in Springfield, Bradford County, Pa., July 28, 1864, 
studied medicine and graduated in medicine and surgery from the Medical Department 
of the Baltimore University in the spring of 1887 and later from the University of Ni- 
agara at Buffalo, N. Y. He has been in the practice of his profession in the town of 
Soutliport for the past live years. After locating here Dr. Dickinson was united in 
marriage with Miss Tota B. Brook.s, of Caton, Steuben County, N. Y.,. and one child, 
Clyde VV., born March 19, 1890, is the result of the union. 

DuttenholTer, Jacob, was born in Bavaria, Germany. His children are Mary, Bar- 
bara, and Jacob. He married, second, Theresa Crouse, who died in May, aged fifty- 
two years. Their son, Jacob, born May 25, 1857, married Carrie Fobs, who was born 
April 6, 1858, at Southport, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Fobs, and their ehildn-n 
are John, Jacob, George, Louisa, and Carl. He is a farmer on Dutch Hill. Jacob Fohs, 
sr., was born in Bavaria, Germany, where he lived, and died in Southport in 1878, aged 
seventy-eight years. 

Dickinson, John P., M.D., born in Springfield, Bradford County, Pa., studied medi- 
cine and graduated in that course from the Baltimore Medical University and in surgery 
from a surgical institution in New York city. He has been engaged in the practice of 
his profession in the town of Southport for the past four years. Dr. Dickinson is mar- 
ried and has one child. 

Faburn, James, was born in Vermont and served in the War of 1S12 at Lake Cham- 
plain. He moved to Millport, Tompkins County, N. Y., among the early settlers, where 
he was killed at the age of eighty-four from a falling tree. His wife, Susan, lived until 
forty-four years of age. Their children were Susan, James, Reuben, Watson, John. 
Smith, Amasa, Clark, and Syienus G. Smith Faburn was born in Enfield, Tompkins 
County, N. Y., and died at Ithaca, N. Y., in 1884, aged seventy-eiglit years. He mar- 
ried Elsie Starks, who died in Ca.sco, Allegan County, Mich., in 1878, aged fifty-four. 
She was a daughter of Christopher Starks. Their children are Delia M., Gideon S., and 
lUissell M. Tlie latter was born at Smithfield, Bradford County, Pa., April 4. 1830, 
and resides in Baldwin, Chemung County. By occupation he is a carpenter, millwright, 
and machinist. 

Fitzsimmons, John, was born near Philadelphia, Pa., and came to Southport as a 
soldier with his brother under General Sullivan, finally settling and clearing a farm 
where he died July 4, 1861, aged ninety years. His wife, ilary (Fredericks) Fitzsim- 
mons, died January 6, 1850, aged eighty-seven, in Southport. His children were Aiii- 
cent, George, Davis, John, Thomas, William, James, Anna, and Sally. Davis Fitzsim- 
mons, a native of Southport, born in 1805, died in this town February 21, 1884, He 
married Sally H., daughter of Job Smith and Milla Cassady, who was born November 
4 1815, and died November 24, 1783. Their children were Andrew, Martin, and Milly. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 55 

Andrew Kit/.siiiiinons was born August 18, lS3t, and married Anrie, daughter of David 
and Susanna McCormick. and tlieir children are Hellena and Louisa. He is now a resi- 
dent on the farm of his grandfather. 

Goodwin, Dr. John, was born in Connecticut and came to Elmira, where he died 
aged about eighty years. He married Mary Besley. who died in Kingston, Ulster 
County, N. V.. aged seventy years. Ilis children were Jolin, Isaac, Susan, Altheria, 
anil Mary. John tioodwin was born on Long Island, and died in Virginia in 1885, 
aged sixty years. He married Theresa, daughter of Jonathan and -Mary (Sliouts) 
Drake, of Chemung County. K. Y., and their children were: Clarence B., I'^gbert B., 
Gertrude, Clara, and Granville B. The latter was born in Chemung, December 2.">, 
1841, and on May 5. 18G8, married Kdna, ilanghter of William and Caroline (Hunter) 
Rathbun. who was born August 5. 1847. His children were : Alida, liorn September 14. 
ISfii) ; William, born July 10, 1871 ; Ernest, born November 7, 1874; Gertrude, born 
September l;i, 1881: and Clarence, born June 4, 1884. Mrs. Theresa Goodwin sur- 
vives her luisband and lives in Chemung at the age of eighty-one years. William 
Rathbun, sr., served mi the war of the Revolution and died in Chemung aged about 
seventy years. 

Griswold. David, a native of Connecticut, born in 17G1, came to Southport, N. Y., 
in 1787, and cleared a farm on the river road where he died in 1847 at the age of 
eiglity-six years. His wife, Jane (Durham) Griswold. died in 1859, at the age of 
eighty-six years. Their cliildren were: David, Mary, Tboma.s, Nancy, John, Sally, 
and Jonas. The latter, born at Southport, April l(j, 1810. married Fanny Smitli, born 
June 12, 1811. died in 1885, aged seventy-four years. She was a daughter of Job and 
Milly (Cassada) Smith. Their children were Guy S., Alpha D., and Clayton II. The 
latter was born Septeml>er 22, 18.'5G, and November IG, 1858, married Harriet N., daugh- 
ter of Abner and Harriet (Clark) Cassada. who was horn August \'.\. IS'i'J, in Ithaca, 
N. Y. Their children are Jennie, liorn November 9, 18G0 ; Carrie M., born Novem- 
ber 1.3. 18G3; Guy S., born July 0,1 8GG; Tracy B., born June 6, lS(i9; and Alice, born 
July IG, l,s74. Mr. Griswold is a farmer on the homestead farm of his grandfather, 
which he owns. 

Helm, Phineas, was born near London. England, came to Long Island in the early 
d.HVR, and owned a farm where the city of Brooklyn is now located, removing thence 
to Blooming Grove, Orange County, N. Y.. where lie died in 1795 at an advanced age. 
He served in the war of the Revolution. He married Mary, daughter of Samuel Mof- 
fitt, and their children were: Woodhull, Betsey, Tetnperance, Samuel, Phineas, ami 
Henry. Phinea.« Helm was born on Long Island, N. Y., January 24. 1785, and came 
to Southport in 1809. where he died November 29, 1858. He cleared a farm and was 
the first cabinetmaker at Southport in Chemung, near Pine City. He married Betsey, 
daughter of John and Esther Smith, ami his children were: Floyd, born March 30, 
181.5; Samuel M., bom September 14, 1816 ; Pliineas, born March 21, 1820; Mary A., 
born September U, 1824; Esther, born May 1. 1831 : and John H., born July 31, 1834. 
Mary .\nn re.sides on the homestead farm of her father. John Smith served in the 
Revolutionary war. 

Hill, Ephraim, son of Roswell, was born in Connecticut, came to Caton, Steuben 
County. N. Y., soon after his marriage in 1824, and here he remained until he was killed 
by the falling from a building in 1832, aged about sixty years. He married Charlotte, 
daughter of Jervis Prince, of Bainbridge, Chenango County, N. Y., who served in the 
War of 1812. E. Hills children are. William P., George J., Charlotte, Noble, Huldah, 
Henry, Samantha, .Sylvester, Ephraim, and Edwin I. His son. Henry Hill, was born 
at Bainbridge, N. Y., July 7, 1819. and on December 28, 1843, married Julia A., daugh- 
ter of John H. and .Susannah (Welton) Minar, and his adopted children are Myron and 
Marian Reed. Henry Hill has been a life-long farmer, and is now a resident of Soutli- 
port Corners, N. Y. He is strictly temperate in his habits, and in politics is a staunch 
Republican, as are also all his brothers. 



56 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Ilufjlies, Peter, was born in Kliiiira ami served in the Revolutionary war, coming ta 
Southport before his marriage, lie married Klizabelli Manning, who died at the age 
of seventy-four years in Soutliport. He died in that town in 1873, aged 103 years. 
His children are Francis, Jackson, Bonaparte, Eugene, Geort;e, Charles, Mariah, Amelia, 
and Josephine. Francis Hughes was born in Soutliport, September 20, 1841, and mar- 
ried Margaret, daughter of Jacob W. and Abbie E. (l-!rewer) Miti:hell, and their cln'l- 
dren are Lucinda, Abbie, Morgan, Amanda, and Andrew, all residents of Chemung 
County. Andrew J. Hughes was born in Soutliport, September 13, 18GS, and married 
Eli/.alieth, daughter of Jacob Foss, who was born March 20, 18(il, and their children 
are John and Elizalieth. lie is proprietor of Bulkhead Hotel and was elected justice 
of the peace in February, 1891. 

Jones, Finla M., was born at Seeley Creek, October 20, 1820, where his father set- 
tled m 1817. Elijah Jones, his grandfather, sell led in Eliiiira about 1800, and had sev- 
enteen children, fourteen of whom grew to maturity. Pliilo, the thirteenth child, was 
born June 25, 1791, at Norwalk, Conn., and December 31, 1812, married Jane H., 
daughter of Mathew Carpenter. In 1817 they purchased a farm on Seeley Creek, the 
place tlien being an unbroken wilderness, and he was prominently identified with the 
interests of the town of Southport, serving as supervisor in 1839 and 1840 and as 
member of Assembly in 18o0. Mr. and .Mrs. Jones had eight children : AUiert, Betsey, 
Simeon K., Finla M., Julia S., Philo, jr., and Laura J. Finla M. Jones married Sarah 
C. Mosher, of Dutchess County, N. Y., December 4, 1850. She was born February 10. 
1820. Their children are Frank F., Floyd H., Fred M., Charles S., Grant, and Mat- 
hew C. Floyd H. died December, 22, 1875 ; Frank lives on the homestead with his 
father; Fred W. lives in Elmira; Charles S. resides at Seeley Creek ; and Grant and 
Mathew C. are in Corning. Mr. Jones has held the ollices of assessor and postmaster 
for twenty-four years, and is an active business man. He has been a general mer- 
chant twenty-six years, and is now enjoying the reward of an industrious and well 
ordered life. 

Koons, William, born in Luzerne County, Pa., died there at the age of eighty-four. 
He married Sarah Fuller, who also died there aged fifty years. Their children were : 
Rachel, Bernard, Dewey, Bradley, Isaac, Dewitt, Sterling, Tarbell, John, and Wilmott 
C. Dewitt Koons, a native of Luzerne County, where he now lives, was born March 
21, 1835, and married Henrietta, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Tulibs) Culver. 
Their children are Cordelia, Maude S., and John S. The latter was born in Luzerne 
County, Pa., vSepleinber 24, 1859, and married, October 12, 1879, Catharine, daughter 
of VVilliam and Margaret (Foust) Taylor, of Big Flats, their two children being Will- 
iam, born August 28, 1580, and Frankie M., born July 30, 1888. He is a farmer near El- 
mira, residing on West Water street of that city. 

Marsh Family, The. — Albert Marsh's mother, Mary Heller, was born in Elmira in 
1807 and is still bright and strong. She married, in 1828, Belorman Marsh, a school 
teacher and a farmer now deceased. Mr. Marsh was born in Hartford, Vt., being kin 
to the late Hon. George P. Marsh, L.L.D., of Burlington, Vt., and the wife of Senator 
Edmunds, of that State. To them were born fifteen children, of whom twelve grew to 
maturity, viz.: Emily, a .school teacher and housekeeper; Joseph C, a small fruit far- 
mer; Benjamin T. and Clark M. (twins), photographers in Greeley, Col.; Michael II., a 
machinist in Elmira; Albert, a veteran of the late war and a pensioner; John W., who 
was shot in the battle of Rasacca, Ga., in 1864; Mary A. (deceased); Fanny Eliza (de- 
ceased); Julia C. (Mrs. Chapman), of Elmira; Charles H. (deceased), an artist of 
Ovvego, N. Y. ; and Frank G., a machinist and foreman at Binghamton, N. Y. The late 
Mr. Marsli settled on Dry Run in 1834, when panthers and other wild animals were 
plentiful. He enjoyed hunting. Mr. and Jlrs. Marsh and all their children were and 
are Ba"tists and energetic Sunday school workers. 

McUenry, Abram, son of John, (a native of Orange County, N. Y., who moved to 
Southport in 1792, among the early settlers, where he died in 1835, aged eighty), was 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 57 

born in Soutliport, February 1, 1797, and ilied liere August 4, 1845. With his brother 
James he cleared a farm on what is known as the plank road, anil njarried Rulh 
Brewster, who was born October IG, 171)9, in Orange County, N. Y. She was a daugh- 
ter ot Miitliew Brewster. Their cliildreti were: Catharuie, bom August 12, 18151; 
Lyman, born November 14, 1821 ; Miller, born December 11, 1823 ; EMza, l)orn July 2.'», 
182G; Guy B., born July 27. 1830; and Julia, born June 18, 1838. P. McHenry, a na- 
tive ot Soutliport, married, J[aroh !), lS."i4, tJlizabcth, daughter of Benjamin and Susan 
(Ilulslaniler) Sweet, and their children are : Mary L., born February 24, 1855 ; Eliza S., 
born January 24, 1857 ; Susie 1)., born December 9. It-GO; Edmond M., born Novem- 
ber 21, 1852; Fanny, born Octouer G, 1864; Guy, jr.. born October 2G, 18G6; Lillie F. 
and Luella S. (twin.s), born May 15, 1809; Clara, born August 18. 1873; Ilattie, born 
October II, 18G5; and Julia, born September 2G, 187G. Mr. McHenry is a farmer on 
the plank road where he has lived from bnth. Miller McHenry married Angeline See- 
ley, who was born October 12, 1847, a daughter of Nathaniel and Henrietta (Huldridgc) 
Seeley, ot Lawrenceville, Pa., and their children are : Abram, born July 4, 1848; Sa- 
rah F., born August 9, 1850; and Nettie, born July 21, 1852, died December 21, 185s. 
He is also a farmer on the plank road, has served as supervisor four years, and is now 
serving his second term as justice of the peace. He has also served as assessor nine 
years and town clerk eight years. 

McHenry Family, The. — Miller McHenry's grandfather. John, a native of Orange 
County, N. Y., moved to Elmira in 1792, and had a family of thirteen children. Abram, 
. the father of Miller and the third son, was born in Southport, February 11, 179G. He 
married Ruth II. Brewster, who was born in Orange County, October IG, 1799, but re- 
moved to Soutliport in 1818. They had six children, one of whom was Miller, who 
was born December 11, 1823, and October 12, 1847, married Angeline, daughter of Na- 
thaniel Seele}', jr. Her grandfather, Nathaniel, sr, is accorded the credit of building 
the first frame building in the valley on the south side of the Chemung River. Mr. Mc- 
Henry's children are: Abram, liorn July 4, 1848; Sarah F., born August 9, 1850; and 
Nettie, born July 21, 1852, died December 21, 1858. Mr. McHenry has followed farm- 
ing and has held the offices of town clerk, assessor, and supervisor each for a term of ten 
years. His wife die<lMaich 23, 1878. 

McVVhorter, John, of Scotch descent, settled in Sussex County, N. Y., where he died 
at an advanced age, having served in the war of the Revolution. He married Margaret 
Carr, of New Jer.sey, who died in that place aged eighty-live years. Their children 
were Samuel, Gilljert. John, Sally, Hannah, and Polly. Samuel McWhorter was horn 
in Sussex County, N. J., where all the children were born, and where he died Febru- 
ary 11, 1841, aged lifty-one years. He married Sarah, daughter of David Meeker, who 
died in Southport in 1876, at the age of sixty-nine years. His children were: John, 
David, Caleb T., William, Roliert, Mary J., Stephen, and Samuel. John McWhorter 
was liorn in Sussex County, N. J., March 14, 1824, and in 184G he came to Southport 
and married Sarah Kelly, who was born in Southport, M,iy 1 1, 182G, a daughter of John 
and Martha Kelly. Their children are Mary E., born September 2G, 1859; Caleb T., 
born September 21, 18G1 ; Colon, born October 16,1863; and Mabel, born Novem- 
ber 20, 1868. He is a farmer in Southport, where he has lived for twenty-three year.*. 

Miller, Capt. Samuel, son of Garett and Mary (Smith) Miller, was born in Orange 
County, N. Y., in 1779, and died at Middletown, Pa., in 1850. He married Polly, daugli 
ter ot William and Hannah (RIodgetl) Gardner, and his chihlren were Benjamin (who 
served as justice of the peace twelve year.s), Dolly, Hannah, Mary, Robert, Harriet. 
Wealthy, Patience, Fanny, Samuel, and Elvira. Wealthy Miller was born in Biadfoi J 
County, Pa,, in June, 1850, and married Henry Benedict, of Orange County, N. Y., 
who died in 1873. They had one daughter, Mary J., who married Miles T. Cassadaand 
has tour children : Evelina, Anna, Belle, and Harry. Evelina married Rev. E. J, Rosen- 
grant and has one daughter, Mary A. Mrs. Wealthy Benedict is living in Southport at 
the age o£ seventy-six. Henry T. Benedict served iu the War of 1812. Garett Miller 



68 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

served in the Revolutionary war and William Gardner served in the same contest. 
Capt. Samuel Miller was commissioner of Tioga County three years. Mary A., daugh- 
ter of Rev. E. J. Rosengrant and great-granddaughter of Mrs. Wealthy Benedict, has 
three living grandfathers. 

Minar, John Henry, was born in Montgomery County, N. Y.. and moved to Scho- 
harie County, where he remained several years, finally removing to Caton, Steuljen 
County, where he died about 1840, aged fifty-five. He married Susan, daughier of Shu- 
bael Welton, and their children were Shubae!, Rosetta, Julia, Catherine, and William A. 
William A. Minar was born in Caton, N. Y., January 19, 1824, and in 1847 he married 
Elizabeth, cbuighter of Pierson Breese. Their children are Henry, Fred (who died Au- 
gust 20, 1891, aged thirty four years), and Mattie. Mr. Minar is now a grocer and post- 
master at Southport, N. Y. 

Morrow, William, son of Jame.s, both of whom served in the Revolution, was born 
in New Jersey and died in Mendham, Morris County, N. J., at the age of about sixty 
years.. He married Mary Dickenson, and their children were William T., David J., Fla- 
vel W., Nancy, Mary, and Jane. Flavel W. Monow was born in Mendham, N. J., Jan- 
uary 16, 1812, and August 26, 1835, married Cornelia, daughter of RufusGibbs, of Ver- 
mont, by whom he had one daughter, Lovina A. He married, second, Alvira E., on 
February 15, 1849, who was born March 24, 1833, a daughter of Elislui and Sobrina 
(Tracy) Stanton, and their children are Mary, Cordelia, Catharine, and Gomale. He 
served as supervisor for ten years and is now a farmer on the South Creek road in 
Southport — the only survivor of the Morrow family. Elisha Stanton served in the War 
of 1812 in Connecticut, where both he and his wife were born. Both died in Hornby, 
Steuben County, N. Y. Mary Cordelia married Theron A., son of Isaac and Susan 
Morris, and resides in Southport. Lovina A. Morrow married A. 0., son of Dr. John 
Revenaugh, and they re.side in Louisville, Ky. Their children are Claude, Tom, Rita, 
and Harold. Gemale Morrow married Carrie Hart and their children are Flavel W., 
Lucy A., and Grace. 

Moshier, Eli, was born in Dutchess County, N. Y., February 26, 1802, and came to 
Havana and finally to Southport, where he died February 28, 1877. He was a farmer. 
He married Naomi Conley and their children were Huldah, Lewis, Elijah, Ruth A., 
Richard, Mary F., Martha, George W., and Catharine. The latter was born in Dutchess 
County, N. Y., August 2.5, 1823, and July 25, 1852, married William, son of Joseph and 
Elizabeth Strouse, born December 22, 1816. William Strouse died in Southport, De- 
cemlier 26, 1874. He was a farmer and his children were Angeline, born May 29, 1853 ; 
Lucind, born August 12, 1855; and Nelson W., born August 19, 1858. Lucind Strouse 
married Edward, son of Daniel and Mary Bump, September 20, 1885, and has one son, 
Jesse D., born September 15, 1889. Angeline Strouse married Morris H., son of 
Henry B. and Elleaner Knapp, b}' whom she had these cliiklren : Efiie E., Willie S., 
and Henrv B. Nelson Strouse married Mary Fergu.son and has one son, Harrj', born 
January 22, 1888. 

Pedrioh, John W., was born in Sus.*e.^ County, Long Island, N. Y., in 1775. He was 
a descendant of Roger Pedrich, who came to Pennsneck, now Salem County, N. J., 
in 1657. John W. Pedrich came to Orange County about 1798 and married Hannah 
Wheeler. His father was killed in the siege at New York city during the Revolution- 
ary war. He was commissioned by Governor Clinton as a lieutenant of militia on 
April 2, 1802, in Orange County. He came to Elmira in 1803, to Southport in 1804, 
and his children were Sophia A., Sarah, Nancy, Francis B., Josiah S., and John S. The 
latter was born in Southport on July 6, 1812, and died November 25, 1886. In 1840 
he married Hannah M. Roushey, who was born in Schuyler County, N. Y., July 1, 
1818, a daughter of Michael and Isabell (McQueery) Roushey. Their children are Ed- 
win C, Isaljella, Mary S., John B., Miles U., Ella E., Andrew J., Ida Jane, and Nathan. 
Of these Mary S., John B., Miles H., Nancy M., and Ida Jane are deceased. Na- 
than Pedrich. born in Southport, N. Y., November 11, 1840, married, in 1871, 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 59 

May E., daiigliter of Thomas and Fanny D. (Miller) Sheerer. She was bom June L'O, 
1844. He is a farmer, himljermaii, surveyor, ami justice of the peace, which latter office 
he has held for fourteen years. 

Roberts, George W., father of George H., was born in Big Flats in 1808, and mar- 
ried Sally, a daughter of IMiiiieas and Mary Squires, of Chenmng. She was a devoted 
wife and mother and an exemplary Christian woman. They had four children : 
Phineas S., Addison P., George H., and Sarah F. Mrs. Roberts is deceased. Phineas 
S. and Addison P. Roberts have both held offices of trust and re.sponsibility, and are 
successful farmers. George H. Roberts, the youngest son, was born in Chemung on a 
part of the original farm settled by hi.s great-graiidfallier, Jonathan Squires. Receiving 
an education in the public schools, supplemented by .several teims of academic instruc- 
tion, he is by occupation a farmer and tobacco purcha.ser, and has been supervisor of the 
town of Southport. lie married, first, Olive K. Carpenter, of Elmira, by whom he had 
one son, George J. For his second wife he marrieil Lutie A., daughter of G. A. Golf, 
of Southport. They have two daughters, Anna S. and Mary H. Mr. Roberts has 
served as town supervisor, as one of llie committee superintending the erection of the 
Chemung County almshouse, and though actively engaged in his business he takes a 
deep interest in the affairs of State and nation, at times speaking at public meetings, 
discussing the issues of the day. lie is a prominent member of tlie Improved Order of 
Ked Men. 

Sidney, Joseph, born in England, came to America and settled and died in Ithaca, 
N. Y., aged about sixty years. He was a lawyer and married Martha Ball, by whom 
he had children Algernon S., Priscilla, and Mary. Algernon S. Sidney, born in Tomp- 
kins County in 1790, died in 1875. He married Sally, daughter of William and Elizabeth 
(Bloom) Labar, and his children were William, George, Elizabeth, Mary, Priscilla, 
Phebe, Emeline, and Martha B. The latter, born February 25. IS'iO. in Schuyler 
County, N. Y., married Lewis, son of Benjamin and Mary (Marks) De Waters. He 
died in Southport, July 24. 1882, aged sixty-seven years. He was a farmer and his 
father was a Revolutionary soldier. His children were Wright ( who died aged forty- 
two years), Algernon, Sarah, and York. The latter married Stella, daughter of Chancy 
Cleveland. She died November 21, 1874, aged twenty-two years, leaving one 
daughter, Nellie. 

Smith, Benjamin, born in Connecticut, died aged about fifty-five years. His chil- 
dren were Samuel, Benjamin, Abraham, and Herman R. The latter was born in Con- 
necticut, June 25, 1811, and died May IG, 1S!)1, at Jackson Summit, Tioga Counly, 
Pa., aged seventy-nine. He married Sarah A., daughter of Chauiicey Black, born in 
March, 1805. His children were John, Richard J., Eliza, Augustus, Alexander, Betsey, 
and Charles. Richard J. Smith, born in Sullivan County, December 15, 1835, married, 
first, December 12, 18.5!), Rhoda C. Gordon, born in 1838, died in February, 18C1, aged 
twenty-three. They had one daughter. Jennie (deceased.) He married, second, Lucy A., 
daughter of Noah and Sarah (Edsell) Bovier. born June 18, 1838. They have one son, 
Fred T., born October 3, 1871. He is a resident farmer at Seeley Creek, where be has 
lived for twenty years, having resided for forty years in this town. 

Snyder, Daniel, died at Jackson, Tioga Count}', Pa., aged eighty years. He was a 
farmer, and his children were George W., Eliza, and John, George W. Snyder was 
born in Schoharie County, N. Y., and died in lOlmira at the age of fifty-six, where he 
had lived several years, a farmer and a blacksmith. He married Amanda Dennis, by 
whom he had these children : Elijah M., Frank D., George W., Charles V., Helen, Belle, 
and John H. The latter was born in Southport, N. Y., July 20, 1857. In December, 1878, 
he married May, daughter of Albert and Mary Mitchell, and his children are Linnie, Will- 
iam, Pearl. an<l Richard. He is the proprietor of the Slate Line Hotel in Southport. 

Sornberger, George V., born in Davenport, Dalaware County, N. Y., February 3, 
1829, came to Southport about 1877. Mr. Sornberger is a tanner by occupation ami 
has built," improved, and owned several tanneries, and is now superintending one in 



60 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Wisconsin. Marcli 21, 1850, he married Mary A. Cole, who was born in Schoharie 
County, N. Y., in 1824. They have had four children: James, who died when eight 
years old; Cyrus M,, who married Lucia Kerr; George W., who married Hattie Shep- 
ard : and Mary A., who married the Rev. Ohiey A. Rattan, of Middletown, Pa. 

Southwell, Francis H., born in Vermont, settled in Susquehanna County, Pa., where 
he now resides. He married Sarah Duel, and his children are William, Fidelia, Mary, 
Frances, Emma, and Charles E. The latter was l)orn in Susfiuehanria County, Pa.. De- 
cember 2, 1861, and married Susie Sturdevant, who was born in Owego, N. Y., March 
17. 1860, a daughter of A. F. and Ann (Barton) Bennett. He is a farmer on the Ben- 
nett farm off South Broadway, near Elmira. Mrs. Charle.s E. Southwell has one son 
by her first husband, Frank E. Sturdevant, born January 20, 1881. His father, Eugene 
J. Sturdevant, was born May 2, 1852, at Job's Corners, Tioga County, Pa., and died at 
Elmira, October 30, 1884, aged thirty-two years. He was a railroad man by occupation. 

Strouse, Valentine, father of John, was born in Easton. Pa., January 12. 1822. His 
parents moved here when he was a small boy. March 12, 1846, he marrit'd Christiana 
Hunter, of Southport, and they had five children, viz.: Alice E., John, Ella L., Mary, 
and Ida M. John Strouse was born in Southport, August 3, 1848, was educated in 
the public schools, supplemented by several terms of academic instruction, and is a 
farmer by occupation. He married, first. December 12, 1877, Alvira Carpenter, of Ash- 
land, and second, December 19, 1882, Martha Ruggles, of Chemung. By the latter 
marriage he has three children, Edna A., Charles V.. and AValter J. The family are 
numbered among the old and substantial residents of the county. 

Thompson, Henry, was born March 4, 1803, and married Hannah M. Grover, of 
Southport. They had six children, of whom the only daughter died in infancy. The 
sons are Joseph H , Duane, Benjamin G., George W., and Samuel J. George W. 
Thompson, born April 2, 1853, was educated in the public schools, and April 23. 1873, 
married Anna E., daughter of Francis and Maria (Van Gorder) Hull, who has borne him 
three children, viz.: Reta M., who died in infancy ; George L., born Aiiril 5, 1874 ; and 
Don E., born April 13, 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson had brothers in the Civil war. 

Townsend, Robert, was born in Orange County, N. Y., where he died at an advanced 
age. His children were S. George, Josiah, and Cornelia. Josiali S. Townsend was 
born in Bloomingrove, Orange County, April 23, 1801, and came to Southport in 1828, 
settling on a farm on the Seeley tract, where he remained until his death in 1863, aged 
sixtv-two years. He married, first, Katharine Ann Reed, of Bath, Steuben County, 
N. Y., by whom he has had four children, viz.: William R., Susan B., James S., and 
Sarah K. He married, second. Adaline McKibljin and their children are Elizabeth, 
Cornelia E., Josiah S., and Hiram R. Elizabeth and Cornelia E. own and occupy the 
homestead farm. 

Updyke, Abram, born in Tompkins County, N. Y., died in Pennsylvania aged eighty 
years. His wife died at the age of fifty years. His children are Rachel, Betsey, Ann, 
W^illiam, Foster, Herman, Halsey, Loren, Truman, Henriette, and Olive. William Up- 
dyke was born in Tompkins County, N. Y., and died in Brookfield, Pa., at the age of 
sixty years. He married Luzilla, daughter of Dr. Ezra Wood, and his children were 
Ezra, Melvin, Waldo, Harriet, Clara, Rachel, Jane, and Almond A. The latter was 
born in Rutland, Tioga County, Pa., May 31, 1827, and married Sarah, daughter of 
"William and Elizabeth Osborn, who died December 15, 1890, aged sixty-two. Their 
children are William, Clark, Melvin, Henry, Alice, Elizabeth, and Samuel. He has been 
a farmer at Rutland, Pa. 

Webb, Festus A., was born in Orange County, N. Y., March 7, 1784. He was of 
Welch origin, was sheriff of Goshen, Orange County, and married Sarah Crane, of 
Goshen, who died in Elmira in 1839, at the age of fifty years. He came to Elmira and 
was proprietor of the old Eagle Hotel (now the Rathbun Hou.se), and finally moved to 
Webb's Mills, where he built a grist-mill, two saw -mills, and a store, and where be died 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. CI 

Aiifjust 5, 1858, a<;e<l seventy-four years. His cliildren were Frances E., Festus A., 
William L., and Mortimer T. Festus A. Webb was liorn in Orange County, N. Y., July 
IG, 1813, ami died March 30, 1891, at Pine City, Me was a farmer and lumberman, 
and married, July 7, 183,5, Sarah J„ daughter of Jfoses and Hannah (Jacques) Smith, 
of Goshen, N. Y. His children were William, Moses S., Festus A,, Hannah M., and 
Harry A, and Harriet A. (twins). He married, second, Cornelia, daughter of Jesse and 
Emeline (Tustin) Smith, of Goshen, and had one daughter, S. Yan Meda, Hannah M. 
Webb, born in Orange County, N, Y,, is a resident on the homestead farm of her 
father, 

Wilson, Joseph, died at Angelica, N. Y. He had three children : Polly (deceased), 
Mary J., and George B. The latter is a resident of Wells, Pa., aged eighty-one years. 
He married Sarah, daughter of William and Patience Wilson. Mrs. Wil.-ion died ia 
188o, aged seventy-three, at Wells, Pa. Mr. Wilson is a farmer, and his children are 
Clarissa, Amelia, George, Dell, Patience, Esther, Henry, and Nellie, George Wilson, jr,, 
was born at Lawrence, Tioga County, Pa., February G, 1841, and Decembers, 1863, 
married I.sabelle, rlaughter of John S. and Hannah (Rou.«hev) Pedrich, born August 23, 
18-14, and their children are Charles E,, Carrie B.. Mattie, and John. He is a general 
merchant at Pine City. Jo.seph Wilson was sheritt'of Tioga County, Pa., two terms 
and hanged the first man sentenced to death in that county, — David B, Howe, Henry 
J. Wilson, born at Jackson, April G, 18.54, married, Octooer 18, 1877, Ella M., daughter 
of S. R. Jones, and his children are Raymond, Florence, and Claude. He is proprietor 
of saw, feed, and planing-mills, a farmer, a tobacco grower, etc. He owns two saw- 
mills at Seeley Creek. 

VAN ETTEN. 

Barnes, Abraham, born in Orange County, N. Y., came to Van Etten in 1800, be- 
ing the first to clear a farm in the town. Here he died in March, 1847, at the age of 
eighty-two. He married Ruth Thomas, of Orange Count}', daughter of Moses Thomas, 
who was killed at the battle of Minisink by the Indians. His children were Jeremiah, 
Hannah, John, Jesse, Reuben, Moses, Abigail, Sarah, Katlierine, Oliver, and Abram. 
The latter was born on the home farm, where he died Januarj' 27, 1884, aged seventy- 
one. He married Elizabeth Baker, of Newfield, N. Y., daughter of Thomas and Cath- 
erine Baker, and their children were Thomas, Eliza, Lucy, Mate, Minnie, and Hala. 
Hala Barnes, born at Van Etten, October 9, 1842, married Sarah C, daughter of 
Chauncy S. and Caroline (English) Booth, of Van Etten, and their children are Ellis E., 
Winnie, Lewis, Iva A., and Willis. He received liis education in the Ithaca Academy, 
was admitted to the bar at Binghamton, X. Y., June 8, 1870, and has practiced at Van 
Etten since the spring of 1871. He has served as justice of the peace, town clerk, etc,, 
and was the successor of Thomas Finnegan, the first lawyer in Van Etten. 

Barnes, Abram, a native of New York, came to Van Etten about 1810, among the 
•early settlers, where he cleared a farm and remained until his death at an ailvanced age. 
By his wife, Ruth, he had twelve children : Hannah, ilo.ses, Jesse, Catherine and 
Sarah (twins), Betsey, Abram, Jeremiah, Reuben, Oliver, Abbie, and John, The latter 
was born in Van Etten, where he was killed by a runaway team on September 16, 
186G, He married Phoebe, daughter of Benjamin and Jeru.sha Annis, and his children are 
Columbu.s, Jerusha, Janette, Sarah, Phinea,^, John, Abram, and Benjamin. Benjamin 
Barnes, born in Cayuta, N.Y., March 16, 1829, married Hannah Barnes, of Newfield, N.Y., 
October 14, 18.57, daughter of Benonia and Jeru.sha (Clark) Barnes, and they had one 
son, Walter F., who died June 20, 1.S88, aged twenty-si.x. Benjamin Barnes has been 
proprietor of a hotel for eighteen years. He is now managing the Barnes Hotel at Swart- 
wood. Benonia Barnes was born in Ithaca, N. Y., and died February 8, 1888, aged 
eighty-three. He was a class-leader in the Methodist Episcopal Church for over fifty 
years. His wife, Jerusha, died aged seventy-six. She was born in Lansing, Cayuga 



62 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

County, N. Y., in 1803, and was the mother of eight children. She was a devoted 
Christian for more than half a century. 

Canfield, Enos, was 1)orn in Westchester County, N. Y., January 28, 1767, and died 
•in Tioga County, N. Y., at the age of aliout sixty. His wife was Polly Robinson, and 
was born June 29, 1765. Their children were Anna, Susanna, Ezra, Sally, Betsey, 
Amos, Polly, Amos, 2d, Sopliia, Enos, Kirzia, Abagail, and Esther. Amos was born 
in Tioga County, March 9, 1799, and (bed Octolier 21, 1889, aged ninety, lie married 
EUeanor, daughter of William and Fanny (Temple) Knapp, and his children were Mary, 
Prudence, Enos, Keziah, Amos, Alfred, Ezra, Luciiia, Fanii}-, and Ellen. Enos was 
born in Tioga County, N. Y., March 17, 1830, and married Elizabeth Wall, who was 
born April 19, 1839, a daughter of John and Jane (Hall) Wall. Their children are 
Nellie, who luarried Harry Banfield, of Van Etten, a hardware and lumber merchant, 
and Amos. Enos Canfield graduated from the Cincinnati Medical College in 1859 and 
commenced practice as a physician and surgeon in 1860 at Alpine, N. Y. In 1872 he 
came to Van Etten, where he has since been engaged. He has been supervisor of the 
town for three years and president of the village for two years. William Knapp served 
iu the war of the Revolution. 

Kirkendall, Isaac, was born in New Jersey and died in Danby, Tompkins County, 
N. Y., about 1850, aged sixty. He married Mary Seekafoose, and their children wei-e 
Paul, Samuel, John, David, Christopher, Eliza Ann, Maria, Louisa, and Susan. Paul, 
born December S, 1808, in Philadelphia, Pa., came to Danby, N. Y., and moved thence 
to Van Etten, where he died February 16, 1883, aged seventy-two. He married Mar- 
garet Sinsbaugh, of Danby, daughter of Solomon and Katherine (Deyo) Sinsbaugh, and 
their children are William, Catherine. Mary, Susan, and Samuel. William was born in 
Ithaca, N. Y., March 10, 1847, and married Philancy J., daughter of Nathaniel and Ma- 
linda (Tense) Georgia. He resides in Van Ettenville. He served in Company K, One 
Hundred and Thirty-seventh New York Volunteers, for three years, and was honorably 
discharged April 8, 1865. Solomon Sinsbaugh served in the War of 1812. John Honce 
Kirkendall was born in Germany. 

Parke, Alexander, was born at Bloomsbury, N. J., of Irish and English parentage, and 
came to Erin in 1820, where he was one of the first settlers and where he cleared a farm. 
He died at the age of sixty-two. By his first wife he had four children: James, Han- 
nah, David, and Betsey, and liy his second he had four children : Polly, Mahala, Rachel, 
and Harriet. David J. Parke, born at Bloomsbury, N. J., came to Erin with his father 
in 1820, and married Eliza Parke four years later. His children were Alexander H., 
Marilla, Lucinda, Adahne, Rosanna, Mary, Isabel, Charlotte, Ada A., Byron Y., and 
J. Jackson. The latter was born at Erin, September 4, 1839, and married Lucy, daugh- 
ter of Abram and Elizabeth Barnes, November 6, ISGl. Their children are 15. M. and 
David J. David J. Paike married Julia, daughter of Thomas and Caroline Hamlin, Oc- 
tober 17, 1888, and they have one son, James Lollie, born August 12, 1889. J. Jackson 
Parke is serving his second term as justice of the peace. He was supervisor of the town 
of Erin two terms and assessor for eleven years. 

Rugur, John, son of John, was born in New York city. He was of German descent 
and moved to Pleasant Valley, near Poughkeepsie, N. Y., where he died in 1829, aged 
eighty-five. He married Mary Duncan, who died in 1830, aged eighty-four. Their 
children were,Johii, Joshua, Betsey, Sally, Helen, Peter, and David. John, who served 
in the War of 1812, was born at Pleasant Valley in 1786 and died at the age of eighty. 
He came to Genoa, N. Y,, where he lived ten years, and finally removed to Newfield. 
He died in Van Etten. Mr. Rugur married Anna Wixon, of Fishkill, N. Y., daughter 
of Elijah and Annie (Smith) Wixon, and their children were Elmira, Charles, Samuel, 
Sally Ann, and Elijah. The latter was born in Fishkill, Sei)tciiiber 21, 1811, and came 
to Van Etten in 1838, where he now resides. He married, first, in 1833, Rebecca Ed- 
wards ; second, Jane White; third, Lydia A. Briggs ; and fourth. Patience Pelham. His 
children are Theresa, Ophelia, Jerome, and Sophronia. He has been a pro.^perous 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 63 

farmer for lliirty-tliree years and has held many offices in tlie town. He is also a large 
real estate owner. 

Runisey, Jeremiah, was born in Orange County, N. V., where lie died at an advanced 
age. Hi.-; children were Jeremiah, lienjamin, Warren, Samuel, Selah, Isaac, James, 
George, Cortland, Alfred. Rennsalaer, Jane, and Jenisha. Jeremiah Kum.sey, born Sep- 
tember 2-1:, 1800, in Orange County, came to Van Etten in 18(16, where he died in 1872, 
at the age of seventy-two. He married in 1S27 Savina Mclntyre, of Hector, Tompkins 
County, N. V., daughter of Z. and Ophelia Mclntyre. His widow survives and resides 
at Van Ettenville, aged eighty-three. 

Rumsej', Nathan, a native of Monroe, Orange County, N. Y., died at the age of 
seventy-live. He married Elizabeth Earl, and his children were Nathan D., Royal, 
Ruth, Rachel, Mary, and Earl. The latter was born in Monroe and came to Van Etten 
in 1845 among the early settler!!, where he died in 18,")4, aged sixty-two. He married 
Rebecca, daughter of Thomas Weeks, and their children are Abigail, Harvey, Stephen W., 
William J.. Hannah, Sarah, Mary, Rebecca, Sylvanus D., Francis, and Jo.shua U. The 
latter w-as born in Monroe, N. V., Decembers, 1823, and came to Van Etten in 1836. He 
married Sarah E., daughter of John and Nancy Getman, and their cliildreii are Sylvanus 
E., Robert R., Milo H., Stephen W., and Inez E. He is a resident of Van Etten. His 
son Francis served in the late war and died from the effects of wounds in 1872, aged 
thirty-seven. 

Swartwood, Jacob, son of Peter, was born near Port Jarvis, Pa., and in 1790 came 
to Van Ettenville, where he died in 1838. He married Catherine Van Etten, who was 
born July 14, ISl.i, and there children were Johansvs, Hannah, Laney, and Betsey. He 
married, second, Rachel Decker. The tirst hotel in the town, of logs, was put up by 
him in 1801, and on the same ground he built the present hotel, which is now kept by 
his grandson, Jacob Swartwood. He served in the War of 1812 and drew a penson. 
He was among the first settlers in Van Etten. Johanas was born in 1791 and died in 
18^19. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander and Catherine Swartwood, and 
their children were Catherine, born July 14, 181.5 ; Jacob, born August 25, 1810 ; Alex- 
ander, born May 30, 1818; Rachel, horn September 24, 1819; Mahaly, born April 2, 
1821 ; Chauncey, born October 13, 1824 ; John S., born March 17, 1827 ; Erastus R., born 
April 25, 1832 ; and Sylvester, born October 20. 1834. Jacob married, February 16, 1843, 
Grizell Archibald, born October 13, 1819, daughter of Andrew and Janett Archibald, . 
natives of Scotland. They have one daughter, Elizabeth J. Mr.s. Swartwood died in 
184S. Elizabeth J. married Alfred J. Swartwood, who was born September 29, 1849, a 
son of Capt. John and Susan P. (Curtis) Swartwood, and they have one daughter, Grace 
G., born October 3, 1875. They are proprietors of Hotel Swartwood and have one 
adopted son, John D., born February 27, 1872. Jacob has been postmaster for over 
fifty years, being now aged seventy-five. This was the inscription over his hotel in 
1801 : "Come all ye golly topers, as you pass by call in and drink, 1 know you are dry, 
and if you have but half a crown, you are welcome to my jug set down." 

Ward, Abijah, was a native of Ireland and came to New York before the Revolu- 
tionary war, (hiring which he .served under General Sullivan in his campaign through 
Western New York, afterward drawing a pension. His son Henry, born in Schoharie 
Gounty, moved to Steuben County, N. Y., in 1820, where he died at the age of seventy- 
eight. By his wife, Miranda, he had six children: Reuben, Benjamin, Medan B., 
Miranda, Sarah, and Juda. Reuben was born in Schoharie County and now resides at 
Painted Post at the age of seventy-three. He married Dorcas Wight, of New Hamp- 
shire, daughter of Philip Wight, and their children arc Albert S., Phillip A., Miranda, 
Burr, Dorr, Jennie, Benjamin, and Clara. Albert S. married Fiances Barrows, daughter 
of Uriah Calkins, and his children are Mary A., Adah J., Ella if., Alice F., Albert S., jr., 
and Amos H. He served in the late war in Company C, One Hundred and Seventh 
New York Volunteers, enlisting July 10, 18(i2 ; he was in the battle of Antietam and 
was wounded at Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863, losing a foot, and was honorably dis- 



64 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

charged August 27, 1863. He was promoted to sergeant and now draws a pension. He 
is postmaster and justice of the peace and is interested in insurance. 

Warner, Ebenezer, son of Ebenezer, was a native of Vermont and came to Sherburne, 
Chenango County, N. Y., and finally removed to Van Etten among the early settlers, 
where he died after forty years' residence, agedsi.xty-six. Remarried Annie La Grange 
and their children were Sarah A., Harriet, Ebenezer, and William. The latter, born at 
Sherburne, N. Y., in 1821, came to Van Etten in 1S40, where he now resides. He mar- 
ried Sarah House, of Spencer, N. Y., daughter of Garret R. and Margaret House, and 
their children are Juliette and William W. The latter married Lizzie Nourse, who was 
born March 7, 1851, a daughter of Edwin A. and Mary (Fales) Nourse, of Van Etten, 
and then- children are Cora May, born Novemlier 12, 1875; Forbes H., born February 
28, 1879; Frank Lee, born January 30, 1881 ; and George Edwin, born August 29, 
1883. He is a resident farmer of V'an Etten. Juliette married Forbes H. Hugg, of 
Spencer, N. Y., son of David L. Hugg. He died May 15, 1889', aged forty-seven. 

Westbrook, Cobus, born in New Jersey, served in the Revolutionary war under Gen- 
eral Washington and drew a pension. He moved to Van Etten, N. Y., among the early 
settlers, where he died at an advanced age. By his wife, Catherine, he had six chil- 
dren : Peter, Cornelius, James, Polly, Elizabeth, and Catherine. Peter was born in 
New Jersey, August 5, 1797, and came to Van Etten at the age of seven with his father, 
where he died aged si.xty-three. He married Fanny, daughter of Jonathan Hill, of 
Van Etten, and their children were Daniel, Luther, Lyman, Abner, Amasa, Adelbert, 
Milroy, Rebecca. Charity, and Jacob. The latter, born at Van Etten. May 5, 1839, \\\ 
1865 married Esther Card, of Potter County, Pa., daughter of Samuel and Mary 
(Cook) Card, who died September 9, 1888, aged forty. His children are Abner H., 
ililton S., Billey, Mina, Emma, Fannj', and Mattie. He served in the late war in Bat- 
tery M, Third New York Volunteer Light Artillerj', for three years, was honorably dis- 
charged in 18G4, and is now drawing a pension. He was engaged in the Burnside ex- 
pedition and under General Grant at the surrender of General Lee, Vjeing wounded at 
Petersburg, losing the ,sight of one eye by the bursting of a shell. Abner served in the 
Ninth Illinois Cavalry as a lieutenant, and died at the hospital in Memphis, Tenn., in 1864, 
aged twenty-seven. Amasa D. was born at Van Etten, June 9, 1842, and married Em- 
eline, daughter of Daniel and Rosana (Clark) Swartout. Their children are Albert and 
Lizzie. He served in Company K, Twentj'-sixth New York Volunteers, for two years, 
being the first volunteer from the town of Van Etten. He enlisted April 22, 1861, and 
was honorably discharged May 14, 1863. He served at the battles of Bull Run, Cedar 
Mountain, Rappahannock, .second Bull Run, Chantilla, South Mountain, Antietani, 
Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, and under General Seymour he received a commis- 
sion as captain. He is now drawing a pension, ilillroy served in the One Hundred 
and Forty-first New York Infantry under Captain Baldwin, and died at Van Etten 
from the efl'ects of a wound combined with pneumonia, at the age of forty. His great- 
great-grandfather, Cobus Westbrook, was killed in a skirmish with the Indians before 
the war of the Revolution. Cobus, jr., his son, served in the U'ar of 1812 and drew 
a pension. 

VETERAN. 

Bailey, Lorenzo W., born August 28, 1825, in Enfield, Tompkms County, N. Y., was 
a son of James and Sally and grandson of William Bailey, of Romulus, Seneca County, 
N. Y. He was educated in the common schools and at the Ithaca Academy, and was a 
school teacher for many years. February 17,1857, he married Mary L., daughter of Thomas 
and Sarah Sleeper, of Millport, N. Y., and had two daughters, Sarah S. and Elizabeth G. 
In 1848 he commenced the study of medicine with his brother, M. D. Bailey, at Ha- 
vana, N. Y. He attended the medical school at Geneva, N. Y., the College of Physi- 
cians and Surgeons in New York city and was graduated from the Castleton (Vt.) 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 65 

Medical Collefre in November, 1852, lie has piactioeil a.sa physician anil .surgeon from 
that time to llie pre.sent — at Havana from 185'J to 1857, at Covert, Seneca Connty, N.Y,, 
to 18()(), anil at Millport, N. Y. He was assi.staiit .surgeon in charge of the Ninety-third 
New York Infantry from April 1, 18G5, to June 2!), 18<i5, He has been a member of 
the Chemung County Medical Society since 1874 and a justice of the peace at Millport 
for the past live years. 

lloke. Dr. George K., son of Jonas and Mary Anu lloUe and graiidson of Mathias 
and Lana Hoke, was bornjin Otse^'o County, N. Y., August 1, 1827, and married Ada- 
line, daughter of Moses and .Tulia Hawkins, Their two children are Delia and Lena, 
Dr. Hawkins was educated at the common schools and (he academy at Cooperstown, 
N. Y,, and was graduated from the .Medical College at Berkshire, Mass. He com- 
menced practice as an allopathic physician and surgeon at Springlield Center, Otsego 
County, N. Y., and in 1852 came to Veteran, where he has practiced successfully, being 
now located at Pine Valley, He has .served as justice of the peace and town superin- 
tendent of schools four years and has been I'oroner of Chemung County three years. 

Meeker, Ger.sham, was born in Connecticut and came to Veteran before his marriage, 
in about 1800, where he died aged seventy years. He .served in the War of 1812. He 
married Aniii.s, daughter of William Lovell, and their children are: Melinda, Ichabod, 
Thankfull, William, Sally, and Phebe. Ichabod Meeker was born in Veteran, where he 
died in 1880 aged seventy-seven year.s. He married Betsey, daughter of William and 
Rosanna Riley, and by her had the following children: .Sn.san, Kliza, Nancy D., Will- 
iam H., and George D. The latter married Ella Brown, of Big Flats, daughter of Elder 
J. N. Brown, and their children are Ernest L., Ro.sa B., Ray D., and Clair G. Mr. 
Meeker is a dealer in agricultural implements at Pine Valley. 

Palmer, W. C. son of Sidney A. and Elizabeth (Smith) Palmer, was born in Sullivan 
County, N. Y., April 7, 1853. He removed with his parents to Veteran in 1856, and 
receiving a business education entered the employ of the Northern Central Railroad as 
telegraph operator in 1868, being appointed station agent in August of the following 
year. He has been continuously with the company since, acting as operator as well as 
station and e.xpress ngent. He was appointed postmaster in 1880 under President 
Hayes, and h.as been re-appointed by eacli succeeding administration. In April, 1877, 
he married S. Delia, daughter of Alexander and Louisa (Carter) Falls. Her father was 
a prominent citizen of Chemung County for many years, being a native of Orange 
County, N. Y,, and coming to Chemung in early life. He died March 1, 1884, in his 
si.\ty-.seventh year. .Mrs. Palmer was for several years a teacher in Chemung County. 
Mr, and Mrs. Palmer have one daughter, Mollie A., now twelve years of age. 

Seaman, Horace, was born near Rutland, Vt,, and came to Veteran, where he died 
at the age of seventy-si.x years. He married, in 1840, Eliza, daughter of Jonathan and 
Renhama (King) Thomas, of Veteran. Uezekiah King, grandsire of Mr.s. Eliza Sea- 
man, served in the war of the Revolution. Eliza Seaman is still a resident of Millport, 
aged eighty-three years. Jonathan Thomas's children were: David, King, Henry, Gil- 
bert, Edward, Eliza, Mercy, and Maria. Jonathan Thomas came from Rhode Island 
and his wife from Washington County, N. Y, 

Wilco.x, Philo, born in Dutchess County, N. Y., came to Sonthport, where he died 
aged about fifty. His children were : Richard, George, James, Mariah, .Sarah, and 
Rachel, Richard Wilcox, born in Delaware County, came to Sonthport and is now a 
farmer in Horseheads, He married Hannah, daughter of Edward and Locina Foot, of 
Delaware County, and their chihlren are: Josephine, Calista, Homer, Amy, Celeslia, 
Norvil, and Cora. Norvil H. Wilcox was born in .Sonthport, June 11, 1860, and Feb- 
ruary 15, 1.S82, married Carrie, daughter of Hamilton and Martha (Soulhworth) Greene, 
He is a general merchant at Pine Valley, being senior member of the firm of Wilcox & 
Greene. 



66 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Wiser, George, born at Byron, Wurtemberg, Germany, October 13, 1835, came to 
Millport, N. Y., at the age of twenty years. At tlie age of twenty- four lie marrieil 
Uatlierine Donovan, of Millport, N. Y., and they had one daughter, Mary, born in 1860. 
He rented a gri.st-mill at Pine Valley for two years and then, in 1872, bought the mill 
properly of Nancy and John Buroh. In this he has been engaged twenty-one years. 
The only grist-mill at Pine Valley was built in 1821 or 1825 by William Bentley. 

ELMIRA. 

Abbot, Aaron B., a native of Smithville, Chenango County, N. Y., was born Septem- 
ber 1, 1818, was educated in the public schools, and in early life was a farmer. He be- 
came a contractor and builder, and later a conductor and foreman for the New York, 
Lake Erie, and Western Railroad Company, serving tliat corporation for seventeen 
years. He came to Elmira in 1850. January 7, 1844, Mr. Abbot married Ann Eliza, 
daughter of Caleb P. Thurber, of O.xford, Chenango County, N. Y. They have one 
daughter, Mary, who married John H. Holmes, of Cazenovia, Madison County, N. Y. 
Mr. Holmes came to Elmira in 1881 and entered into business with H. O. Hayes under 
the firm name of Hohnes & Hayes. They deal in masons' supplies and are agents for 
King's Windsor plastering cement. 

Abliot, Charles, was born in Essex County, England, March 30. 1833, and came to 
the United States in 1857, locating in Owego, Tioga County, N. Y. January 1, 18G1, 
he married Catherine J. Carroll, of Owego. They have nine children, viz.: Sarah A., 
Charles F.. Honora V., Stephen P., Margaret E., Mary 11., John A., George T., and Ed- 
ward H. Mr. Abbot has been connected with Woodlawn Cemetery for eighteen years, 
first as sexton and since 1885 as superintendent. 

Adriance, Frank W., M.D., president of the Southern Tier HomcEOpathic Medical So- 
ciety and a member of the New York State HonnBopathic Society, was born in Scipio, 
N. Y., September 19, 1854. Receiving an academic education in Niagara County at 
the age of about twenty years he began the study of medicine under Dr. R. S. Bishop, 
of Medina, N. Y., and in 1877 was graduated from the Hahnemann Medical College of 
Philadelphia, Pa. He entered upon practice at Watkins, N. Y., June 1, 1877, and in 
1886 came to Elmira, where he was associated with Dr. N. R. Seeley until the death of 
the latter. Dr. Adriance was married at Watkins to Miss Elizabeth Beach, a daughter 
of Mrs. George C. Beach. While in practice at Watkins he served two successive 
terms as eoroner and was also a member of the Board of Education. 

Aldridge, Franklin F., one of the leading younger members of the Elmira Bar, was 
liorn in Owego. N. Y., August 27, 1861. When about two and one-half years of age 
his parents removed to Athens, Pa., where they lived for about eleven years, and where 
young -Mdridge received the rudiments of an education. From that time till February, 
1881, when he came to Elmira, Franklin F. "drifted around,'' picking up what knowledge 
he could in various places and graduating from the Owego Academy, where he pursued at 
the same time a preparatory course for Cornell University, but financial matters decided 
for him a dilferent turn. Coming to Elmira in the year named he entered the employ of 
the Erie Railroad Company, later, however, enteiing the law office of Taylor & Bacon as 
a student. Mr. Aldridge was admitted to the bar in April, 1887, and shortly after opened 
an office for himself, continuing alone about two years with more than ordinary suc- 
<^ess. Upon the appointment of Judge Taylor, the senior member of Taylor & Bacon, 
to the bench he w.is ofiered and accepted a law partuer.^hip in that firm, styled Bacon 
& Aldridge. which continues in active practice. During his entire life Mr. Aldridge has 
made his own way without pecuniary assistance. He is a self-made man, a man of 
prominence and integrity, and is deeply interested in every good work looking to the 
advancement of his fellow citizens. For the pa.st seven 3'ears he has been a member of 
the Thirtieth Separate Company N. G. S. N. Y. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 67 

Allen, Charles A., born in Frankl'ort, N. V., December 6, 1851, moved lo Elniira with 
bis parents when a boy. He learned the trade of marble ciitlinp. On January ■">. 1881, 
he married Ida B., danphter of Joseph Cariledge, of Philadelphia, I'a. They have live 
children: John C, Almina II, Kdilh. Manila, and Earle Wright. Mr. Allen began bus- 
iness as a marble dealer in 1876 at 3I)-1-312 State street, and now gives employment to 
fourteen men. He owns a valuable Hag and building stone (piarry in Pennsylvania. 

Ainberg, I'Viedricli, born in Saarljriicken, Prussia. March 1, 18o2, came to the United 
States in I860, locating first in New York city, where he remained three years. In 
I8o^! he came to Elmira. He was by occupation a machinist, whicli he followed 
until I8(J9. He married twice, first, June G, 1857, Klizabeth Greli', by whom he had 
six children, two of whom died in infancy. The others were Sophia, William. An- 
nie, and Fred. The latter died aged tweiily-si.\. Annie married Frank Aldridge, of 
Elmira. For his second wife Mr. Anibfrg married Elizabeth Geib, by whom he had 
four children, two of whom died in infancy, and Lulu and Kate, who are living. He 
engaged in the grocery business in 1870. which he still conducts at the comer of Clin- 
ton and Lake streets. 

Annabel, Charles E<lwin, M.D.. was born in Howard, Steuben County, N. Y., No- 
vember 7, I8.")0. At the early age of sixteen years he began the study of medicine in 
his native place in the olfice of the late Dr. A. 15. Case. In 18G9 he entered the Medi- 
cal College of the University of New York and graduated therefrom in the spring of 
1871 as an M.D. He began practice at once in Cameron, N. Y., continuing there until 
the spring of IV88, wlien he removed to Elmira. Meanwhile he spent about two years 
in the hospitals of New York city and under private instruction, fitting liini.self for the 
special treatment of diseases of w omen and practical surgery. In the latter branch of 
his profession Dr. Annabel has, since coming to Elmira, performed some remarkable 
capital operations. He is a member of tne Chemung County Medical Society and of 
the Elmira Academy of Medicine. He belongs to the Masonic order. Dr. Annabel 
was married in Cameron. N. Y., to a daughter of Natlian Ilallelt, and lias one daughter. 

Annabel, Frederick C, born in Howanl, Steuben County, N. Y., is a son of Frede- 
rick Annabel, a fanner of that town. Frederick C. was born on January ;{1. 1800, and 
received an acaileinic education. He began his medical studies with his lirolher at 
Cameron, X. Y., and entered the University of New York, graduating from the Med- 
ical Department, class of '87, after some private instruction. He began practice at Cam- 
eron, where he continued until he came to Elmira in the fall of 1890. He is a member 
of the Academy of .Medicine and the Chemung County Medical Society. His specialty 
is the treatment of the heart and lungs. 

Atwater, Darius A., born in Hector, October 8, 1837, acquired his education in the 
common .schools, and in early lite engaged in business in bis father's saw-mill. Aug- 
ust I'll. I8()'J, he enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Sixty-first Infantry New 
York Volunteers, and w as honorably discharged at the close of the war. November 13, 
18(>0, he married Fidelia, only child of Zalmon and Emeline Lyon, formerly of Hector. 
They had six children, viz.: Burton W., Lina U., Charles A., Lucia A., and Zora B. 
His father, Jeremiah, w;is born in New Haven, Conn. Three brothers of the Atwater 
family founded that city. 

Babcock, Erastiis F., a son of the late Albert F. BaVjcock, was born in Chemung 
County in 18.55. Albert F. Babcock was, like his son, a lawyer, and also a prominent 
merchant: he was many years superintendent of the Chemung Canal and filled various 
positions of trust and responsibility. He died in 1881 at the age of sixty-eight years. 
Eraslus F. Babcock was educated at the Delaware (N. Y.) Literary Institute, studied 
law with Thurston & Hart, of Flmiia, and at the early age of twenty-two years was 
admitted to the bar. He was corjioration attorney of Elmira village ; was twice city 
attorney ; was for one term district attorney ; and in 1884 was Democratic candidate for 
county judge. In the spring of 1885 Mr. Cleveland appointed him postmaster of Kl- 



68 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

niiia which office he held four years. Mr. Baljcock is an able lawyer, a forcible speaker, 
ami a writer of more than ordinary ability. He has one son, John F. , who is a grad- 
uate of Vale College; class of '85, and is also a member of the Elinira Bar. 

Bacon, Jame.«, attorney at law, i.< a native of the town.^hip of Deertield, Tioga Comity, 
I'a., and a son of Ard lioyt and J^ucinda (Murdookj Bacon. His father descended from 
the Bacons of England, who probably came originally from Normandy wilh the Con- 
queror. James Bacon was born December 8, lb54. He graduated as A. B. from La- 
fayette College at Kaston, Pa., in 187G, and from the Columbia Law School in thecla.ss 
of 1878 as LL B. He was at once admitted to the bar and a year later was admitted 
as counsellor. After a year's study in the office of W. B. Williams, of Jersey City, he 
located in Elmira, aiui wilh the Hon. S. S. Taylor formed a copartnership which con- 
tinued until tlie elevation of Mi. Taylor to the county judgeship in 1889. In Decem- 
ber, 1884, Mr. Bacon was commissioned major and inspector of ride practice of the 
Seventh Brigade of the State National Guard, and still holds that rank as a supernumer- 
ary officer, the brigade having been disbanded. Major Bacon is past commander of 
St. Omer's Commandar}', No. 19, K. T., Elmira, an able Re])ulilican campaign speaker, 
and is recognized as among the leading lawyers of the city. 

Backer, Frederick, was born in He.s.-ie- Darmstadt, Germany, November 27, 1816, 
coming to the United States in 1844. For two _y ears he remained in the city of New 
York, but in 184G he removed to Elmira, where he married, April 29, I8,')7, Anna R. 
Kokoska, formerly of Grodense, West Prussia, by whom he has had five children. Two 
died in infancy and three survive: Martin, born August 5, 18.59; Philipena C, born 
March 8, 18G4, who married Frank A. Bowne; and George, born June 13, ]8()6, who is 
now supervisor of the Third ward. The sous are conducting a grocery and meat market 
and Star carpet cleaning establishment on Sullivan street under the firm name of 
Backer Brothers & Bowne. 

Badger, Harwood M., was born in Harpursville, Broome County, N. Y., October 31, 
1812, and came to Elmira about 1832. In 1835 he bought 180 acres of land on New- 
town Creek near East Hill, where he now resides, and on which the woolen-mills and 
the sanitarium are now located. He married three times, first, Emily Smitli, February 
7, 1838, by whom he had three children, of whom two died young and Martha L. died 
at the age of twenty-six years. He married, second, Mrs. Jane D. Gillett, August 19, 
1868, and third, Mrs. Jennie R. De Lacy, of Boston, March 18, 1889. Mr. Badger has 
been a Republican since the formation of that party, but has never sought for official 
responsibility. He has served as poormaster and street commissioner. His father, 
Maj. Samuel Badger, was born m Massachusetts about 1777 and early moved to Har- 
pursville, N. Y. He married Abiga'l Miles, of Connecticut, and they had twelve chil- 
dren, namely: lanthy, Samuel M., Sotihia, Marcus M., Russell M., Amanda, Amasa M., 
Harwood .\I., Ilarvey P., Lucius M., Angeline, and Luther. 

Bailey. Romanzo C, of English and Scotch descent, was born December 13, 1837, at 
Carnljridgeport, Vt. He obtained an academic education and in early life taught school, 
being also an assistant teacher in the academy. April 15, 18G1, he enlisted in Com- 
pany F, Sixth Massachusetts Infantry Volunteers, under Col. E. F. Jones. He was 
with the regiment when it was attacked by the rebel mob in Baltimore on the 19th of 
April, 18G1. Being honorably discharged at the expiration of his term of service he 
again enlisted as first lieutenant in the One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Infantry Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers, and was discharged June 25, 1SG3, on account of expiration of 
terra of service. He afterward accepted the captaincy of Company B, Eighth United 
Stales Infantry Colored Troop.s, and served until the close of the war. December 20, 
1871, he was appointed division inspector wilh the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the 
Pennsylvania National Guard. Octoljer 20, 18G3, he married Sarah A., daughter of 
Harris T. and Hannah Ryan, of Tioga County, Pa. They have two children, Fred 
H., born July 27, 18G5, and Carrie E., born December 6, 1868. Cephas Bailey, father of 
Romanzo C, was born in Vermont, May 15, 180G, and November 27, 1834, married Car- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 69 

oline Wright, of tliat Slate. In 185G lie came to Tioga County, Pa. They had five chil- 
dren, namely: Ronianzo C, llairison C, Victoria C, Joseph, O. W., and Nancy. His 
grandfather, Cyrus Bailey, served in the War of 1812. 

Baker, Mark C, teacher of voice culture and singing in the Elmira College School of 
Music, is vice-president for Chemung County of the N. Y. S. M. T. A. and a ineniher 
of the Voice Specialist Committee. He wa.s born at Sullivan, Pa., in 1857, studied with 
numerous teachers in this country, in England, and in Germany, has composed a num- 
ber of songs and part .<ongs, and is well read and is one of the association's leading 
members. He is also conductor of choruses, tenor .soloist, and teacher of voice 
culture and singing at the National Chautauqua at Washington. June 10, 1881, he 
married Hatlie V,. Lathro]), of Waterl)ury, Conn. They have one son, Edwin L., born 
October 24, 1882. Mr. Baker has resided in Elmira seven years. He is organist and 
choirmaster of the First Presbyterian Cliurch. 

Baldwin, Erwin J., attorney and coun.selor-at-law and a native of Ot.sego County, 
N. Y., was born March 10, 1849. His father, John J. Baldwin, reared four sons, twoof 
whom are lawyei-s, one is a minister of the gospel, and another is a mechanic. Erwin J. 
was educated in the district schools of his native place, came to Elmira in 1872, and en- 
tered the olilce of E. B. Youmans, finishing the law course begun in that gentleman's 
office at Otego. In September, 1873, he was admitted to the bar. He remained one 
year with Mr. Youmans, was associated some time with a Mr. Brooks, and in 1882 took 
into co-partnership his brother, F. E. Baldwin. Mr. Baldwin is cla.ss-leader and steward 
in the M. E. Church and superintendent of its Sunday school. He married, in Elmira, 
in 1876, a daughter of J. Lowman McDowell, and has three children. 

Baldwin, Francis E., of the law firm of Baldwin & Baldwin, was born in Otsego 
County, N. Y., August 30, ISoG. He was educated in the Oneonta Academy, studied 
law with his brother, E. J. Baldwin, at Elmira, and was admitted to the bar in January, 
1881. Aside from his profession Mr. Baldwin takes an active part in social, religious, 
and political alTairs. He is president of the Board of Trustees of the W. C. T. U.; chair- 
man of the State Central Committee of the Prohibition party ; is editorially connected 
with the Clarion, the organ of the Prohibition party; and steward and class-leader 
in the Hedding M. E. Cliurch. Mr. Baldwin was married in Elmira, May 7, 1882, to 
Miss Anna E., daughter of the Rev. James L. S. Grandin, of the M. E. Church, and they 
have two daughters. 

Banks, Samuel, born in Devonshire, England, came to London with his parents when 
a child, where he was educated. At the age of si.xteen he came to the Inited States 
with his uncle and first located in Rochester, N. Y. In London he learned the trade of 
sign painting and ornamental work. He was a member of the Rochester Light Guards, 
whose reputation for efiiciency and drilling during the war was second to none. Mr. 
Banks was a drihmaster for three year.s. He has resided in Elmira since February 10, 
1863. He married Cora F., youngest daughter of Amos West, and they have four 
children: Charles H., Fred W., Minnie, and Lizzie C. Mr. Banks was foreman of tlie 
Pullman car shops in Elmira for nine years. His business place is in the Opera House 
block on Lake street. 

Banlley, Constantine, was liorn in Irslingen in Southern Germany, May 1.5, 1839, 
and came to America in 1859, locating first in Corning, later in Batli. Steuben County, 
and finally in Elmira, January 23, 1861. He worked at various occupations until 1865. 
when he began to learn the trade of manufacturing wire goods with Rowland <fe Beadle, 
Various changes took place with these partners until 1873, when Mr. Bantley bought 
out the entire plant, which he has enlarged to a commodious three-story brick building 
on the corner of East Fiflh street and Madi.son avenue. The concern is fully equipped 
with the latest improved machinery for manufacturing iron, tinned and galvanized, brass, 
copper, and lath, wire cloth, iiank and office ra. ling, trellises, coal and sand screens, and 
riddles and selves. Mr. Bantley is one of Elmira's practical l)usiness men. June 14, 



70 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

18G9, lie man-led Barbara, dauijliter of Jolin and Mary Ann Deister, formerly of Ger- 
many, but at that time of Elmira, having come to America in 1855. 

Barker, Frederick, born in Monlville, Me., April 2S», 1839, received his education in 
the public schools, supplemented by a few terms in the high schools, and entered a conn- 
try store as clerk when he was nineteen years old. He enlisted in 1SG2 in Coni- 
. pany I. Twenty-sixth Infantry Maine Volunteers and one year afterward was honorably 
discharged with the rank of captain. Mi-. Barker spent most of tliree years in Cuba 
and South America, a portion of this titne being in business at Baran Quilla, United States 
of Columbia. In December, 187G, he married Emma C, daughter of John \V. White, of 
Belfast, Me., where he was engaged in the hardware business until 18G9, and where he was 
clerk many years before. He began a business career in 1S72 unoer the firm name of 
Booth, Bounce, Rose & Co., subsequently changed to Barker, Dounce, Rose & Gray, 
and since 1888 as Barker, Rose & Gray. This firm is now transacting an extensive 
trade. 

Barnes, Eugene B., born August 19, 184G, enlisted September 11, 1861, in Company 
Or. Fifth Cavalry New York Volunteers, was captured at Hagarstown, Md., July G, 
1863, was sent to Belle Isle prison, and February 26, 1864, was transferred to Ander- 
sonville, where he remained until October 11, 1864, when he was sent to Milan, 
Ga. On November 20th he was removed to Savannah, Ga., where he was 
pardoned on the 26th. He was honorably discharged January 14. 1865. On Jan- 
uary 12, 1870, he married Eliza L., daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Loomis, by whom 
he has had two childeren : Clyde £., born May 31, 1871, and Charles E., born August 
3, 1874. Mr. Barnes's father, Washington, was born in Tioga County, N. Y., and mar- 
ried Catherine Van Camp, who bore him nine children. Mr. Barnes is an engineer on 
the Northern Central Railroad. 

Battersby, Patrick, was born in Ireland in 1847 and came to America in 1866. He 
was a clerk in a merchandise house in Troy, N. Y., for nine years, and removed to Kl- 
mira in 1875, where he was engaged in the grocery business for thiee years on Broad- 
way. He was a commercial traveler for about three years, and in 1881 was with the 
Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, with whom he has been engaged ever since. He 
waseljcted a member of the Board of Education in 1877, and has held that office for 
eifht successive terras. In the meantime he has served by appointment as excise com- 
missioner for three years, commencing in May, 1885. He is a member of the Catliolic 
Church, a staunch Republican, and has been for sixteen years a member of the School 
Board. He married, in Troy, N. Y., in 1S75, Mi.ss Curran, and they have four children 
living. 

Baxter, Hon. Archie E., attorney at law and United States marshal for the Norihein 
District of New York, was born in Scotland, December 16, 1844, and in 1849 came with 
his parents to America. He recived his preliminary education at the Corning Academy, 
read law awhile at Bath, N. Y., and was graduated from the Albany Law School in the 
spring of 1879 as president of his class. From college he came to Elmira, where he soon 
reached and has since held high rank at the bar. His political career began while he 
was yet a citizen of Steuben County, where lie served one term — 1875-78 — as county 
clerk. In 1882 he was the Repnlilican candidate for representative in Congress, and 
although he ran 2,000 ahead of his ticket he was defeated. In 1885 he was elected 
clerk of Chemung County and in 1889 was appointed United States marshal. In Au- 
gust, 1862, Mr. Baxter enlisted at Corning as a private in Company E, One Hundred 
and Forty-first New York Regiment, and ."served three years. Before his regiment left 
the State he was made a sergeant and was thereafter promoted to orderly-sergeant, first 
lieutenant, and captain, and left tlie service with the rank of brevet-major of volunteers. 
He took part in the battles of the Peninsula campaign of 18G3, Wahatchie, Tenn., Look- 
out Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Dalton, Ringold, Kesacca and Atlanta, Ga., Benton- 
ville, N. C, and in the last fight of Sherman's army near Raleigh, N. C. At Resacca, 
May 15, 1864, he received bis first and only wound during the war, a gun-shot throngU 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 71 

tlie hand. For seven or eight years after the war he was identified with the State Na- 
tional fiiiard and held the ranks resiiectively of adjntant and lientenant-colone! of the 
One Hundred and Sixth Regiment. Colonel Baxter is always an active, hard working 
Kepublican and has " stumped " the Stale in every cani|iaign for the past twenty years. 
He married, in Stenben County, April 9, 187.'i, the aoeomplished daughter of Nathan J. 
Wheeler, a prominent lawyer of Cohocton, N. Y. 

Beardsley, Klias J., A.H., A.M., was born in Catharine, Scluiyler County (then a 
part of Chemnng or Tioga>, July 7, 183li. His father, Zachane C, a farmer, was a native 
of Coimeclicut who died in Schuyler in 1870. He was among the pioneers of that 
county and was eighty-four years of age at his death. He had six sons and three 
daughters, Elias J. being the youngest son. Klias J. IJeardsIey was educated in thu 
common schools of Catharine and at Newark Academy, Wayne County. He gradu- 
ated from Union College in 1S55 with the degrees of A.B. and C.K. and later received 
from the same college the degree of M.A. He began teaching after leaving college in 
Dundee (Yates County) Academy, where he remained one year. He taught a private 
school in Kansas a short time, and then came to Klmira in December, 18r)8, where he 
has since been engaged in teaching, and has been principal of one of the grammar 
.xchools ever since he has been there, with exception of two years. In September, 
188£), he was appointed superintendent of city schools and secretary of the Board of 
Education. While in Kausaa he was connected with a newspaper. He is a member of 
the Park Church and of the Masonic order. Mr. Beardsley married at Catharine, N. Y., 
in February, ISoS, a daughter of J. F. Hopkins. He has one son, Harry M., who is a 
graduate of Cornell University and is now a member of the H. C. Spaulding Lumber 
Company, of Klmira, being one of the directors and the treasurer of that concern. 

Becher, Rev. Otto, born in Baden, Germany, March 10, 18G3, was educated for the 
ministry in the seminary at Ba.sel, Switzerland, and was ordained to the priesthood in 
his native place. His fir.st charge was as a substitute for a friend. In 1880 he came to 
the United States and located in Troy, N. Y., where he had charge of St. Paul's Ger- 
man Church for three years. June 14, 188i), he married Theodora Hagennieyer, of 
Baden, whose father and several brothers are also ministers. They have one child, a 
daughter, Emelie, boiii June 27, 1890. Upon the death of Rev. Mr. Kammererthe Rev. 
Mr. Becher offered his services to the First German Evangelical Church of Klmira and 
was installed its pastor on Sunday, October 25, 1891. 

Beers, Ednnmd O., the secretary of the Southern Tier Masonic Relief Association, 
was born in Elmira, April 4, 1829. He is a son of Jabez H. Beers, a pioneer of this 
place and a builder by occupation, who died in 18(jO, at the age of seventy-four years. 
Of a family of seven sons and six daughters two sons are deceased and three .served in 
the army. Edmund O. early learned the carpenter's trade and followed it until 18G1, 
when, m July of that year, he enlisted in Company H, Fiftieth New York Kngineers, 
as captain, remaining with tliera until October 2(j, 18G4, and being honorably discharged 
with the rank of major and brevet lieutenant-colonel. Returning to Elmira he em- 
barked in the tobacco trade, but two years later studied dentistry, and followed that 
profession for seven or eight years. Mr. Beers .served as sherift' from 1877 to 1880 and 
was city collector in 1874. In 1877 the memorable strikes occurred and for .service 
rendered Mr. Beers received from the citizens of Elmira a souvinir in the form of a 
fine gold watch as a testimonial of his elHcient official career. He has been secretary of 
the Southern Tier Masonic Relief Association for five years. When eighteen years of 
age he first entered the militia and afterward was with the Southern Tier Rifles until 
the war broke out. In 1874 he was made captain of Company D, One Hundred and 
Tenth Battalion of the National Tiuard of the State of New York, was elected briga- 
dier-general in 1884, and is now a supernunierary brigadier-general and carried on the 
roll.s. He is a Mason of the 32° and a member of Corning Consistory. In politics he 
is a Democrat. Mr. Beers married, in Elmira in 18.02, a daughter of William Beers, and 
they have one daughter, Mrs. D. J. Weyman, who lives in Washington, D. C. 



72 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Beers, Johnson, deputy factory inspector of the Sixth District of the State of New 
York, was born in Biailfoni County, Pa., January I'l, 1843. lie came to Ehnira wlieii 
thirteen years old, his father dying ten years previously. He accpiired a fair education 
and was a boolc-l<eeper at the time of tlie war. Early in 18G1 he enlisted at Elmira iu 
Comiiany 11, Fiftieth New York Engineers, and served about a year as orderly-ser- 
geant. Ill health compelled his return home to Elmu-a, where he has been variously 
but always actively employed. He was deputy sherifl' under Gen. E. O. Beei> and sub- 
sequently a clerk in the city collector's office. In June, 188", he was appointed under 
Governor Hill, by Hon. James Connolly, chief inspector, to liis present position, the 
tenure of which under the law is " during good behavior." Mr. Beers belongs to the 
Masonic and Odd Fellow fraternities, the G. A. R., and other beneficiary societies. He 
has assisted in tlie organization of two Grand Army posts, serving as commander of 
Fitch Post, No. 165, one term and adjutant of Hofi'man Post, No. (JOti, from its organ- 
ization. In politics a Democrat Mr. Beers was at one time a Greenbacker and was 
connected with the pulilication of the Daily Bulletin, a labor paper of some prominence. 
He was married in 1801, at Bmghamton, N. Y., to Miss Elmendorf. They have one 
son, who is a clerk in the office of the Masonic Relief Association at Elmira. 

Beger, Frank J. (whose army name was Baker), was born in Benshain, Hesse-Darm- 
stadt, Germany, July 24, 1844, and came with his parents to New York city. He was 
a cigarmaker by trade. September 18, 1864, he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred 
and Fiftieth Infantry New York Volunteers, and was honorably discharged August 24, 
18G5. In 1809 he came to Elmira, and Decemlier 24, 1870, (in Culia, Allegany County,) 
he married Lucy J., daughter of David H. and Electa Warren. They have an adopted 
daughter, Lena, born March 24, 1S79. Mr. Beger was in Slierman's army on its march 
to the sea. 

Beraan, John R., quartermaster and post commander of Baldwin Post, G. A. R., and 
one of Elmira's letter carriers from January, 1874, until July, 1891, and now with the 
Elmira Daily Aelrertiser, was born in Canada, July 0, 1841, a son of a native of Con- 
necticut. He was educated in Canaila and learned the carpenters' trade, removing to 
the States in 1801. He enlisted at Ithaca in May, 1803, in Company G, Fifteenth New 
York Cavalry, as a private, and rose to lieutenant before being mustered out in August, 
1805. His regiment was consolidated with tlie Twenty-second Pennsylvania Cavalry 
and was called the Second Provincial Cavalry. He took ]iart in the following battles: 
Upperville, Va., Lost River Gap, Newmarket, Front Royal, Newton, Mt. Jackson, Pied- 
mont, Waynesboro, Jjynchburg, Salem, Martinsljurg, Snicker Gap, Achty's Gap, Win- 
chester, Charlestown, Green Spring Run, Lacy Springs, Asliland, Dinwiddle, Five 
Forks, and Appomattox. He spent two years in Michigan, returned to Elmira, and 
again went to that State in 1808, remaining two years. He then moved to Missouri, 
remaining until 1873, when he came to Elmira and joined the force of letter carriers in 
1874. He is a Mason, a member of the Royal Arcanum, of the G. A. R., and has held 
various offices ; heisal.so a member of the Presbyterian Church. He married, July 0, 
1868, a daughter of Richard Wallace. She died June 18, 1878, leaving one daughter. 
He married, second, July 27, 1879, Hattie A. Thornton, and they have two children. 

Benton, Levi, great-grandfather of Ezra L., settled in Benton, Yates County, N. Y., 
in 1789. Henry P. Benton, born in that town, was a surveyor and civil engineer. He 
married Clarissa, daughter of Andrus A. Nori^on, of Allegany County, N. Y. They 
had four children: Henry N., who enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-first In- 
fantry New York Volunteers and was killed ; and Eyra L., Maria, and Andrus. The 
latter two died in infancy. The family came to Chemung County about 1848. Mrs. 
Benton died in 1880. Her father was a soldier ni the War of 1812, and her husband, 
Henry P., died June 10, 1891, aged ninety-five years. Eyra L. Benton, liorn in Erie 
County, O., February 19, 1844, was educated in the common schools and in Angelica 
Academy. In 1801 he enlisted in Company F, Twenty-third Infantry New York Vol- 
unteers, and was honorably discharged at the expiration of his term of service. Feb- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 73 

ruary 27, 18(>7, he maiiied Alice N. Clarke, of Union Sprinfrs, anil tliey have two 
children: Jennie C, who married James \V. Scheircr, of KImira, and Henry N.. n stu- 
dent in Elinira Academy. Mi'. Benton is a .snrveyor and civil engineer by occnapation. 

Berner. Adam, was born in Geimbsheim, Hesse- Darmstadt, fjermany, April Hi, 1,SI8, 
and May 28, 1848, emigrated to America in the saJing ve.ssel Yorklonn. lie lirst 
located in Syracuse, N. Y., where he married, June 7, 1848, Mary M. Fiiiautl" who was 
born May 19, 1S22, in the same place in Germany, They went to Auburn and after 
four years, or in 18.'j2, came to Elmira, where he has followed a variety of occupations. 
In company with his son Frank he conducts a fancy grocery store on the corner of 
Bast Water and W'v^h streets. Mr- and Mrs. Berner have lost four cliildren and have 
three living, as follows: Eliza, who married August Kisenaclier ; Mar}', who married 
Oscar Kahl : ami Frank A. Both father and son belong to I'nion Lodge, No. !),5, F. and 
A, M. They are also members of the First German Evangelical Chinch of Elmira. 

Berry, John A., was born in Uochesler in 1848. where he received his education. He 
learned the trade of carriage jiainter and came to Elmira in 1871, and engaged in the 
carriage business till 1878. In that year he Iniilt his present house and has been in 
business there ever since. He employs al)out fifteen hands the year round and turns 
out a great quantity of fine work, .some of his 'lius.ses being used in New York city. 
Albany, and Washington, D. C. The tricycle coach to be used and now in process of 
construction tor a Detroit (Mich.) concern is being built by him. and he now has his 
business in shape for building street cars. 

Biggs, Edward C, born July 29, 1S41, .icqiiired his education in the common schools 
and came to the United States about 18.52 in com[mny with his brother Thomas P. 
August 2li, 18G1, he enlisted in Company C, Sixteenth Alichigan Infantry Volunteers, 
and being honorably discharged November 28, 1862, entered and reni.iined in the em- 
ploy of the government until 18G7. He married twice, first, in 18G2, Laura A.OsViurn, 
who bore him five children: Edward H., Freddie, Dottie, .lames, and Laura J. Janu- 
ary Ul, 1880, he married Susan CannilV, of Broome County, N. Y., and they have had 
three children : Ula S.. Leona E.. and Doloras F. Mr. Biggs is a contractor and builder 
in Elmira. His father. Henry Biggs, born in London, England, married Caroline Smith, 
by whom he had six children: Henry, jr., Edward C. Thomas P., Alfred, James, and 
Buckley. 

Blair, -Addison D., of thi' Elmira Bar, came here from Morrisville, N, Y,, m January, 
1870. He was born in Madison County, October 1(1, 1841, was educated at the Caze- 
noria Seminary, Harvard University, and the Albany Law School, and was graduated 
from Harvard, cla.ss of 18G.5, as A.B., and from the Albany Law School, chiss of I8G7, 
as LL.D. Going at once into active practice at Morrisville he remained there till l.'^70. 
His father, a native of Massacliu.setts and an early settler of Madison County, N, \ ., 
accumulated a great deal of property, much of which was in real estate, and situated in va- 
rious States of the Union. After his death, which occurred in 1878, there fell upon the 
son as the siicces.sor and representative such a mass of private interests and unsettled 
matters as to have since required about all of his attention to the exclusion of a general 
practice of law. Mr. Blair lias been once or twice a member of the city council. He is 
a Democrat in politics. He is a commimicant of the Episcopal Church, is married, and 
has three children. 

Blo.ss. Everett W,. son of .Varon and Lucy Bloss, was born in Langdon, Vt., and came 
to Pennsylvania in 1802, where he died in 188.'! aged eighty-two years. He married 
Lydia Walker, who died in 1S87. aged eighty-two. Their children were Julia E,, Jose- 
phine, Randolph F,, ('lara A,, and Warren W. The latter, born in Blo.ssburg, Tioga 
County, Pa., .March 10, 1.8.3"). married Jennie Doud. who was born at Mainsburg, Pa., 
March 22. l.^^.il. Their children are Willard W. and Alfred D. Alfred D. Bloss was 
born July 19, 18.59, and married Kittle C, daughter of Georee and Mattie Cleveland, of 
Pittsburgh. They have one son. Mr. Bloss resides at 807 Washington avenue, Elmira. 



74 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Booth, Irving D., who has long ami faithfully served his city as fire commissioner, 
alderman, and supervisor, was born in Tioga County, N. Y., in 184;i, and at the age of 
nineteen Ijegan life as a clerk in the hardware store of William Brown in Khnira. In 
1866 he became a partner in tlie firm of Ayrault, Rose & Co., in which lie continued 
for six years, when he formed the co-partnership of Booth, Dounce, Rose & Co., hard- 
ware dealers, which existed for three years. Mr. Booth tlien established his pres- 
ent busines.s, wholesale iron and steel merchant, A Republican in politics he was 
elected supervisor in 1881 and was re-elected, seiving in all two terms. In 1883 he 
was elected alderman from tlie First ward. He is vice-president of the Century Club, 
is vice-president of tlie Board of Trade, and is a trustee of Park Church. He was ap- 
pointed fire commissioner liy Mayor Davison to fill a vacancy, and re-appointed at the 
end of tlie unexpired term. Mr. Booth was married, in Middletown, to a ilaughter of 
B. W. Sliaw, by whom he has four children, of wliom the eldest son is in Philadelphia 
pursunii;- a medical course; the second son is in the Second National Bank of this city; 
and a daughter and a younger son are both attending the public schools in Elmira. 

Boyer, James H., born in Indiana County, Pa., acquired his education in the district 
schools of that State. In 1870 he entered the employ of tlie Pennsylvania Railroad 
Company and in 1877 engaged with the North Carolina Railroad Company, where he 
was promoted yard engineer in ISS-i. Noveniber29, 1S82, he married Mattie Reagan, 
of Elmira, N. Y., and they have had three children : Abliie M., born September 25, 
1883, died November 4, 1883; Ella E., born March 18, 1886: and John J., born Au- 
gust 20, 1890. Mr. Boyer's father, William R,, was born in Lancaster County, Pa., and 
married Abigail McCurdy, of his native State, by whom he had two children, Maggie 
and Joseph H. 

Braddock, John W., was born in Tioga County, Pa., September 29, 1858. He ac- 
quired his education in the common schools of his native State and afterward taught 
school for four years. In 1879 he entered the employ of the New York Central Rail- 
road Company and in 1881 was promoted conductor. April 25, 1883, he married Mary, 
only daughter of Shadarach R. and Margaret Phillips, formerly of Louisiana, but now 
of Elmira. Their three children are Harry P., born November 21, 1884; Lenna M., 
born Septembers, 1887 ; and Maud M., born Novembers, 1890. The Braddock family 
are descendants of General Braddock of the French and Indian wars. 

Bradley, Edwin W., born September 15, 1833, acquired his education in the public 
schools and at Ithaca and Owego Academies. In early life he was engaged in mercan- 
tile business and is now a market gardener. November 6, 1856, he married Harriet R., 
daughter of Lyman and' Jerusha West, of Tioga County, N. Y., and they have four 
children, viz.: Ella A , born November 26, 1857; Cero L., born March 6, 1863; Mary 
E., born July 10, 186C; and Fred P., born March 1, 1872. Mr. Bradley's father, Ly- 
man, was born November 22, 1808, in Tompkins County, N. Y., and September 18, 
1828, he married Mary A. Hill, liy whom he had four children: Edwin W., Augustus 
L., Charles E., and Mary. Wakeman Bradley, father of Lyman, came from Connecti- 
cut to Danby, Tompkins Comity, N. Y., in 1779. 

Brink, Andrew, born in New Jersey, June 26, 1846, at an early day moved with his 
parents to Pennsylvania, where he was educated in the public schools. October 24, 1862, 
he enlisted in Company B, Sixteenth Penn.sylvania Cavalry Volunteers, was promoted 
first duty sergeant, and was honorably discharged August 11, 1865, at Richmond, Va. 
He is by occupation a locomotive engineer and has been in the employ of the North- 
ern Central Railroad since 1868. January 18, 1872, he married Sybil, daughter of Nel- 
son and Martha Fish, of Rhode Island. Mr. Brink has been a resident of Elmira for 
thirty-two years. His father, George W., was born in New Jersey in 1817, of Scotch 
and Gorman ancestry, and married Susan A. Johnson. They had eight children, viz.: 
Andrew, George, Benjamin, Willis and Alice (twins), Alfred, Francis, and Frederick. 

Brown, C. W. M., M.D,, sanitary superintendent of the schools of the city of Elmira, 
is a native of Orwell, Pa., and was born August 24, 1848. He was educated in the Col- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 75 

legiate Institute of Towaiula, Pa., was graihiatcil from llarvnid Medical Stiiool in the 
class of I87C, and then spent eighteen months in the Huston City Hospital. In Decem- 
ber, 1878, he located in KImira, where he has since devoted his time and talents to his 
profe.xsion. Dr. Brown is one of the consulting physicians of the Arnot-Ogden Memo- 
rial Hospital and one of its Board of Managers. He is a member of the Klmira Academy 
of Medicine and of the Chemung County Medical Society. His wife was a Miss Syd- 
ney, of Klmira. 

Bnrgess, Benjamin F., was liorn in Truniansbnig, Tompkins County. N. Y., January 
9, 1844. In 1854 he came with his parents to Elniira by way of canal. He was edu- 
cated in the graded schools of that city, and August 7, 1862, enlisted in Company D, 
One Hundred and Seventh Infantiy New York Volunteers, being honorably discharged 
as corporal at the close of the war. March 27, 1870, he married Mary Dunnegan, of 
Olean, by whom he has si.\ children : Benjamin K, jr., Frederick S., Mary A., John F., 
Eben B., and Clarence. Mr. Burgess's father. Benjamin S., was born in Massachusetts 
in 1814 and married Laura Britton, by whom he liad seven children. For his second 
wife he married Jeanelte Greene, of Titusville, Pa., and had by her four children. The 
ancestry of the Burgess family is English, they having joined the Plymouth colony in 
early days. Mr. Burgess was captured at Stone Mountain on Sherman's famous march, 
and was a prisoner at Florence, S. C. 

Burrows, Charles H., was born in Veteran, Chemung County, N. Y., February 28, 1860. 
He attented the public .school until eighteen years of age, after which he remained at home 
on the farm until the tall of 1882, when he removed to Elniira, N. Y., and entered the 
service of the Northern Central Railroad Company as brakeman, being promoted con- 
ductor February 10, 1888. In 1878 he became a menilKM- of Fidelity Lodge, 1. O. G. T.. 
of Pine Valley, N. Y., of which he has been elected worthy chief at diflerent times, and 
is also a member of the Ehnira Division, No. U, Independent Order of Railway Conduc- 
tors. He married. May IG, 18S3, Allie R., oldest daughter of Peter and Mary A. 
(Tinney) Coon, of Veteran, N. Y. Two olher children l)lessed this union, Cornelia M. 
(deceased) and J. Bradley. 

Burt. Henry J., born in Springfield, Bradford County, Pa., September 25, 1843, 
acquired his education in the public .schools, and in early life was a farmer. In Au- 
gust, L8G7, he entered the employ of the Northern Railroad Company and was pro- 
moted conductor in May, 1868. October G, 1875, he married Matta M., only daughter 
of Abner C. and Jane A. Ross, of Elmira. They have tw-o .sons. Alpha R., born Janu- 
ary 8, 1877, and Henry A., born June (i, 1882. The family have resided in BIniira 
twenty-four years. His father, Caleb S., was born in Berkley, Mass., in 1815, and mar- 
ried Jane B. Cooley, of Bradford County. Pa. They had five children, E/.ekiel. Mary E., 
Henry J., Julia, and Isaac N. 

Calkins. Henry D., born in Charleston, Tioga County, Pa., Noveniber 17, 1S30, was 
a son of John C, who died at the above place at the age of seventy-seven years. He 
reared two soils, of whom Henry U. was the younger. The latter, after receiving a 
common school education, began farming, but upon the outbreak of the war he enlisted 
in Company C, Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry, in October, 1861. He was promoted 
fourth sergeant and later second lieutenant. Owing to failing health he resigned, and 
was a military commissary in Tennessee until the close of the war. Returning to his 
home he engaged in the marble business at Tioga, Pa., and two years later removed to 
Blo-ssburg, Pa., where he again became a railroad conductor, which position he has 
since occupied. In 1885 he moved to Ehnira, N. Y. Mr. Calkins is a niemher of the 
G. A. R., the Order of Railway C'lnductors, ami a communicant of Iledding Methodist 
Episcopal Church. He married February 14, 185.'!, in Charleston, Pa., and has had 
three children : J. Anna; Walter \^, a trainmaster and dispatcher on the Tioga Rail- 
road; and Harriet E., who married D. E. Megie, and is now deceased. 

Cantlin, Richard, was born at Foster, Pa., August 20, 1855, and received his educa- 
tion in the public schools of the .'it.ite In 1866 he began to acquaint himself with rail- 



7C OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

way matters and in 1S77 was promoted engineer in the employ of the Delaware, Lack- 
awanna, and Western Railroad Company. May 25, 1886, he married Anna B. Mack, 
of Klinira, N. T. His father, Eugene, was born in County Kerry, Ireland, and about 
184(i oarae to the United States, where he married Margaret Dailey, formerly of County 
Clare. Ireland. They had seven children : Mary, Catherine, Theresa, Margaret, Rich- 
ard, Thomas, and Michael. 

Carr, Samuel Milton, born in Britton, Orange County, N. V., October 4, ISl-I, came 
to Elmira, October 5, 1829, crossing Lake street bridge at 7 a. m. He learned ihe trade of 
blacksmith, which he followed for fifty years. May 7, 18+0, he married Sarah Green, of 
Newfield, Tompkins County, N. Y.,by whom he had nine children : Fannie E. (deceased) ; 
Emma C, wlio married Charles W. ilcMurray: Milton B. (deceased); M. Jennie, who 
resides with her parents; Le Grand, who married Caroline Rockwell, of Elmira; Sam- 
uel F., who married Letta Smith, of Elmira. and is a printer; (feorge S. (decea.sed) ; 
Sarah A., who married Emmett S. Golf, of Southport, and resides in Madison, Wis., 
being a professor in the Agricultural College; and Dora A., who married Charles H. 
Sterling, of Elmira. Mr. Carr served as a.ssociate judge for two terms and as justice 
of tlie peace for eighteen years. 

Carrier, Courtland F., secretary and treasurer of the Cronk Hanger Company and 
treasurer and general manajrer of the Elmira Steam Generator Company, is a native of 
Cuba, N. Y., and was born in 1849. His father was a farmer and the son's earliest 
days were spent in agricultural pursuits. In 1865 he came to Elmira to attend school, 
but was .soon given a clerical position in the Second National Bank, where he remained 
three years. Terminating his connection with the l)ank he embarked in the hardware 
business, which he has followed for about nineteen years, when he became interested 
with the patentee in the manufacture and sale of the Cronk barn-door hanger. He 
was subsequently one of the incorporators of the Cronk Hanger Company, and has 
since lieen its secretary and treasurer. In 1890 he was one of tlie incorporators of the 
Elmira Steam Generator Company and became its treasurer and general manager. 
Mr. Carrier is a member of the Presbyterian Church and prominently identified with 
the Y. M. C. A. He was married in Fayetteville, this State, in 1871, and has four 
children. 

Carroll, John W., born in Susquehanna County, Pa., August 6, 1840, enlisted in August, 
1862, in Company H, One Hundred and Forty- third Pennsylvania Infantry Volun- 
teers, was wounded in the battle of the Wilderness in 1864, and in consequence was dis- 
charged from the service in October, 1864. He began his mercantile career at Friends- 
ville, Pa., and moved thence to Athens, Pa., where he still conducts a clothing store. 
He began business in Elmira in 1885 as a wholesale and retail clothing and tailoring 
merchant. February 11, 1866. Mr. Carroll married Mary A. Hagen, of Frieudsville. 
Pa. They have had seven children, of whom one died in infancy and six survive, viz.: 
Frank T., James E., John W., jr., Eugene Blaine, Charles C, and Mary F. 

Cartledge, James C, born in Philadelphia on July 11, 1843, is the son of Jo.seph Cart- 
ledge. Tlie fatherwas a marljle worker, and died in Philadelphia in 1881. aged seventy- 
five vears. He reared a family of five sons, three of whom served in the army. He 
enlisted in Company E, Ninety-first Pennsylvania Volunteers, August 20, 1861, serving 
three years in the Army of the Potomac, Cyrus C. .serving as .sergeant in the game 
company. He returned to Philadelphia and learned the trade of marble cutter, which 
he has since followed. Coming to Elmira in 1872 he has since worked for A. W. Ayres. 
He has been a member of Baldwin Post, No. 6, G. A. R., since 1883, being elected 
vice-commander in 1890 and post commander in 1891. Mr. Cartledge is a K. T. in the 
Masonic order and has held the cliief office in the chapter and in the lodge. He is a mem- 
ber of the Grace Ejiiscopal Church. On December 2(3, 1868, he married Fannie M. Cole, 
by whom he had three children, of whom a son, FVank C, .survives. Mr. Cartledge's 
father carved the letters "Washington" on the sarcophagus at Mt. Vernon. He was 
many years foreman for Struthers & Son, of Philadelphia, who built the Washington 
monument at Mt. Vernon. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 77 

Cartledgt', Josu|ili, horn iii Fhiladeliiliia. Fetnuaiy 2G, 1839, is a son of Joseph and 
Mary Caitled^e, wlio came from England in 1835. He came from I'liiladelpliia to 
Miiiicy, Pa., in IS.'ilt, and from lliere entered llie arm}' on April 20, 18()1, enlisting in 
Company G, Klevenlli Pennsylvania Infantry, as second lieutenant. October 22, 18G1, 
lie re-enlisted at (.'amden, Is'. J., in Company E, First New Jersey Infantry, serving in 
tliat re{;iment till July 2'J, 18l>o. He was engafrcd in the battles of Kallinf; Water.*, 
Yorktown, Willianislmrfr, Gaines Mill, Krazer's Farm, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Bristow 
Station, second Bull Run, Cl.anlilla, Crampton's Pass, Antietani, Fredericksburg, Mary's 
Heiglits, Mine Run, and the Wilderness, where he M'as wounded. From October, 
1864, to July following he had charge of the registers at the office of the medical direc- 
tors in Philadelphia. He came to EIniira in 1871 as foreman and designer for A. W. 
Ayres & Son, which position he held ever since. Mr. Cartledge is a member of 
Baldwin Post. No. 6, G. A. R. He was married twice, first, in 18o7, to Caroline Cal- 
lanan, and second m 18(18 to Jennie W. McMullin. both of Philadelphia. A daughter 
by his first wife is the wife of Charles A. Allen, of EIniira. lie has had seven children, 
of whom five are living. 

Ca.ss, John, father of Mrs. Frederics (Cass) Earle, was born in Liverpool, England, 
Sept-mber 19, 181!). When about five years old his father, who was the largest tobacco 
manufacturer in the city of Liverpool, died, and his mother removed to her native place, 
Leeds. In 1840 he married Mary A. Fell, of the island of Trinidad in the West Indies. 
In 1841, after a tour of the West Indies they came to America and in 1843 and 
located in Elmira. where Mr. Cass has held many positions of otlicial trust, the latest 
being recorder of the city of EIniira from 1882 to 188(i. In 1864 he was elected super- 
visor and during his term of office Elmira became a city. In 1869 President Grant ap- 
pointed him United States ganger of the Twenty-seventh District, which position he 
held eight years. He died February 11, 1889, respected by all who knew him. He was 
a man of integrity and uprightness of character. 

Cassada, Frank J., the sherift" of Chemung County, is a son of Samuel Cassada, a far- 
mer livin? in Southport age<l about seventy-two years. Of his two sons Frank J., the 
yoimgest, was born on March 1, 1852, and was educated in the common .schools. He 
followed clerking for some year.s, later became a lumber dealer, and afterward ran a 
grist-mill. For a period of ten years he was a member of the County Central Demo- 
cratic Committee. He is a Mason of the K. T. degree, a member of the I. O. O. F., the 
A. O. U. W.. the Order of Red Men, and the B. P. 0. E. Mr. Cassada married, 
in Southport, December 30, 1875. a daughter of John Brown, an old settler here, but 
now living in Boi.se County, Idaho. They have three children and are members of the 
Baptist Church. Mr. Brown is superintendent of the Elmira Silver Mining Company. 

Chamberlin, Burton .S., born at Hancock, Delaware County, N. Y., April 30, 1860, 
was educated at Princeton College, graduating in the class of 1882 with the degree of 
A.B., which was supplemented with that of A.M. from the same institution in 1885. 
When twenty-two years of age he began the study of the law in the office of David B. 
Hill, now governor of this .State, and was admitted to the bar at Binghamton in 1884, 
beginning practice immediately thereafter. .Mr. Chamberlin is an active Democrat in 
politics, and in the spring of 1886 was appointed city clerk, holding the office 
three year.s. He resumed practice in the spring of 1889, and in March, 1890, was 
honored with the appointment of city attorney. He has also been a member and sec- 
retary of the Democratic County Committee. In 1886, Mr. Chamberlin married a 
daughter of the late John Murdoch. 

Cha.se. Dr. Zalmon F., born in Westchester County, N. Y., February 16, 1811, is a 
son of Ezra Chase, a minister of the Christian Church and a native of Connecticut. His 
father moved from Westchester County to Tompkins County, and there died in 1873 in 
his ninetieth year. He preached for fifty years, and reared five sons and six daughters 
by two marriages. Of the.se Dr. Zalmon F. was educated at Enfield, N. Y., and began 
the study of medicine in Mecklenberg, Tompkins County, N. Y., when about twenty- 



78 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

one years of age. Ht graduated from the Fairfield (N. Y.) College of Physicians and 
Surgeons of Weston, N. Y. This institution is not now in existence. He removed to 
Albany and later came to Chemung County and began the practice of his profession. Dr. 
Chase located in Elmira in 18<i2 and retired from professional practice two or three 
years ago. He is a venerable member of the Chemung County Medical Society and of 
the Elmira Academy of Medicine, and is a Mason. He was for two terms super- 
visor of Chemung County and has served his locality as coroner. He was acting sur- 
geon during the Civil war in KImiiaJ. Dr. Chase was for many years a member of the 
Board of Education and for some time has been active in the Park Church. He mar- 
ried, in 1835, Mi.ss Hannah White, who died in 1807, leaving two daughters and a .son. 
The son married Miss S. Chase, of Chicago, and a daughter is Mrs. I. H. Miller, of Flint, 
Mich. The other daughter is Mrs. W. H. W. Barnard, a widow residing in Chicago, 
Mr. Chase married, second, in Barrington Center, E. I., in 1870, Mrs. Sarah A. Higgins, 
n/e Norton. 

Chilson, Rufus R., M.D., was born in Troy, Bradford County, Pa., a son of Stephen 
G. Chilson, deceased, who was by occupation a millwrig-ht and farmer. Stephen G. 
died August 16, 1883, at the age of seventy-four years. He had seven sons, of whom 
five grew to maturity. Dr. Rufus R. Chilson, the youngest son, was born December 15, 
1847, was educated at the Troy Union Graded Schools and the Academy, and began 
the study of medicine with Dr. J. E. Rockwell, of Troy. He attended the Ann Arbor 
University one year and graduated from the University of Vermont at Burlington in 
the class of 1876. He began practicing in Bradford County in 1876 and continued in 
that county till 1888, when he moved to Wellsburg, N. Y., and in 1890 came to Elmira. 
At present as in the past he makes a specialty of surgery. Dr. Chilson is a member of 
the Chemung County Medical Society. In Pennsylvania he held the office of auditor 
and assessor and in politics was an active Democrat. He was appointed in.spector of 
elections in 1890 under the new ballot-reform law. He is a Mason. On May 15, 
1878, Dr. Chilson, married, at Troy, Pa., Mary K., daughter of H. H. Wilson, now of 
Elmira, and has one daughter, Mabel A. 

Clarke, Harry M., attorney at law, was born November 1, 1859, in Otsego County 
N. Y. He was educated at the Westerly (R. I.) High School, came to Elmira, and from 
January, 1881, to April, 188.5, was clerk of the Surrogate's Court. He was admitted 
to the bar in May, 1884, and after leaving the surrogate's office became managing clerk 
in the office of e.xGovernor and D. C. Robinson, where he remained until December, 
1888.' Since leaving the office of the Robinsons he has been in active practice of the 
law in its various branches, and has given especial attention to probate and real estate 
matters. Mr. Clarke is secretary and was one of the organizers of the Elmira Co-Oper- 
ative Savings and Loan Association. He is also local attorney for R. G. Dun & Co. 

Clendenin, Henry H., born July 29, 1828, in Pennsylvania, acquired his education in 
the common schools of that State and by occupation is a foreman of the bridge builders 
of the Elmira division of the Northern Central Railroad Company. February 4, 18C2, 
he married Mary, daughter of Jo.seph and Eliza Hall, of Trout Run, Pa. They have 
had four children : Mazie, born March 13, 1878, died September 21. 1889; Robert H., 
born February 7, 1863; Eliza J., born April 6, 1866; and Harry J., born October], 
1871. The family have resided in Elmira for twenty-two years. His grandfather, 
Henry H., came from Scotland. Ilis father, Robert, was born in Pennsylvania in 1799. 
He married Harriet Blackwell, formerly of England, and had by her ten children, as 
follows: Priscilla, Henry H., Thomas B., Rebecca W., Matilda, Robert C, Charles W., 
John R., Richard J., and Harriet C. 

Coburn, Parley, was born in Bradford County, Pa., November 3, 1835. He was 
educated in the common schools, in the Binghamton High School, and in the Collegiate 
Institute at Towanda, Pa. He began teaching at an early day and still continues in 
the profession. He has served three years and three months as first lieutenant and 
commissary in the Twelfth Pennsylvania Cavalry. Mr. Coburn located in Elmira 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 79 

directly after the close of the war. He taught Grammar School No. 3 for twenty-six 
years. 

Coleman, Isaiah B., is a machinist and iron founder, is of Quaker parentage, and was 
born in Rochester, Monroe County, N. Y,, November (i, 183G. A bridge builder in 
early life he afterward became a machinist and iron founder, and married, first, in 1801, 
Julia A. Barlier, of Dexter, Mich, liy her he had three sons, of whom one died in in- 
fancy. George B. is an electrician and Ralph B. is learning the same biisine,ss. In the 
spring of 1877 Mr. Coleman married Catharine Walter, of fltica, N. Y. Mr. Coleman 
came to Ehnira in June, 1870. His father, S. Gorham Coleman, moved to Rochester, 
N. Y., in 1820, from Columbia County, N. Y. He married Rachel Teller, of Kinderhook, 
N. Y.. and they had four children. Of this family one died in infancy and three survive, 
viz.: Sarah (ilrs. William W. Ordway), Isaiah B., and Stephen G., jr. The Coleman family 
were one of ten families who .selected ten other families to purchase the whole island of 
Nantucket from the Indians. Mr. Coleman is an F. and A. M., being a member of 
Ashlar Lodge and Peninsular Chapter of Detroit, Mich., St. Omer's Commandery of 
Knights Templar of Elmira, and Corning Consistory, and one of the Board of Managers 
of the Arnot-Ogden Hospital. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical 
Engineers and of the First Baptist Church of Elmira. 

Collin. Frederick, of the distinguished law firm of Reynolds, Stanchfield & Collin, 
is a native of Yates County, N. Y., and was born August 2, 18.50. His preliminary 
education was acquired at the common .schools, at Penn Yan Academy, and under the 
private instruction of his brother. Prof. Charles A. Collin, then of Norwich, Conn. He 
was graduated from Yale College in the class of '71. The succeeding two years he 
spent on his father's farm, and in 1873 he located in Elmira and began the study of the 
law. He spent sometime in the office of Collin & Atwell and continued his studies 
with his present partner, Mr. Reynolds. He was admitted to the bar in October, 1876. 
From the dale of his admission he has been associated with Mr. Reynolds. 

Conklin, Melvin M., born in Cayuga County, N. Y., October 15, 1844, was educated 
in the common schools and in an academy, and in 1862 enlisted from Orleans County 
in Company A, One Hundred and Fifty-first New York Volunteers, serving until the 
close of the war. He was most of the time on detached service at the Elmira rebel 
prison and served with the Army of the Potomac in the famous Si.xth Army Corps. 
He wa.s present at the battles of Manassas, Boonesboro, Petersburg, and Appomattox. 
After the war he returned to Orleans County and in 1878 he came to Elmira and en- 
gaged in the wholesale and retail business of grocer and liaker. Mr. Conklin is a 
member of the Masonic fraternity, has been commander of Baldwin Post. No. 0. G. A. R., 
and has served on the stall' of the department commander of the G. A. II. He is also a 
director of the Masonic Relief Association and a trustee of Ma.sonic Temple. In 1868 
Mr. Conklin married in Horseheads a daughter of the late Rev. John Hutchins. They 
have two children and are members of the Park Church. 

Connelly, Jeremiah. J., was born in Elmira on June 29, 1858. received an academic 
education, and when fifteen years of age entered the employ of Arcalous Wyckoff to 
learn the florist's business, being subsequently employed as shipping clerk by Wyckoff, 
Newcomb & Newcomb, wholesale manufacturers of boots and shoes, which position he 
held for nine years. Later he was for nine years manager of a large retail boot and 
shoe store on Water street in Elmira, In March, 1890, Mr. Connelly opened aa under- 
taking establishment on the corner of Main and Water streets, and soon after added a 
furniture department. On May 29, 1883, he married Anna A. Bloomer, of Philadel- 
phia (sister of Father Bloomer). They have two children, James J.. l)orn September 
23, 1885, and Marie, born October 23,'l887. Mr. Connelly's father, Thomas Connelly, 
born in County Cork. Ireland, about 1831, came to America in 1850, and in 1854 mar- 
ried Helen Collins, by whom he had nine children. 

Considine, Joseph H., youngest son of Thomas and Margaret Considine, was born in 
Watkins, Schuyler County, N. Y., April 7, 1867. He was educated at Watkins and was 



80 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

graduated from its academy in April, 1884. Going to Williamsport, Pa., he remained 
there si.K months, and then entered the employ of the Beech Creel< Railway Company 
at Jer.sey Shore, with whom he wa.? engaged one year, or nntil the fall of 1885. He 
came to Elmira in 188G and entered the ollice of Pierce k Dockstader, with whom he 
studied architecture three year.-!. Mr. Considine has designed work for Washington, 
D. C, and Abuquerqne, N. M., besides many of the finest residences in Elmira. In 1889 
he emliarked in busine.'is for himself with an office at 8'2lj East Water street. He is a 
member of tlie B. P. 0. E. of Elmira and of tlie Thirtieth Separate Company National 
Guards. His father, Thomas, was one of the early settlers of Schuyler County. He 
married Margaret Ryan, of Burlington, Vt. They had ten chddren, of whom Josie H. 
is the youngest. Mr. Considine was a thorough and industrious student of his pro- 
fession, not only here in Elmira, but in every place in which he has been employed. His 
favorite study has received his earnest attention. His work shows caieful thought, 
■skillful architectural knowledge, and thorough application of the best modern principles 
in his profession. He has been eminently successful. 

Cooley, Jesse L., born in Ehuira, October 13, 1827, was educated in the old Elmira 
Academy. In early life he was a machinist. At the age of twenty-five he embarked in 
the lumber trade, in which he spent five years. October 28, 1852, he married Mary, 
daughter of Daniel and Lydia (Gregg) Stephens, of Elmira. They have had five chil- 
dren, of whom three survive ; Mary, who married James H. Fountain and is now located 
at Riverside, Cal.; Susan, who resides with lier father; and Maxwell S., a student in the 
Free Academy. Mrs. Cooley died in March, 1879, loved and esteemed by all. Mr. 
Cooley has held many positions of trust with business concerns. He was book-keeper 
for Stephen T. Arnot from 18G1 to 1865. June 15, 1865, he entered the employ of the 
Elmira Rolling-Mill Company, first as hook-keeper. In January, 1877, he was pro- 
moted secretary and treasurer of the company, which position he fills at present. He 
was clerk of the Board of Supervisors ten years, treasurer of the county twelve years, 
and served one term as alderman. He has been a member of the Board of Education 
for many years. He has been an honored member of the Masonic fraternity since 1850. 
His father, Levi J., was born at Sugar Loaf, Orange County, N. Y. He married Susan, 
only daughter of Guy Maxwell, of Elmira. 

Cooper, John L., son of William, was born near Ithaca, Tompkins County, N. Y., 
October 10, 1830, and by trade is a blacksmith. April 10, 1851, he married Matilda, 
daughter of Elisha and Maria Hammond. August 8, 1862, he enlisted in Company A, 
One Hundred and Seventh Infantry New York Volunteers, joined the Army of the 
Potomac in the Twelfth Army Corps, and participated in the battles of Antietani, Chan- 
cellorsvdle, and Gettysburg. The regiment was then transferred to the command of 
General Thonia.s, and was consolidated with the Eleventli Army Corps, lieing afterward 
known as the Twentieth Army Corps. He was honorably discharged in June, 1865, at 
Elmira. His father, who was born in New Jersey, married Phebe Longcoy, and they 
liad six children : Daniel, John L., Caroline, Mary J., Esther A., and Phebe. 

Cooper, John N., was born in Ithaca, N. Y., July 18, 1839. His father moved to thi.s 
county, and here John N. received a common school education and was engaged in 
various mechanical pursuits. In 1871 he formed a partnership with J. R. Reid in manu- 
facturing architectural iron work, and has since been conducting a .successful business. 
He is a member and trustee of the Baptist Church. Mr. Cooper married, in Elmira, 
October 30, 1873, a daughter of David II. Tuthill, an old settler of Elmira who died in 
July, 1873. Of a family of four children two sons survive. The firm of Reid & Cooper 
are builders of steam engines and boilers, smoke stacks, shafting and pulleys, coupling,*, 
boxes, etc. They are successors to A. ct S. Turner. The latter succeeded Asa Blevin, 
who put up the plant in 1842. 

Cornell, John A., born at Ithaca, Tompkins County, N. Y., was educated in the public 
schools. He enlisted in the fall of 1863 in Company A, One Hundred and Ninth 
Infantry New York Volunteers, and in June, 1865, was transferred to the Fifty-first 



PERSONAL KEFE/iENCES. 81 

Veteran Infantry New Vork Volunteers, l)eini.' honorably (iiscliarged Aiijinst. 27, 1865 
He is l)y ooeiinalion a carpenter and Ijuililer. Me married, Deceniljer IS. 18()(i, .Snrali J., 
daughter o[ ilorris and Sarah J. Cumminss, of Luzerne Connty, Pa., and they haveliad 
four elnldren, viz.: two who died in infancy, Warren G., and Mabel. Mr. and Mrs. Cor- 
nell have been residents of pjlniira fourteen years. lie is a member of I.odpe No. 95, 
F. and A. M., Elmira. Wis father, Cordon, was born' in 1819. He married Hanna La- 
vina Palchen, of Newlield, TompUins County, N. V., by whom lie had nine children 
Cordelia, Nelson, Alvira, John A,, Ira M., Charles A., Minnie, Floyd I,., and Ada M. 

Couch, Arthur S., was born in Sullivan County, N. Y., September 21. 18.-j,'J, was ed- 
ucated in the graded schools and in Elmira Academy, and for a number of years was 
book-keeper for a Boston leather (irm in Elmira. In 187() he l)egan tlie manufacture of 
jjlue under the firm name of A. S. Couch &i Co., and in 1887 became president of the New 
York Glue Company. Three years afterward he assumed control of the business in his 
own name, his factory being located east of Newtown Creek. He employs twenty men. 
His father, Stephen B. Couch, carried on a tannery from 18G7 until 187() under the firm 
name of Couch, Kmley & Co. October M, I8S0, Mr. Conch married Josie L., daughter 
of Wdliam T. llalner, one of the earliest .settlers of Elmira. They have four children : 
Ethel H., Arthur S.. .ii'., Clarence A., and Amy I,. The family came to P^lmiia in 1808. 
His father and brother are manufactering glue in Bnll'alo. < )ne of their ancestors was a 
soUlier in the Revolutionary war and received as compensation for his services Coney 
Island. Mr. Conch's grandfather, Ebenezer Couch, was a native of Connecticut. 

Coykendall, Edward H., born in New Jersey, Novemlier 2, 180G, received a com- 
mercial education. The family moved to Elmira in 1871, and in September, 1885, he 
began work for the Northern Central Railroad Company as train agent, whicli position 
he still holds. August Id, 1884, he married Florence II., only daughter of James C. 
and Sarah A. Mayer. They have one son, Walter J., born Sejitember 2G. 1885. His 
father, Andrew J., was born in Newtown, N. J., about ISi'.G. He married Sally J. Bonnell, 
of Montague, Sussex County, N. J., by whom he had .seven children, three of whom 
died in infancy. William was killed in 1877, and three survive, as follows: Isaac, Jacob, 
and Edward H. 

Crocker, Elwood B., was born in Sacramento, Cal., Feliriiary 13, 18C8, and is an 
ado|)led son of Judge Edwin B.Crocker, who died in Sacramento in about 1874. He 
was educated in college and the New York schools. His father was a .judge of the 
higher court and was largely connected with the Central Pacific Railway. 

Cronk Hanger Co., The, — This company w.is organized and incor]iorated in Elmira in 
1885 with Charles R. Pratt as president and C. F. Carrier secretary and treasurer. Its 
capital stock is $5iJ,0llll, its nianufactory being at Havana and its business headquarters 
at Elmira. Comparatively a new industry it started in a small way, but its growth has 
been rapid and continuous, its incre.ise for the past three years lieing from forty to fifty 
per cent, per annum. It employs from thirty to foi't3- men in the shops and keeps five 
men on the road. The Cronk hanger is sold throughout the United .States. Its special- 
ties are steel-covered, anti- friction, barn-door hangers of the two separate designs 
under [latents of both Cronk and Carrier — Carrier's double-braced steel rail, Cronk's 
adjustable .stay-roller, steel-hangers, Cronk's steel-hangers for wood truck, etc. 

Cupp, Joseph F., born in Pennsylvania, July 14, 1864, was educated in the public 
schools and in Muncy Normal .School. He has been a railway man for eight years and 
is now night yardmasler for the Northern Central Railway Company in Elmira. He mar- 
ried, June 18, 1889, Clara, oldest daughter of Henry and Addie Rice, of Phelps, Ontario 
County. .Slie was born in Paw I'aw, Mich. Henry, father of .Joseph F., was born in 
Newberry, Pa., in 1.S.'59. He married Margaret I.aylon, of his native county and .State. 
They had twelve children, eight of whom are living: Carrie M., Jo.seph F., Leslie T., 
Hoyt, Emma L., Newton, William, and Truman G. 



82 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Dale, Williiuii E., born in Lycoming County, Pa., was educated in the public schools. 
He bt'g.in liis career a.s a railroad man in ISGO. In 1868 he commencnd work for the 
Northern Central Kailroad Com|iany and has been a passenger conductor for the past 
seventeen years. Januaiy 3, 18li7, he married Ellen Sanders, of AUoona, Pa. They 
have re.><ided in Elmira since IHGS. His father, 8amuel, was born in Nortliuniberland 
County, Pa., and in 1812 married Abbie Gray, of Lycomnig County, Pa., by whom he 
had nine children : Elizabeth, William E., Ellen, George, Annie, Ida, John, Hattie, and 
Samuel. 

Davidson, Hon. John T., a native of Oneida County, N. Y., was born February 13, 
1826. In early life he learned a trade and followed that for a livelihood for some little 
time, but it was evident that this was not in harmony with his natural bent of mind. 
He finally commenced the study of law at the village of McLean, Tompkins County, 
N. Y., while carryinj^ on and working at his trade. He soon tliereafter entered the 
law office of Hon. Milo Goodrich, at Drydeu village, N. Y,,and in December, 18.58, was 
admitted to the bar at Cortland, N. Y. In the summer of 1862 he enlisted as private 
in Company H, Fiftieth New York Engineers, and in December following was pro- 
moted to second lieutenant in the same company. In February following he received 
a commission as first lieutenant of engineers. His services were render-ed in the Engi- 
neer Brigade, Army of the Potomac, and he participated in the battles of Cliancellors- 
ville, Franklin's Crossing, Gettysburg, and Fort Stevens. In December, 1863, on ac- 
count of disabilities received in the army which r-endered him imable to perform field 
service, he was transferred to the Tenth Veteran Reserve Corps as first lieutenant of 
Company C, of that i-egiment. With this regiment he served at New York city, Ja- 
maica, L. I., Staten Island, Washington, D. C, Alexandria, and Point Lookout, Va. 
While at Alexandria he was acting quartermaster. In July, 1864, he was discharged 
from the service on surgeon's certificate of disability. For iiieritoinous services in the 
Seld he was breveted captain of the Fiftieth New York Engineers. Upon leaving the 
army he entered the quartermaster's department at Elmira, where he remained until 
the close of the war. Since then he has practiced law at Ehuira, and has held the office 
of district attorney by appointment and city attorney four terms. He is a member of 
the G. A. R. and is a past commander of his post. He has twice served as aid-de- 
camp on the stair of the department commander and is now an aid-de-camp on the 
staff of the commander-in-chief, Gen. Johu Palmer. In 1877 he was appointed a United 
States commissioner for the Northern District of New York, which position he still 
hohis. Captain Davidson is a forcible writer and has contributed many political and 
war articles to various newspapers, among which may be named the Elmira Advertiser, 
Elmira Telegram, and the N^ntinnnl Tri'htine. Many of his memorial addresse-s have been 
published and favorably noticed by the press, and his sketches of "Grant and his Cam- 
paigns,'' "Gettysburg," "Lee — How he compared with other Generals of the Rebell- 
ion,'' and numerous other paper's on war topics have elicited hearty commendation from 
all lovers of war history. Captain Davidson was married in Elmira in 1849 to a daugh- 
ter of Jabez H. Beers, one of the pioneers of Chemung County, and sister of Gen. E, 0. 
Beers, a prominent figure in all military matters. 

Davi.s, Daniel, a native of Howard, Steuben County, N. Y., was liorn March 19, 1826. 
Ilis father, John Davis, one of the early settlei-s of that county, removed to Fowlerville, 
Livingston County, N. Y., in 1838. At the age of fourteen Daniel was apprenticed to 
the trade of cabinetmaker, at vi'hich he served for seven years, when lie returned to 
Steuben County, where he and an older brother established a factory for the manufact- 
ure of furniture and agricultui-al implement.s, which they carried on for a number of 
years. In 1852 Mr. Davis married Lucina Bridge, of South Danville, Steuben County, 
and in 18o4 moved to Yellow Springs, O. Here he invented a valuable vise and a 
newspaper addressing machine, the latter for a long time known among journalists as 
the block mailing system. Returning to New York State in 1859 he located in Elniira, 
where he manufactured his mailing machine until 1862. He had a contract to mail the 



PERSOyAL REFERENCES. 8:i 

New York Tribune for a term of years. About 1861 he moved to New York city, 
where he reniaineii lifteeii years, but in 1876 lie returned to Elniira, and with his 
brother R. \V. (deceased) entered into partnersliip willi the late Ur. Edwin K. EI- 
dridge for tlie manufacture of an iron wagon that he mvented, hut soon after llie lat- 
ter's death the business was discontinued. Mr. Davis has tljiee children by his first 
wife, viz.: Viola M., William S., and Etna II. In 1877 he married, .second. Mrs. Delia 
Bartholomew, of Elmira. In 1888, with his son Etna II., he established the present 
factory on Maple avenue for the manufacture of novelties. 

Davis, E. Howe, M.D., born in Otsego County, N. Y., August 24, IS18, is a s^on of 
Rev. Jesse Davis, who lived in that county and died there in 1843, at the age of sev- 
enty-eight. One of his brothers, Ezekiel, also an M.D., is deceased. Dr. E. Howe 
Davis was educated at the Ames Academy in Montgimieiy County, N. Y., read law, 
but abandoned it, and at the age of nineteen began the study of medicine in Montgom- 
ery County, linishing in the Albain' Medical College with the president of the college, 
Dr. March, in the class of IS54. lie began practice in Catherine. Chenmng Couuiy, 
where he was located for eight years, when he inove<i to llorseheads, where he resided 
six or seven years, when he came to Elmira, where he resided till 1868. He then went 
to Albany, but returned in 1S88 and has since lived here. Dr. Davis is a member of 
the Chemung County Medical Society, of the Albany Medical Society, and of the Al- 
bany Institute. He was also at one tune member and surgeon of the Two Hundred 
and Seventeenth Regiment Regular New York Militia under Governor Bonck. Dr. 
Davis is a Mason, an I. O. O. F.. and a meml>er of the M. E. C. II. He married, in 
Montgomery County, in 1841, Maria H. Bennett (deceased), by whom he had two 
daughters and one son, now living. 

DavLson, Hon. Charles S., born in Caton, Steuben County, N. Y., August 6, 1849, 
was reared upon a farm, liis parents having died when he was quite joung. He was 
consequently comprlled to work out on dill'erent farms, attending school during a por- 
tion of each winter. During the late Civil war he came to Elmira and engnged in selling 
newspapers. He endeavored to enlist as a soldier, but was refused on atcoimt of his 
youth, and was then employed by the government as messenger, going to Nashville, Tenn., 
where he was stationed in the quartermaster's department until transferred to Johns- 
ville, Tenn.. where lie remained until September, 1864. After recovering from a fever 
he was sent back to Nashville, receiving his discharge and pay. He then returned (o 
Elmira and resumed .selling newspapers and attending the William street school where 
the jail now stands. After that he was a newslioy on the Erie Railroad and after a 
time was engaged in learning the printer's trade, but not completing the latter he look a 
cour.se at A. J. Warner's Commeiicial Colleee, graduating therefrom. He followed 
book-keeping until February, 1873, when iie became wheel clerk at tlie Erie shops un- 
der William E, Riitter, now decea-ed. On the first of June in the same year he took 
oliarge of the books at the brewery of T. Briggs & Co.. keeping them until the death of 
Mr. ISriggs, which occurred in June, 1883. Since then he has been the manager of that 
business. At one time he was a member of the old Wisner band and was formerly a 
charter member and quartermaster-sergeant of the old D Company, now the Thirtieth 
Separate Company. Mr. Davi.son is a past master workman of Elmira Lodge, No. InO, 
A. O. U. W., having served as district deputy grand master workman in 1886. He is a 
member of the Ma.soiiic order as follows : Corning Consistory, Ancient and Accepted 
Scottish Rite, northern jurisdiction ; Ivy Lodge, No. 3!)7, F. and A. M.; Elmira Chapter, 
No. 42, R. A. M.; Southern Tier Council, No. 16, R. and S. M.; and St. Oiner's Com- 
mandery. No. 19, K. T., of which he is a past commander. In January, 1890, he was 
appointed by the Grand Commandrey of Knights Templar of Alabama their grand na- 
tional representative. He is one of the charter member and a trustee of the Elk.s, El- 
mira Lodge, No. G2, and ic a member of the Century Club, being one of its charter 
members; he is also a member of Damascus Temple, Mystic Shrine, Rochester, N. Y, , 
and is likewise a member of several mutual aid societies and is one of the trustees of the 



84 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Masonic Temple. lie also an exempt fireman, liavin<r served as a volunteer fireman in 
the Elmira fire department. Politicall}' he is a Democrat, and in March, 1883, he was 
first elected an alderman from the Sixth ward of Elmira by a majority of fifty-four, and 
so well did he serve his constituents that, in March, LSSo, they returned him by a ma- 
jority of 519 and two years later sent him back afiain by a majority of 530. While he 
was serving as alderman, in March, 1888, he was elected mayor by a majority of 1,G02, 
and in that office he continued initil March, 1890, when he was again re-elected mayor 
by a majority of 78G, in one of the hotest political fights ever waged in Elmira, which 
will make him. when his present term as mayor is served, nine con.secutive years in 
office. He is the only mayor that has ever been elected from the common council and 
the only one that was ever re-elected for a second two years' term. He married, in El- 
mira, October 21, 1873, Miss Lucy &. Nichols and has a family of three boys and three 
girls. 

Decker, Casper S., of the firm of Palmer & Decker, was born in Delaware Coimty, 
N. Y., February 2, 1820, a son of a farmer and tanner who lived many years in Dela- 
ware and Cortland Counties, and who died in Elmira in 1875, aged eighty-seven years. 
He reared four sons, of whom Casper S. was the third. Casper S. Decker, after receiv- 
ing a common school education, began the study of medicine in Delaware County when 
twenty-seven years old, and graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 
New York city in the class of 1851. He began the practice of medicine in partnership 
with his preceptor, Dr. Allaben, at Margaretville, N. Y., and was thus engaged for five 
years, when he lea.sed a tannery in Sullivan County and dropped the practice of his 
profe.ssion. In 1800, with his brother David, he built the Wellsburg tannery ; they 
continued as partners until 1863, when the firm was dissolved and Mr. Decker removed 
to Elmira. In 18G7 he again engaged in the tanning business, this time with his present 
partner, Edward H. Pahner. He was president of the bridge commission which built 
the iron bridges at Main and Lake streets, and was appointed a commissioner of the 
State Reformatory by Governor Dix to investigate the original commission on building 
that institution. He also served as supervisor for two terras, representing the First 
ward of Elmira, and was one of the sewer commissioners of the city. In politics he is 
a Democrat. Mr. Decker married, in Ulster County in 1853, Miss Euphemia B. Simp- 
son, by wliom he has one son, Casper G., born in Sullivan County in 18G0. He engaged 
in tanning with his father and is now superintendent of the plant. He is a school com- 
missioner and one of the managers of the Arnot-Ogden Memorial Hospital. The tan- 
ning business of Pahner & Decker was founded by Edward H. Palmer and Stephen 
McDonald in 1848, who began the work in a small way, grinding bark by horse- power 
and tanning probably 4,000 sides of rough leather per year In 18."i0 the tannery buiiied, 
but was rebuilt in larger form and operated by steam. Mr. McDonald retired in 18G7 
and Mr. Decker soon came in as a parlner. The new firm began the tanning of Union 
sole leather, their present product. The business was increased at times until it reached 
its present amount of 30,000 sides annually. They employ from sixteen to twenty-five 
men. The tanneiy is located at the south end of the Lake street bridge and is known to 
" the trade as the '' Elmira tannery." 

Deister, Jacob, father of Jacob J., was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, April 3, 
1830. In 1853 he came to America and located in Elmira. He is l)y occupation a 
blacksmith. He married Caroline Schlosser, of Elmira, formerly of St. Juliens, near the 
Rhine, Germany, and they have had five children, of whom one daughter died when 
four years of age and four survive, viz.: Jacob J., Charles H., George, and Carrie. Jacob 
J. was born in Elmira, February 21, 18G6. He was educated in the pul)lic schools and 
is now one of its prominent business men, carrying on a meat market on East Church 
street. January 29, 1889, he married Lizzie, oldest daughter of John and Eliza Friend, 
by whom he has one daughter, Mabel A., born November 19, 1890. 

Deister, Michael, was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, May 10, 1842, where he 
was educated in the common schools. In 1856 he came to the United States, locating 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 85 

in Elmira, arul worked first as a gardener and as a butcher thirteen years for one 
firm. December 22, 1808, lie married Catherine Hoti;henl)erger, of lllossburg, Pa., 
by whom he had nine children, of whom one son, AVilliani, died aged eighteen and 
eight survive, viz : Mary, born in 1871 ; Kattie and Sophia (twins), born in 1872 ; John, 
born in 1874; Menn, liorn in 1876; Henry, born in 1878; Charles, born in 1880; and 
Edward, born in 1882. Mr. Deister conducts a restaurant on East Water street. 

Deniarest, John Henry, was born in Catskill, Greene County, N. Y., and bv occupa- 
tion was a lumber merchant. He married Eliza lilmendorf, of that jilace, and they had 
ten children, of whom one died in infancy; the otliers are Woodman, William E., 
Emeline C, Sarah M., Henry 0., Daniel IL, John L., Mary G., and Anna. Woodman 
Deniarest was born June 18, 18.31. May 10, 183.^, the family came to Elmira. Mr. 
Demarest in early life followed his father's Inismess, but later became a farn.er, in which 
occupation lie is now engaged. He was married twice, first. May 1, 18oG, Gertrude F. 
Goodenough, of New York city, who died November 3t1, 1860. For his second wife 
lie married, Marcli 21, 186.5, Arline L. Lewis, of Elmira, by whom he has one son 
Mark W., born May 17, 1868, who is a stenographer. September 22, 1891, Mark W. 
married Minnie H. Banks, of Elmira. Mr. Deniarest resides in the city of Elmira. 

Denton, Edgar, was born in Ulster County, X. Y. May 11, 18.5.5, and in 1870 settled 
in Elmira, where lie finished his education and at the age of twenty-one years began 
the study of law in the olfice of the late John Murdoch. He was admitted to practice 
in May, 1879, and soon afterward formed a parlneisliip with liis jireceptor, a business 
arrangement which continued until the death of the latter in 1882. .\lr. Denton was 
appointed district attorney for an unexpired term, and in tlie fall of 1886 succeeded to 
the office by election. He was re-elected in 1889 and is now serving his second term. 
From 1881 to 1886 he filled the office of clerk of the Police Board. He is an active 
Democrat and being a speaker of ability is conspicuous in all political campaigns. His 
wife, to whom he was married in Massachusetts in 1881, was Miss Bidwell. They have 
three children. 

Denton, Julius S., born in Corning, December 19, 18J9, was educated in the public 
school-'!. Since December, 1886, he lias been in the employ of the Elmira, Cortland, 
and Northern Railroad Company, in the general freight agent's office. Mr. Denton has 
always identified himself with the Republican party. His father, Seymour F. Den- 
ton, was born in Orange County and married Lucretia Morse, by whom he had four 
children, only two of whom survive, Samuel and Julius S. Seymour F. Denton was 
appointed collector of internal revenue of this district by President Lincoln. S. B. 
Denton, grandfather of .'ulius S, came to Elmira in 1850 and was identified with the 
growth and prosperity of the city. He was a member of the Board of Education for 
several years. 

Deyo, Charles W., was born at Bellows Falls, Vt., March 11, 1853. He came with 
his parents to Western New York when si.\ months old, and was educated in the 
schools of Canandaigua. At the age of si.\teen he entered the employ of tlie Northern 
Central Railroad Company (April 1, 1869), and has worked up through various grades 
until, on July 19, 1888, lie was promoted engineer. He married, February 14, 1883, 
Lizzie B.. oldest daughter of James C. and Flora B. Putnam, of Elmira. Their three 
children are J. William, born December 8, 1883; Cameron, born June 4, 1886; and 
Mabel W., born January 19, 1888. The family have resided in Elmira .seventeen years. 
Charles, father of Charles W., was born at Kinderhook, May 2.S, 1815. He married 
Charlotte Haywood, who was born in Kent County, England. They had nine children, 
as follows: two who died young, and Mary E., Sarah L., Charles W., Anna J., Hattie J., 
Charlotte H., and Mali.ssa A. 

Diven, George M., A.M., attorney and counselor at law, born in Allegany County, 
N. Y., in 1835, is a son of Gen. A. S. Diven (q. v.). Mr. Diven was graduated from 
Hamilton College in 1857 as A. If,, and afterward received from the same institution, of 



86 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

which he has been for seventeen years a trustee, the honorary degree of A.M. He be- 
gan the study of l«w while at college, finished it in the ollice of Diven, Hathaway & 
Woods, and was admitted in lS(iO. He began practice in the office of his preceptors 
and has since devoted his time and energies to the requirements of his profession. His 
specialty is corporation law. He was for twelve years attorney for the Erie liailway 
Company, and is now solicitor for the Northern Central and the Lehigh Valley Railroad 
Companies in the State of New York. He is president of the Elmira Water Company, 
president of the La France Fire Engine Company, has been a member of the Board of 
Education and was for seven years its president, and is connected with other important 
industries. He is also the president for 1891-92 of the New York State Bar Asssocia- 
tion. His son, Eugene, is superintendent of the La France Fire Engine Company ; a 
second sou is a student at Yale; a third is at Lehigh University ; and a fourth is prepar- 
ing for college. 

Dockstader, Otis, fellow of the American Institute of Architects, was born in 
Tioga County. Pa., September 1, 1S5], and is a son of Henry P. Dockstader, a farmer 
who died in Tioga County when Otis was twelve years old. The latter was educated at 
the WelLsboro Academy and at the Michigan University Academy, and graduated from 
the Cook Academy at Havana in 1877 in a post-graduate course. He studied civil 
engineering and in 1875 was a member of the U. S. coast survey under G. Y. Wisner, 
of Detroit, Mich. In 1887 Mr. Dockstader came to Elmira and entered the office of 
Architect Hayes as draughtsman, where he spent four years. In 1881 he spent some 
time in Albany, and returning to Elmira became an engineer in the construction of the 
Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railway between Ilor.seheads and Corning. In 
December, 1881, he was made division engineer of the Erie Railroad, having charge of 
the bridges and construction from Hornellsville to Susquehanna, and remaining thus till 
October, 1883. He formed an architectural partnership in October, 1883, with Joseph 
H. Pierce, at Elmira, under the style of Pierce ik Dockstader. which continued until 
March 29, 1890, since which time lie has practiced alone. Mr. Dockstader is known far 
and near as an architect of unusual ability and artistic skill. His designs, many of 
which have been published in leading architectural papers, have attracted wide recogni- 
tion and received much worth}' prai.se. His work includes a large number of tlie 
finest residences, churches, and public buildings in the State of New York. Pennsyl- 
vania, and elsewhere, all of which are standing monuments to his .skill and artistic con- 
ception. Mr. Dockstader married, in Moreland, N. Y., in 1875, Olive Kelly, and has 
two daughters and two son.s. They are Baptists in religious inclinations. Mr. Dock- 
stader is a member of the Masonic fraternity. 

Drake, Emery G., M.D., was born at Granville, Bradford County, Pa.. August 26, 
1852. He received an academic education at the State Normal School at Mansfield and 
began the study of medicirhe when about seventeen years of age. He spent the years 
1872 and 1883 at Bellevue and was graduated from Long Island College Hospital, class 
of '74. He began practice at Blossburg, Pa., but being soon afterward tendered the 
position of resident physician to the Fall Brook Coal Company he accepted it, re- 
moved to Antrim, and remained there fifteen years. In February, 1890, he located in 
Elmira. Dr. Drake is a member of the various local medical societies, of the Lycom- 
ing (Pa.) Medical Association, of the Knights of Honor, and surgeon to the Delaware, 
Lackawann.i, and Western Railroad at Elmira. He was married at Mansfield, Pa., in 
1874, to the daughter of L. R. Decker, and has three children. 

Drake, Leon IL, was born at Milton, Vt., September 13, 1843, and is a son of C. L. 
Drake, who died in Vermont in 1875, having reared .seven sons, three of whom are m 
the West and three in New York State, all engaged in business. He received an aca- 
demical education in Vermont and was in school at the opening of the war. He en- 
listed at Milton in July, 1862, in Company A, Thirteenth Vermont Infantry, as a private. 
He served about a year and was in the battle of Gettysburg. Returning to Vermont 
in September following he went to Iowa, where m the spring of 18G4 he raised Com- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 87 

pany A. Fortj'-seventli Iowa Infantry, went out as first lieutenant, and served about 
five months. Returning he was in business in Vermont I wo years, and went ajjain to 
Iowa, wliere he lived seven years; thence to Chicago foioiie and one-half years, whence 
he went to Arnot, Pa., and then to Elmira in 1879, afier a business experience of about 
thirteen years. He lias been in the coal and wholesale ",'rocery busines.s. In Novem- 
ber, 1889, he bought the Klmira sleara tlourinp-rniP, which has a capacity of 150 bar- 
rels a day. It runs to its full capacity and emplnys tenortwelve men. Mr. Drake has 
also a dairy farm in Chemung County, and a caiile ranch in Kansas of 2,240 acres, 
fenced and stocked with 400 head of cattle, from which are sold from 75 to 100 head 
yearly. He is a member of Baldwin Post. He married, in Vermont, October 8, 1867, 
Mary E. Warner. She died in July, 1887, leaving four children. He married, .second, 
in July, 1888, Alida McClave, and they have one child. 

Drake, George E., born in Elmira, N. Y., August 25, 185.3, had tlie privileges of the 
graded schools of that citj*. February 3, 1871, he began work for the Northern Cen- 
tral Radroad Company as brakeman. January 21, 1873, he was promoted to the posi- 
tion of freight conductor and in August, 1886. he became conductor of a passenger 
train. December 30, 1875, occurred bis marriage with Isabel S., oldest daughter of 
Moses and Jane Seeley, formerly of Orange County, N. Y., liy whom he has six chil- 
dren, viz.: Winnie B., Bernice A., Kate G., Harry L., Frank E., and Frederick J. Mr. 
Drake's father, James H., was born in Reading, .Schuyler County, N. Y., November 5, 
1816, and came to Elmira in 1840 and entered the service of the Williamsport and 
Elmira Railroad Company (now the Northern Central) in 1851, and was in their employ 
until 1877, most of the time as conductor. He was twice married, first, to Arvilla Cor- 
win, by whom he had six children. For his second wife he married Mary Lane, of Sus- 
sex County, N. J. They had one son, George E. James H. Drake was a member of 
the Baptist Church of Elmira for fifty-one years, and died December 27, 1890. His 
mother was a member of the same church fort)' years, and died January 1, 1891. 

Dyott, John C, was born in Maryland, August 11, 1819. In 1845 he entered the 
employ of the Baltimore and Ohio Radroad Company, and later, in 1864, the Northern 
Central Railroad Comjiany at Baltimore. He has been foreman in the ear department 
since 1850. October 20, 1871, he came to Elmira from Baltimore, continuing in the 
old position here. He was twice married, his first wife being Anna Skinner, whom he 
married ilarch 4, 1844, and tiy whom he had two cliildren, Joseph and Charles. He 
married, second. Mrs. Sybil Wilber, daughter of Alraon C. Kinyon. Mr. Kinyon was 
at the time of his death one of the oldest settlers in Chemung County, from a small boy 
to the age of eighty-four years residing on the same lan<l now occupied by Mr. and 
Mrs. Dyott. They have one son living. John C, jr., born December 12, 1874. Mr. 
Dyott's father, Aaron, was liorn in Maryland about 1768. He married Annie Simpson, 
of Delaware, by whom he had nine children, viz.: Betsey, Thomas, Nancy, William, 
Rebecca, Mary, John C, Aaron, and James. 

EiLstabrook, William N., was born in .'^cranton, Pa., March 25, 1847, ami attended the 
public .schools until sixteen years of age. In September, 18()8, he married Viola G. only 
daughter of Luther N. and Sarah Murdock, of Elmira, and they have one daughter, 
Alice I. Sylvanus Eastabrook, father of William N., was born in Bradford Comity, Pa., 
in 1818, and married Lucy J. Newberry, of Troy, Pa., by whom he had two children, of 
whom one is deceased. Mr. Eastabrook was the originator of the Chemung Valle)' Mutual 
Loan A.ssociation, which was organized in 1S77, and is its vice-presiident. He is presi- 
dent of the Elmira Co-Operative .Savings and Loan Association, which was formed about 
1887. He conceived the idea of the Klmira Buildinj,' Company, being now one of its 
directors, and is a director of the Second National Bank, a trustee of the Masonic 
Temple, and a member of the Century Club. He is the vice-president and general 
manager of the New York and Penn.sylvania Telephone and Telegraph Company and the 
Elmira Exchange, having been opened for business February 1. 1880, under his direction 
and management. A more extended history of the local telephone interests will be 
found in other pages of this volume. 



88 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

Easton, James D., M.D., was born in Elmira, August 5, 1852. He prepared for col- 
lege in tlie graded schools, read medicine a term in Seneca Falls, and was graduated 
from the Homicopalhic Hospital College at Cleveland, Ohio, class of '76. After two 
years' practice in Seneca Falls, one year with his old preceptor, he located in Elmira 
and has since remained in this city. Dr. Easton is a member of the Southern Tier 
Hom<«opalhic Association and the Chemung Honnx'opathic Society, the medical exam- 
iner for the Independent Order of Red Men, the Equitable Aid Union, the Metropolitan 
Life Insurance Company, and the Railroad Switchmen's Brotherhood, and he held for 
a term of years the position of city physician. He was married in Elmira, in 1878, to 
Miss Clara A. Kenfield, and they have three children. Mrs. Easton is an accomplished 
organist and one of Elmira's leading soprano singers. 

Edminster, George W., attorney at law, was born in Big Flats, April 23, 1866, a son 
of the late William Edminster, successful farmer and business man of Chemung County. 
After thorough preparatory training in the Elmira Free Academy and in the oliice of 
the Hon. G. L. Smith young Edmmster entered Columbia College and was graduated 
as LL.B. in the class of '89. He was admitted to the bar in May of the same year. In 
New York city he was made accident attorney for the Manhattan Elevated Railway 
Company and had a large general practice until August, 1890, when he located in El- 
mira, anil in November following formed a co-partnership with H. D. Wilcox. Mr. 
Edminster is thoroughly equipped for his profession and possesses excellent liusiness 
qualifications. He is a member of the association of Medical Jurisprudence of the State 
of New York, of the Improved Order of Red Men, of the Y. M. C. A., and of the Thir- 
tieth Separate Company N. G. 

Elmira Medical and Surgical Institute, The — This is an establishment located at 111 
and 113 West Hudson street, Elmira, which was founded in 1865 by the late T. S. Up 
de Grafl', M.D. Its purpose is to receive persons recommended to it by their home 
physicians for hygienic, medical, surgical, or lying in treatment, combined with the best 
of home comforts. At the death of Dr. Up de Grail' the institution passed into the 
hands of Drs. Baker and Price. In 1887 Drs. C. E. Annabel and O. S. Williamson be- 
came the resident physicians and surgeons of the institution and are conducting it with 
the best of success. After twenty-five years of successful existence the institute com- 
mends itself to all who are familiar with its history. Special attention is given to dis- 
eases of women and diseases of the nose, throat, and surgery. The consulting staQ' of 
physicians and surgeons comprises the leading men of the profession in Elmira. From 
twenty to thirty patients can be accommodated at the institute. 

Elmira Steam Generator Company, The, was organized in 1890 with a capital stock of 
$GO,U0O, and with F. F. Fitch, president; S. S. Hamlin, vir;e-president ; C. L. Nichols, sec- 
retary ; and C. F. Carrier, treasurer and general manager. Its great specialty is the man- 
ufacture of Eno's patent steam generator, an attachment for the reduction in the con- 
sumption of fuel and an increase in steam generating power. It can be applied to any 
horizontal flue boiler, the guaranteed reduction in the amount of fuel consumed being 
from thirty to twenty-five percent., while the increase in steam produced is of equal per- 
centage. This is anew industry, but one of great promise for its promoters. 

Eustace, Joseph P., a prominent attorney at law and assistant paymaster- general of 
the State of New York, was born in Troy, N. Y., February 12, I860, a son of Christo- 
pher Eustace. He was educated in the common schools and in the Elmira Free Acad- 
emy, and began the study of law with his brother, Alexander C, when about nineteen 
years of age, being admitted to the bar at Syracu.se in 1889. He was deputy county 
clerk from 1882 to 1884, being in the county clerk's office in all about four years. He 
is an active politician, a Democrat in politics, and a speaker of eminent abilty. Mr. 
Eustace was a member of the Thirtieth Separate Company and was promoted from the 
ranks to lieutenant-colonel and assistant paymaster, being commissioned as such in 
1886 by Governor Hill. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 8!) 

Falck, William, treasurer and general manager of tiie La France Fire Engine Com- 
pany, was horn in Prussia, Noveinher 25. 1837, and came to the United States in 1857, lo- 
cating lirst in New York city. A year later he entered the regular army as (irivaie of 
Company F, Second Regiment Infantry, and was promoted throngli the various 
grades to sergeant-major. After the iiattle of Antielam, Md., he was commissioned a 
second lieutenant in Ins regiment and a few months later a lirst lieutenant. At the 
battle of Spot tsylvania Court House, Va., May 10, 1804, he received a .severe gnn-.'-hot 
wound through the left hmg, disabling hmi for the rest of the war. In 18(iO he was 
promoted a captain, ami for gallant services during the battles of Chaiicellorsville and 
Spott.sylvania Court House, Va., he received the tliree bievets of captain, major, and 
lieutenant-colonel. After the close of the war Colonel Falck was stationed in the 
South, taking active part in the reconstruction of that section. In 1877 he was sent 
with ins regiment to Idaho, taking part in the campaign against the Nez Perces In- 
dians. In 1883, owing to disability incurred in the line of duty, of exposure and 
wounds, Colonel Falck was placed on the retired list. In 18(i7 Colonel Falck, while 
stationed in Elmira on recruiting service, renewed his acquaintance witli Miss Mary 
Bradford Mct^hihae, of that city, marrying her in July of that year. His wife was his 
faithful companion during the sixteen years of army service subsequent to the war and 
until his retirement, after which Colonel Falck settled in Elmira and became connected 
with the La France Fire Engine Comp:iny, wdiose manager lie has been since 1885. 
He is au honorary member of the Thirtieth Separate Company and prominent in Bald- 
win Post, G. A. R. Colonel and Mrs. Falck have two .sons. 

Farrington, E. W. — The tire brick and stoneware business conducted by Mr. Farring- 
ton was founded by Walters & Farrington (.lames W. Farrington, father of E. W.) in 
1865, and about ten years later Mr. Everard succeeded Mr. Walters, the style being 
changed to Farrington k Everard. This continued till 1881, when Mr. Everard died, 
and the firm name became J. B. Farrington & Co. by the addition of Mr. Farrington's 
son. .\t the death of tlie senior Farrington m July, 1887, the business was assumed 
by E. W.. who has since conducted it. Mr. Farrington was born in Havana, N. Y., 
December 25, 1855. was educated at the schools of Elmira for nine or ten year.s, was 
engaged with the Advertiser in its mailing department and finally became book-keeper, 
and later was money order clerk in the postoflice during Postmaster D. F. Pickering' .s 
administration. After conducting a store (flour and feed) for two years he assumed his 
present business— in 1882. Mr. Farrington married, in Elmira, a daughter of Thomas 
Gerity, in October, 187iJ. and they have one child. 

■ Fas.sett, Newton P., attorney and counselor at law, was born in Uradford County, 
Pa., Noveml)er ".jG, 1822, and was educated in the Pennsylvania public scliools and the 
Elmira and Canandaigua Academies. At the age of about twenty-five he began the 
stniiy of law in Elmira with Judge Konkle, and followed it later with Judge Brooks 
and at the law .school in Otsego County, He was admitted to the bar in 1849 at Nor- 
wich, N. Y., and entered at once into practice in Elmira. In 1850 he Ijecame associ- 
ated with Archibald Robertson. In 18()1 H. Boardman Smilli came into the firm and 
Smith, Robertson & Fa.ssett at once took and for many years held the front rank of 
law firms in the southern tier. Mr. Robertson died in 18S0 and Mr. Smith wiis soon 
afterward placed on the Supreme Bench. Mr. Fas.sett's manifold business and other 
interests and public duties so fully occujiy his time that he cannot now give much at- 
tention to his profession. He is secretary and treasurer of the Elmira Female College, 
president of the Board of Trustees of the Elmira Advertiser, secretary and treasurer of 
the Old and New Mexico Ranch and Cattle Company, and secretary of the Elmira Sil- 
ver Mining Company, of Idaho. .Mr. Fassett has also served as a mendier of the Board 
of Supervi.sors and of the Board of Education. It will be inferred from this that Mr. 
Fassett is in a large sense a business man. He takes little or no interest m politics 
except in the interest of others; he has never held nor sought to hold any political 
office. It can never be said that his son, the Hon. J. Sloat Fassett, inherited the political 



90 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

acumen that lias made liim a notable character in this State. Mrs. Fassett was a Miss 
Sloat, of Rockland County. Of their three sons J. Sloat is the well known State sena- 
tor; Henry L. is a wholesale grocer ; and Truman E. is a contra'itor and manufacturer. 

Featherman, Jacob, born May 18, 1844, was educated in the public schools and in 
18G6 became an employee on the Northern Central Railroad. In ISfiT he was promoted 
engineer and left the company for a short time, but returned to the same pu.'^ition in 
1872, which he still holds. March 2U, 18G9, he married Almira J., daughter of Lewis 
and Emily Heed, of New Jersey. They have five children: Elwood .J., born August 
22, 1870; Emily, born November 4, 1872; Hattie E., born March 13, 1875; Edgar G., 
born March 21, 1881; and Martha A., born July 12, 1887. Philip, father of Jacob, was 
born in Monroe County, Pa., about 1807. He married Elizabeth Eckard and tiad born 
to him four sons and one daughter, viz.: Lewis, John J., Jacob, Susan, and Franklin V>. 

Finlay, John, was born in Dunbartonsliire, Scotland, November 26, 1833, and was 
educated in the public schools. June 20, 1850, he married Catherine Muir, by whom 
he had seven children: James, John, jr., William M., Margaret O., Robert, Francis G., 
and one wlio died in infancy. In April, 1869, the family came to the United States and 
located in Elmira, N. Y. Mr. Finlay has been in the employ of the Northern Central 
Railroad Company twenty-one years and a locomotive engineer for eighteen years. 
John Finlay, jr., was born at the old home in Scotland, November 28, 18G0, and is a 
graduate of the Elmira Free Academy. He entered the employ of the Northern Cent- 
ral Railroad Company in July, 1880, and was promoted to the position of engineer in 
1887. He married, November 29, 1881, Mattie L,, only daughter of William and Mar- 
tha L. Teal, of Elmira. They have had three children : Willie T., who died at the iige 
of five years, and Lester W. and Grace L., who survive. 

Fitch, Arthur S., the Chemung County clerk and the present secretary of the Elmira 
Mechanics Society, was born in Tompkins County, N. Y., November 11, 1844, a son of 
Lemis W. Fitch, who came to Elmira in 1857 and died in 1886, aged seventy-four 
years. He reared three sous, of whom the eldest was a lieutenant in the One Hundred 
and Sixty-first Regiment New York Volunteers, and was killed in the Red River ex- 
pedition. The Lewis Edgar Fitch G. A. R. Post in Elmira was named for him. Albert 
M. is a merchant in Parsons, Kan. Arthur S. Fitch in early life clerked in a grocery 
store, and in July, 1862, enlisted at Elmira in Company B, One Hundred and Seventh 
Regiment New York Volunteers, serving till June 19, 1865, being discharged as first 
lieutenant and brevet captain. Among the battles in which his legiment participated 
were Antietani, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. At the siege of Savannah he received 
a gun-shot wound in the left leg. Returning to Elmira he clerked for Hall Brothers, 
booksellers, till 1871, when he engaged in partner.ship with Mr. Dumars under the firm 
name of Fitf'h & Dumars, which later was changed to A. S. Fitch, and still later to 
Fitch it Billings. He retired from the latter firm in 1889. Mr. Fitch has served as 
secretary of the Board of Education and has been a memlier of the Board of Health, 
and at one time was a Park Commissioner. He was elected county clerk on the Re- 
publican ticket in November, 1890, and was the only candidate on that ticket elected 
that fall. He belongs to the G. A. R., the E. O. M. A., and the A. 0. U. W. Mr. 
Fitch was married in 1868, in Penn Yaii, N. Y., to a daughter of the late George 
Cooley. The family are members of the Park Congregational Church. 

Fitch, Francis Ellery, a descendant of the Thomas Fitch who was born in Bocking, 
Essex, England, came to this country in 1638, settling at Norwalk, Conn. He was the 
father of the Thomas Fitch who died in that place in 1684, and left a son Thomas, who 
was born in 16G5. This last Thomas was the father of James Fitch, who was born in 
1700, and he was the father of Elijah, sr., who was married in 1752. His son, Elijah, 
jr., born in 1773, married, in 1793, Mary Olmstead. In 1799 they moved to Coopers- 
town, Otsego County, N. Y., and in 1831 the family came to Troy. Pa. Stephen H. 
Fitch, the father of Francis E., was born at Coojierstown, N. Y., February 25, 1814, 
and in 1839 married Lucina, daughter of Thomas and Betsey Manley, of East Canton, 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 91 

Bradford County, Pa. The brothers of Stephen II. were Lewis II., Thomas N., An- 
drew M., Curtis T.. and Horace II. Tlie si,«lers were Sarali, Amariila T., Lydia, and 
Hannah. Francis Kllery Filch married, February !l, 1,'<G4, Julia A., daughter of Caleb 
S. and .lane E. Burt, of Sprinjilield, Hradt'ord County, Pa. They have had five chil- 
dren, of wliom three girls died in infancy. The others are Burt S., born March 6, 1805 ; 
Nellie G. (adopted), born August 22, 1869; and Francis Ellery, jr., born December 27. 
1884. Mr. Fitch entered tlie service of the \Villiarns[iorl and Khnira Railway Company 
in November, l.Soo, as telegraph operator at Troy, Pa., was made train dispatcher ,Ian- 
nary 1, 1864, and in 1872 was made trainmaster for the Northern Cential Railway 
Company at Elmira, which position he now lipids. 

Flinsbach, Ooltlob, a native of Wurtembeif;, Germany, was born on June Pi, 1849, 
and came to the Uniteii States in 1868, locating first in New York city. He w,as mar- 
ried twice, first, Novemlicr 27. 1879, to Eliza Snyder, of New York city and of German 
descent. They had one daughter who died in infancy. For his seecond wife Mr. 
Flinsback married, June 11, 1882, Mary M. Kopf, who was born in New York cily, 
and by whom he has had one daughter, Johanna M., born June 16, 1883. Mr. Flins- 
bach carries on a bakery on East Church street, Elmira. 

Flood, Dr. Frank H., was born in Seneca County, N. Y., in September, 1851, a. son of the 
late Dr. James Flood, who died in Geneva in 1884, aged fifty-eight. Dr. Frank H. was 
given a collegiate education and graduated from the Medical Department of the Uni- 
versity of the City of New York. February 211. 1873. He practiced in Seneca County 
until 188."), wlien on account of ill health iie made a Journey on horseback through the 
West, spending about a year and a half. He located in Elmira in December, 1887, 
when he took up general practice again. He was three limes supervisor and once cor- 
oner of .Seneca County, a member of the Chemung County Medical Society, a member 
of the Seneca County Medical Society, and a member of the New ^'ork State Medical 
Association. He married, in March, 1.888, Delilah R. Choate. 

Flood, Henry, M.D., was born in Lodi, Seneca County, N. Y., in 1853. He graduated 
from the Elmira Academy in lS71,read medicine with his father, Patrick H., and gradu- 
ated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York city, in 1874. He was in Vienna, 
Austria, in 1878-79, and in llie College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York city 
in 18.^9-90. He began at once the practice of medicine in Elmira and has been engaged 
in it since. He was surgeon for the Erie and Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western 
Railroads, and medical examiner for several insurance companies, among them being the 
Travelers of New York. He was the medical examiner of Niagara University, of Buf- 
falo, N. Y., one of the consulting physicians al the Arnot-Ogden Hospital, is a perma- 
nent member of the State .Medical .Society, and a member of the Chemung (,'ouiity 
Medical Association. He was elected on the RepulJican ticket for mayor in 1884-85. 
He is a medical writer and the inventor of an anastlietic inhaler, etc. He was ap- 
pointed postmaster April 1, 1889, by President Harri.son. Dr. Flood was surgeon one term 
of the One Hundred and Tenth Battalion, with rank of major, being commissioned by 
Samuel J. Tilden. He was married in Elmira, January 1, 1881, to a daugtlier of John 
C. Seeley. 

For.seman, Henry P., born in Easton, Pa., July 20, 1841, was educated in Wyoming 
Seminary, Kingston, Pa. He enlisted October 2, 1861, in Company K, Fifty-second 
Infantry Penn,sylvania Volunteers, and served two years, being discharged on surgeon's 
certificate of disability. In 1864 he entered the employ of the Delaware, Lackawanna, 
and Western Railroad Company, and in 1879 wa.s promoted engineer. August 12, 
1881, lie married Helen Herlily, of .Scott, Pa. They have resided in Elmira ten years. 
His father, Thomas, M.D., was born in Pennsylvania about 18111. He married ^Iartha 
Parker, of New .Tersey, by whom he had two children, John and Henry P, 

Foster, William, father of Mary E., was born in SmithfieUI, R. I., in 1780. The fam- 
ily are of English descent. Mr. Foster came with his family to Elmira in 1841. He 
was by occupation a cotton manufacturer in Rhode Island. At his new home he pur- 



02 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

chased a farm just above the water works on West Water street and engaged in farm- 
ing. He died August 5, 18G4, and his wife August 23, 1870. Mary K. resides on tlie 
homestead. 

Freeman, Dr. William C, born at Brantford, Ontario, Canada, July 24, 1853, was 
educated in Toronto in Upper Canada College and graduated from Trinity Medical 
College in Toronto in 187G. lie is a memlier of (he College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons of Ontario. After a season at 'Bellevue he began practice in Canada, where he 
remained three years. Tlieiice he went to Muskegon, Mich., practicing there seven 
years, making a specialty of chronic diseases. He came to Elmira in August, 1888, 
where he has established himself as a general practitioner. He married, in Canada in 
1880, a daughter of the late Thomas Scott, for twelve years a member of Parliament. 
Tliey have one daughter. 

Frost, Eli Couch, is the youngest son of Joseph Frost, of Reading, Conn. His father, 
born thereon May 22, 1754, married, September 19, 1781 or 17S2, Lucy Couch, who was 
born March 12, 1760. Tliey had ten cliildren and moved to Catherine, Tioga County, 
N. Y. Mr. Frost was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Eli C. Frost was born in 
Catherine, N. Y., May 1, 1808, and was educated in the pioneer schools. He married 
twice, first, November 17, 1831, Melinda Meeker, who bore him these children: 
Amanda M , Harriet A., Eli C, and Helen .M. Mrs. Frost died October 15, 1853, and 
Mr. Frost married for his second wife, on March 2, 1854, Sarali R. McConnell, of Mon- 
treal, Canada, by whom he has had six children. Oi this family the following survive: 
Florus II., born August 24, 1855; Fannie M., born April 22, 1868; Flora V., born No- 
vember 19, 1870; and Mabel M., Ijorn April 6, 1874. Colonel Frost moved to Wat- 
kins, Schuvler County, N Y., in 18G5. There he carried on an extensive nursery. He 
also built Glen Park Hotel and conducted it for three years. In 1876 he came to El- 
mira, where he is now a manufacturer of patent ovens and hotel ranges, of which he is 
the patentee. 

Fuhrman, Martin, born in Carroll County, Md., March 4, 1844, was educated in the 
public schools of Cumberland County, Pa. He married, April 25, 1866, Margaret J., 
daughter of Josiah and Susannah Kennedy, of Perry County, Pa. Their three chil- 
dren are: Harry K., born September 1, 1867; Be.ssie, born September 24, 1869; and 
Isabel, born August 4, 187 8. Mr. Fuhrman has been in the employ of the Northern 
Central Railroad Company as conductor and yardmaster for several years. He enlisted 
twice, first in Company K, One Hundred and Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania Yolunteers, 
and was honorably discharged August 12, 1863 ; and second, September 2. 1864, in 
Company F, Two Hundred and Eighth Pennsylvania Infantry Volunteers, as second 
sergeant. He was honorably discharged June 1, 1865. His father, Stephen, was born 
on the border line of Pennsylvania and Maryland. In 1814 he married Margaret Hoff- 
man. They had four children : Theodore. Martin, Sarah, and Mary M. 

Galatian, Andrew Bedford, justice of the peace and acting recorder of the city of 
Elmira, was born in Walden, Orange County, N. Y., June 20, 1825. and is a son of John 
I. Calatian, a woolen manufacturer and mill owner at that place, who died at Walden 
in 1829, aged thirty-five years. Andrew was educated in Walden. Newburgh, Madi- 
son Academy, Pa., and Plainfield. N. J., and graduated from the Green Brook Family 
School at Plainfield. He read law at Newburgh, N. Y., with th.e late Judge Fullerton, 
of New York city, and spent five years in his office. On motion of Judge Fullerton he 
was admitted to the Court of Common Pleas, but never practiced. He was principal of 
the Washingtonville (N. Y.) Academy for about two years, an institution of note at that 
time. He w.as clerk in the prothouotary's office of Luzerne County at Wilkesbarre, 
Pa., about two years. He removed to Elmira in 1851, where he has ever since resided. 
In 1856 he was elected justice of the peace and has been re-elected a number of times 
since. From 1861 to 1863 he was city editor of the Elmira Daily Oazette. In 1864 he 
was commissioned by Governor Seymour as first lieutenant in the Seventh Regiment 
New York, and recruited several ihousand men for the front in various regiments. In 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 93 

180(5 he published historical sketches of Saginaw City, East Saginaw, Salina, Bay City, 
and Winoni in Micliigaii. In 18(i8 he puhhslied a history of Luzerne County, I'a. lie 
also published a history of " EIniira and Chemung County," which containect about 250 
pages from the earliest period to October, 18(i8. He purchased the plant of the Wells- 
ville Free Press and moved to Andover, Allegany County, N. V., and ran it as a Re- 
publican paper- -the Andover Advertiser a/id Free J'ress — from 1871 to 1872. lie moved 
it to Ilorseheads and ran it as the Horseheads Free Press about one year, fie then 
moved it to Elniira and started the first Sunday paper in that place, the Elmira Sunday 
Herald. The first issue of this paper he sold nearly .'J,00(l copies and each subsequent 
issue the number increased. Mr. Galatian has been a member of Newtown Lodge, No. 
89, of Odd Fellows, since 1852, and also a member of Fort Hill Encampmenl. He is a 
member of the Episcopal Church and has been twice married. He has two sons and 
three daughters. One son, George H., the eldest, is a traveling salesman and John A. 
is a law student. George H. was in the Treasury Department during Cleveland's ad- 
ministration. 

Gaylord. Henderson, junior member of the prominent law firm of Baxter, Gibson & 
Gaylord, was born in Plymouth, Pa., July 20, 1802. His father was Capt. Asher Gay- 
lord, Company D, One Hundred and Forty-third Pennsylvania Regiment, who was 
killed at Hatcher's Run, Va., February 7, 1805, after serving his country in the field for 
more than three years. Henderson Gaj'lord received a thorough preliminary educa- 
tion and when about twenty years of age began the study of law in the office of Smith 
& Fasselt, of Elmira. In 1887 he was admitted to the bar, and in .lanaary, 1889, en- 
tered upon the present partnership. In politics he is an active Republican. He is a 
member of t!ie Masonic fraternity and of the popular B. P. O. E., No. 02. 

Gerber, Charles, jr., was born in BufTalo in 1853. He received a part of his educa- 
tion in the public schools of that city, afterward being sent to Germany, where he re- 
ceived an academic course at Worms, in Hesse-Darmstadt, and in Frieberg, Baden. 
After two years he returned to BulTalo, taking charge of his father's brewery until 
1879, when he came to Elmira and established the Rock Spring breweiy, which was 
burned in 1880. He then established liimself in the Mander brewery, which he leased 
and operated two year.s. In 1882 his own brewery was rebuilt. He manufactures 
about 5.000 barrels per year. September 25, 1879. he married Nellie M.. oldest daugh- 
ter of William and Elizabeth Wood, of his native city. They have four children : 
Charles W., born July 24. 1880: Flo.ence E., born October 20, 1881; Nellie K., born 
June 1, 188-1; and Albert H.. born December 1, 1890. Mr. Gerber's father was born 
in Baden, Germany, and married Amelis Noble, by whom he had four children, three of 
whom are now living. Josephine, Minnie, and Cliarles, jr. 

Gibson. Jnd.son A., a member of the law firm of Baxter, Gibson & Gaylord, is a nat- 
ive of Chenango County, N. Y., being born there on August 16, 1857. He was educated 
at the Cazenovia (N. Y.) Seminary, read law with Messrs. Smith & Fassett, of Elmira, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1885. He came into his present co-partnership in 1888, 
and the high standing of the firm is e((ually shared by Mr. Gib.son as on individual. He 
is an ardent, active Republican, a member of tlie County Central Committee, and was 
the p.irty's candidate for di.strict attorney in 1889. He was married at Cazenovia in 
1882 to Miss Hannie G. Pierce, and they have two children. The family are members 
of the Baptist Church. 

Giles, Henry, father of William E., born in Orange County, N. V., came to Horseheads 
in 1816, and was aconlractor and builder by occupation. In 18"i.'{ he married Mary Leach, 
who bore liim eight children, namely : Ainos, Henry A., William E., Uriah S., Edmund 
M., Mary, Lewis, and Julia. The latter died in infancy. William E. Giles, born in 
Southport, February 12, 1841, waseducated in the public schools, and by {ccupation is 
sprinter, but is now a salesman for L. T. Holmes. August 22, 1862, he enlisted in 
Company C, One Hundred Forty-first Infantry New York Volunteers, was promoted 
from corporal through several positions to orderly-sergeant, and was honorably dis- 



94 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

charged at the close of the war. In 1859, when eighteen years old, in company with 
his brother Ilenry A., he piililislieii the first Horseheads Juurnal. He learned his trade 
with S. C. Taber in the Philosoplier o\\\ce at Horseheads and was also engaged for a time 
in the Giizelte office and in the Adcerliser offioe of Elmira. August 2.3, 1866, ho married 
Mary E. Brown, of EIraira. Mr. CJiles resides on Madison avenue. 

Gleason, Dr. Silas 0., a founder of the Gleason Sanitarium, known favorably for many 
years as the Elmira Water Cure, was born in Coleraine, Mass., November 3, 1818, a son 
of Silas Gleason, a farmer who moved to Vermont in 1823, where he died about 1870 
at the age of sixty-four years. Dr. Silas O. was educated in the common schools until 
twenty-one j'earsold, was brought up to manual labor, and received some schooling also 
at Whitesboro, Oneida County, N. Y., pa^'mg for his board by milking cows, etc., and 
staying there eight months. He attended Oberlin College two years, but hard work, 
too much stud)', and ill health compelled him to return to Vermont for a year to recup- 
erate, still, however, keeping up his reading. He then attended the Castleton Medical 
College of Vermont and graduated third in the class of '44. He practiced at Carlisle, 
N. Y., for one year, spending the next two years lecturing ou anatomy, physiology, 
and hygiene in New York State. He traveled in Allegany County in 1847, where 
he established the third Water Cure in the United States, remaining there two years. 
He then formed a partnership with Dr. Jackson, now of the Danville Water Cure, and 
bought a hotel of Skaneateles Lake, which he sold after three years to Dr. Jackson. He 
then went to Burdick's, on the east shore of Cayuga Lake, where he remained one year, 
moving thence to Elmira in 1852. Here he became associated with Fox, Holden, and 
M, Hale, who together built the building of which Dr. Gleason has been sole owner for 
ten years. Dr. Gleason has treated 20,000 patients from all over the world. He has 
the greatest number from July to October, among his guests having been Colfax, Sunset 
Cox, and many other distinguished people. Dr. Gleason married, in 1844, Miss Rachel 
Brooks, daughter of Reuben Brooks, a public man of prominence. After her marriage 
she took up the study of medicine with her husband and at the meeting of eclectics in 
Syracuse Dr. Gleason introduced a resolution to admit women to membership, which 
motion he carried, his wife being the first woman to enter any Medical College in the 
world which publicl}' opened its doors to women. They have a son and a daughter. 
The son, E. B., is a business man and the daughter, AdeleA., is a physician. She was 
educated in Philadelphia and Ann Arbor, graduating from the Medical Department of 
the last named college in 1875, and took a post-graduate course in chemistry and diag- 
nosis in the Eye and Ear Lifirmary with Dr. Knapp, of New York, under Cliarcot, of 
Paris, in insane and nervous diseases, and has been in practice with her father since 
graduating. 

Goodwin Family, Tlie. — The ancestry of this family is English. John Goodwin, father 
of Clarence, was liorn in the State of Ne>v York and married Theresa Drake, by whom 
he had seven children, five of whom are living : Clarence B ; Egbert H., who resides in 
Chemung; Gertrude E., wife of George Harris, of Elmira; Clara, wife of James Har- 
rington, of Chemung; and Granville B., who resides in Southport. Clarence B. was 
born in the town of Elmira, April 29, 1834, was educated in the public schools, and was 
reared on a farm. He has been a miller for twenty-six years. August 22, 1800, he 
married Phebe, daughter of George and Lillas Lowman, of Chemung, by whom he has 
two children: Hovey H., born November 19, I8Gl,and Hattie E., born March 1, 18G,3. 
The son and daughter reside with their parents. 

Gorman, Thomas, born in Ireland in 1839, came to America in July, 1800, and the 
following October moved to Elmira, where he was in the railroad business for a time, 
and then at farming, and in November, 1865, went into the grocery business. He was 
appointed street c;ommissioner in 1871 and 1872, serving three or four years. In 1883 
or 1884 he was elected alderman on the Democratic ticket, and is now serving his fourth 
term as alderman of the Third ward. He is a member of the Catholic Church. Mr. 
Gorman was married in Elmira, in 1862, to Anistatia Nealon. Mr. Gorman has files 
of the Gazette from 1837 to 1889 inclusive. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 95 

Greatsinprer, Christian, the father of Jolin S., was horn in Ulster County. N. Y., 
November 21, 170'2, and was a iletliodist clergyman. He married Anna M.Smith, 
October 30, 181C. She was born February G, 1799. They had four cliildren : Ehza, 
Eoda, John S., and VViUiam S. John S. Great^inger. born on the homestead October 7, 
1823, was educated in the pulilic schools and in Lima Seminary, and is a farmer. 
March 8, 1848, he married Aurelia C. Bosworth, who was born in Athens, Pa., Novem- 
ber 12, 1823. Tiiey liad four children : Jacob L.. born July I, 1849, who married Kittie 
(Daley) Francis; .lohn \V., born October 1.3, 1851, who marrieil Emma Goldsmith, of 
Elmira; Sarali E., horn December 2.5. 1858, who married B. F. Kceler (deceased) ; and 
Fanny, born March 29, 1861. who married John B. Keeler, of Horseheads. The family 
are of German aiid English extraction. 

Greener, Jacob, who was born in Worms, He.sse- Darmstadt, Germany, February 25, 
1825, received a common school education, and early began the study of music. Re- 
moving to America in I84(i he first located in New York, where he remained for si.\ 
anil a half years, and came to Elmira in 1855. In July, 1848, lie married Theresa Hay, 
of Germany, who bore him four children: Sophia E., Charles G., Laura, and Augustus. 
Laura Greener married George Dullin, tiy whom she had four children : Amelia, Laura, 
Lillian, and Emma, Mr. Dullin died April 17, 1880. Mr. Greener is a piano manufact- 
urer, having learned the business with Fred Mattushuk, being now the oldest dealer 
in music aud musical instruments in Elmira. He was for twelve years and a half in 
company with Mr. Eliason under the firm name of Eliason, Greener & Co. Since that 
time he has conducted the business within his own family. 

Grillith. David H., a native of Llanelly, Camarthenshire, Wales, and brother of the 
Rev. John Griflith, vicar of Mynyddisleoyer, Monmouthshire, was born on December 
14, 1837, and May 6, 1864, married Elizabeth Thomas. They came to the United States 
in 18GG and to Elmira in 18G7. Their four children are John H., born September 26, 
1865; Elizabeth J., born March 2, 1867; Annie M., born Augu.st 18, 1868; and Mar- 
garet J., born June 5, 1873. John H. Griffith graduated from the Elmira Academy 
and from St. Stephen's College at Anandale on the Hudson in 1889. He will finish his 
studies in the General Theologica'l Seminary at Faribault, Minn., will be ordained in June, 
1892, and will enter the ministry of the Episcopal denomination. The family resides 
on Walnut street in Elmira. 

Griswold, Judd, of the firm of Griswold, Maloney & Co., was born in Southport, 
N. Y., December 26, 1842, being one of four sons born to Elijah Griswold, sr. The 
father by vocation was a life-long farmer and a resident of Soiilhporl, where he died 
in 1867. aged sixty-six years. Judd Griswold followiMl farming iiiilil the war broke 
out, when he enlisted in August, 18()2, in Company K, One Hundred and Forty-first 
New York Volunteer Infantry, serving to the close of the war, being mu>-tered out at 
Wa-^hington. He was promoted from private lo first lieutenant, and parlicipated in 
the battles of Missionarv Ridge, Lookout Mountain, and Dalla.s. Returning to El- 
mira he began his present business in 1865. He was commander of Baldwin Post, 
No. 6. G. A. R., in 1889 and 1890. Mr. Griswold maaried, at Southport in 1868, a 
daughter of Thomas Hopkins, by whom he has one son. 

Harper. Charles C, son of John, was born at Allen's Cove, Pa., March 8, 1848. July 
13, 1864, he enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Ninety-fifth I'eiin.sylvaiiia In- 
fantry Yohinteers, and was honorably discharged November 4, 18G4. In 1866 he mar- 
ried Susan Y., daughter of Andrew and IL-mnah B. Jone.s, of Perry County, Pa. They 
have had four children, viz.: Frank C, born February 16, 1867; Sally J., born Febru- 
ary 8, 1869 ; Burt, born January 4, 1871, died in 1879; and Ralph, born June 13, 1877. 
Mr. Harper has been an engineer for the Northern Cantral Railroad for ten years out 
of a continuous service of seventeen years. John Harper was born in Chester Countv, 
Pa., December 25. 180.5, and inarried Caroline Magar, who bore him six children : Jo- 
seph C, Frazier P., Margaret A., Henry M., John, and Charles C. 



9G OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Harris, .Tustiis H., born in the town of Baldwin in 1848, is a son of E. J. Harris, now 
a farmer of Soiithport. Eilucated in the common anil business schools lie was engaged 
with his father in the lumber business for some time, and finally bought out the con- 
cern and has continued its affairs since. He is second vice-president of the Board of 
Trade and has served two terms (1870-8.'3) as alderman of the Fifth ward. AFr. Harris 
is a K. T., a member of St. Omer's Commandery, a K. of L , and active in the Second 
Presbyterian Church. He married, in Southport in 1872, a daughter of Jehial Ayers, 
and they have two children. Mr. Harris has resided in Elmira for seventeen years. 

Hart, Abraham P., was born in Goshen, Litchfield County, Conn., April 23, 181G, 
where he remained until twenty-one years old. In 18.37 he came to Ehiiira and was 
the first to establish a photograph gallery in that city. He married, first, in 1839, An- 
geline Badger, of Elmira, by whom he had one slaughter, Harriet, who married James W. 
Morehouse, of Rochester, N. Y. In 1877 Mr. Hart married, second, Mrs. M. Louisa 
Hathorn, of Elmira. Mr. Hart has several times been burned out, but in each case has 
returned to his chosen profession. 

Hart, William E., a native of Goshen, Litchfield County, Conn., was born in 1817 
and came with his parents to Elmira about 1825, where he received his education. 
Leaving home in 1836 he went to Angelica, where he remained until 1842 as clerk in a 
dry goods store, when he returned to Elmira and began business for himself as a gen- 
eral merchant. Later he dealt exclusively in dry goods and carpets. He retired in 
1882. Mr. Hart married twice, first, in September, 1844, Elizabeth M. Hull, of An- 
gelica, Allegany County, N. Y., by whom he had three children, viz.: Fred, who was 
burned to death at the Sanitary Fair at the Presbyterian Church in 1864 ; Frank P., a 
merchant in Wellsboro, Tioga County; and Alice E., who married Seward F. Gould, 
of West Avon, Livingston County, N. Y. For his second wife Mr. Hart married, in 
1856, Delia A. Case, of Earlville, iladison County, N. Y. They have one son, William, 
born in 1858. 

Hayes, Henry 0., was born in Ithaca. N. Y., July 15, 1846. He learned the trade of 
mason. When the Rebellion broke out he enlisted in Company B, Eighty- sixth Ohio 
Infantry Volunteers, and re-enlisted in Company G, Fifteenth New York Cavalry, serv- 
ing till the close of the war. On September 17, 1868, he married Mary M. Bennett. 
They have one son, Floyd J., born January 23, 1871. Mr. Hayes is in business with 
John H. Holmes, the firm name being Holmes & Hayes, furnishing masons' supplies 
and acting as general agents for King's Windsor cement. Mr. Hayes's father, John C. 
Hayes, was born in Owego and married Harriet N. Clark, of Ithaca. They had eight 
children. 

Hedden, John W., M.D.. was born in Schuyler County, N. Y., October 22, 1846. 
His literary education was acquired at the graded schools of Watkins and the old Ma- 
sonic College (now obsolete) of Havana. He began the study of medicine with Dr. 
M. Skinnt-r at Watkins, and was graduated in the class of 1875 from the Cincinnati 
College of Physicians and Surgeons, taking a post-graduate course at the same institu- 
tion a few years later. Immediately on leaving college he hung out his shingle in his na- 
tive county and there for nine years enjoyed a lucrative practice. In 1884 he removed 
to Corning and from there came to Elmira in April, 1890, as manager of the Chemung 
Valley Medical and Surgical Institute. Severing his connection with the institution he, 
in December, 1890, formed a business association with Dr. J. A. Westlake (q. v.) and 
founded their present Private Medical and Surgical Hospital in Elmira. The doctor is a 
member of the Schuyler County Medical Association, the Chemung County Medical 
Association, the Elmira Academy of Medicine, the Masonic fraternity, the I. 0. 0. F. 
Encampment, etc., and is presiiient of the National Homestead Company of New York 
city. He was married, at Dey's Landing, N. Y., in 1875, to Miss Alzada, daughter of 
the late well known inventor, Elias Hungerford. They have one son. 

Ileldrich, Philipp, M.D., was born in Bavaria, Germany, May 10, 1851, and is a son 
of a gentleman who was many years forester and consulting member of the Treasury 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 97 

Departmoiit of Havaiia, and who is now retired on full pay with the orders of St. Liid- 
wi^' and St. M.ohael.>:, lir.st class, conferred upon liim for merit by tlie Enipeior. A 
brother of the doctor i.s successor to his father in the otlice of forester and another 
brother is the master mechanic of the Royal Railway. The Fleldrichs in Germany are 
all in government emplo}' and have been for several frenerations. From the (ryninasium 
Philipp entered the University Wuzhurg and from there joined the Bavarian army as a 
memlier of the First Bavarian Corps in the Franco-Prii.-isian war. taUinp part in the 
memorable battles of Wessinburj;, Wocrth, Sedan, Orleans, Columbia, etc., and for 
bravery at Grande Ormes was honorably mentioned by ministerial rescript of War No. 
4, December 4, 1S70. He was honorably discharged, with the right to wear the uni- 
form, from the army in 1873 with the rank of second lieutenant Kleventh Bavarian In- 
fantry and returned to the pursuit of his education. Coming to America in 1880 he 
soon afterward entered the Univei-sity of Maryland and was graduated therefrom in 
1883. He began practice at once in Klniira and has since remained in ihis city. The 
doctor is a member of the local medical societies and the surgeon of the Thirtieth Sepa- 
rate Company N. G. S. N. Y. He was married, in Baltimore, in 1883, to a Miss Som- 
erfeld. 

Heller, Charles, was born in the town (now city) of Elmira on the farm on which he 
now resides on April 25, 1821. His father, Michael Heller, and his mother, Catharine 
Wormeley, were German, and came from Lancaster County, Pa., to Chemung County 
in 180.5, purchasing land at or near Carr's Corners. The family of Michael Heller con- 
sisted of ten children, of whom two are now living, Mary Heller Mar.sh, of Southport, 
and Charles. Charles Heller w'as educated at the public schools and the KImira Acad- 
emy. January 9, 1851, he married Mary, the second daughter of David >sei>h, who was 
born in Scotland and who was one of the earliest settlers of the town of Krin. Thev 
have four children : Harriet B., who married O. M. Wi.xon, of KImira. a farmer and city 
supervisor: Frances H., who married I. R. Taylor, of Elmira; and Michael Burt and 
David N., graduates of the Elmira Academy and the Cornell University. The oldest 
is in business with Griilley & Son and the youngest is an attorney at law and the eili- 
cient clerk of the Surrogate's Court. Mr. Heller has always been engaged in agricult- 
ural pursuits. He was one of the founders of the Elmira Farmers Club and was its 
treasurer for fifteen years. From 1S74 to 1881 he was the president of the as^sociation 
whicli published the Iluxbandman^ an agricultural newspajier. 

Herendeen, Edward G., of the Elmira Bar, born in Wayne County. N. Y., October 
19, 1887, is a son of E. W. Herendeen, of Geneva, N. Y., president of the Herendeen 
Manufactming Company, of that city. He w.is graduated at Hobart College in 1879 
with the degree of B.A. and was the salutatorian of his class. In 1882 he received 
the degree of M.A. from the same institution, and by appointment delivered the mas- 
ter's oration for that yeai-. II is legal education was obtained in the oflice of the late Hoti.H. 
' Boardman Smith, justice of the Supreme Court, and he was admitted to the bar early in 
1882. Heliegan practice at once and soon formed a partnership with Robert J. Knox, a 
son of the late Rev. Dr.W. E. Knox. The firm was dissolved in 18><7 upon the removal of 
Mr. Knox to Minnesota, and Mr. Herendeen was alone in practice until Jime, 1891, when 
the firm of Herendeen & Mandeville was organized, the junior partner being II. C. 
Mandeville. They are the attorneys for the New York State Association of Hardware 
Jobbers, the Elmira National Bank, the Elmira Building Company, and the Elmira Sav- 
ings Bank. Mr. Herendeen wa,s married in April, 1887, to Miss Ida S. Barton, daugh- 
ter of R. \V. Barton, of Elmira. She died October 1, 1889. leaving an infant .son 

Hibbard Gardiner C, was born in Beaver Dams, Schuyler County, N.Y., August 28, 18-18. 
He resided in New York city until Novendjer 30, 18(J1, when his father's family moved to 
Watkins, N. Y. While attending the Watkins Academy he enlisted on March Hi, 1862, 
as private in Company I, One Hundred and Third Regiment New York Volunteers, re- 
maining in the service until his discharge. After returning home he re-entered the 
Watkins Academy, from which he was graduated, and later attended the Eastman Busi- 



98 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ness College at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. After a varied aud eventful life in the far VV'est 
and South he returned to VVatkins. N. Y., and in 1ST2 entered inio business with his 
father and remained until 1870, when he came to EIraira, N. Y., where he has since re- 
sided. He engaged in business on his arrival here, and so continued till July '26, 1890, 
when he was appointed special agent of the Eleventh United States Census. Mr. Hib- 
bard is conimaniler of L. Edgar Fitch Post, No. 165, G. A. R., and was junior vice- 
department commander of New York in 1890. He served as Republican alderman of the 
Fifth ward for two years, has been a delegate to numerous city, county, and State con- 
ventions, aud was chairman of the same and of many important committees. His 
political affiliations were with the Republican party, which he early espoused. Since 
reaching mature manhood his observation and reading have drawn him toward, and on 
many occasions made him a champion of, the laboring masses in their conflict for indust- 
rial emancipation, and was. in consequence thereof^ nominated hy the Labor party of 
the Twenty-seventh Congressional liistrict as their candidate for Congress. He was 
twice elected master workman of Local Assembly, No. 204, K. of L. Since May 22, 
1891, he has identified himself with the People's party, organized at Cincinnati, Ohio, 
on the above date. Mr. Hibbard is the son of George F. and Elizabeth (Crum) Hib- 
bard, who were married in September, 1846, at New York city, where the Hibbard 
family have resided for 150 years. What is now Union Square in New York city was the 
farm of the great-grandfather of Gardiner C. Most of the male members of the family 
served in the" Revolution and the War of 1812, and many of their descendants served 
with distinction in the war for the Union. Mr. Hibbard married, in 1878, Lydia J., 
daughter of Elijah Higley, of Penn Yan, N. Y. They have one child, a daughter, 
Adria Lucille, born January 1, 1882. 

Higgin.s, Norman L., born in Hector, Schuyler County, August 16, 1824, was edu- 
cated m the common schools until he was eighteen years old. He then learned the 
blacksmithing trade and followed it successfully until 1863. October 28, 1847, he mar- 
ried Jeannette E,, daughter of Stephen and Fanny Chubb, of Dundee, Yates County, 
N. Y. He deals in real estate. Mr. Higgins was a war Democrat until the time of Mr. 
Lincoln's assassination, when he became a Repulili^an. Her father, Elisha, was born 
in Connecticut ; his mother was born in Massachusetts. His father was one of the 
party who threw the tea into the Boston harbor. Elisha married Nancy Meade and 
had five children. Mr. Higgins's grandfather was a sailor in the English navy, but es- 
poused the cause of the Colonists. 

Hildreth, Isaac, jr., a locomotive engineer, was born August 6, 1847. in Geneva, On- 
tario County, N. Y., and received his education in the public schools and in Starkey 
Seminary. March 21, 1864. he enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Seventy- 
ninth Infantry New York Volunteers, was wounded in the mine explosion before 
Peteriibuig, July 30, 18G4, and was discharged for difability December 21, 1864. Mr. 
Hildreth married Lois A. Gardner, of Big Stream, Yates County, N. Y., and had born 
to him seven children, of whom Edward, Isaac, Alonzo, and Fannie died in infancy and 
George M., Grace M., and Ruth L. survive. They have resided in Elmira for twenty- 
four year.<. His father, Isaac HiUlreth, born in Shaftsbury, Vt., married Phebe Cun- 
ningham, of Middletown, Orange County, N. Y. They had six children, of whom four 
are still living, viz.: Laura. John, Isaac, jr., and Mary. Mr. Hildreth was the pioneer 
of the nur.sery stock business in both Ontario and Yates Counties. 

Hillman, William H., was born in Chemung, December 23, 1847. After receiving a 
public shool education he studied civil engineering and surveying with John Bosworth, 
of Waverly, N. Y., and is now a farmer and surveyor. The farm on which he resides 
and which he owns was deeded to his great-grandfather by the State of New York. 
July 31, 1870, Mr. Hillman married Charlotte Swain, of Waverly. She was a school 
teacher. They have had four children, viz.: Rose D., Jennie, Satie, and John. His 
grandfather was a captain in the War of 1812 and an officer in the State militia. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 9!) 

Hofi'man, Edwanl M., of the firm oC E. M. & II. X. Ilod'man, growers of fruit and 
ornaiiieiital trees and loses, was born on Jannary 14. 1857, and is a .son of George \V. 
HotVnian. lie worked three years for tlie Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Express 
Company and mi 1885 engaged in tlie nursery business. Mr. lloll'man on October 1, 
1874, enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Tenth Battalion N. G. S. N. Y., as a 
private, and April J, 1S77, was made second-lieutenant of the same company, whose 
designation soon afterward changed to the Thirtieth Separate Company Infantry. lie 
was promoted first-lieutenant of the latter company on November 2!), 1881, and lieu- 
tenant colonel and assistant-adjutant-general of the Seventh Brigade on December G, 
1884. Augusts, 1885, he was placed on the supernumary list by reason of the disband- 
ment of the brigade. In 1880 Mr. HoflFman was again made first lieutenant of the 
Thirtieth Separate Company, and in September, 1890, was promoted captain of tlie 
company. He devotes liis time assiduously to business and to military matter.". Octo- 
ber 19, 1882, he married a daughter of William A. Brooks. They have no children. 
The business of E. M. it H. N. HoSman was established in the spring of 1885. They 
now handle 500,000 trees and 50,000 roses yearly. 

HofTman, George W., 2d, born on the farm upon wliicli he resides June 23, 1867, 
was educated in the public schools and in the EIniira Comiiiercial College, and January 
20, 1890, married Georgia, daugliter of John F. and Harriet S. Honimel, of Pine City. 
They have one son, Josepli J., born February 14, 1891. Mr. liolVrnan's father, Joseph, 
was born in Newtown (now Elmira) aliont 1818. He married Phebe liiggins, of the 
same place, by whom he had four children who survive : Estella, Jossie, George W., 
2d, and John S. The family were among the earliest settlers and were of German ex- 
traction. The first log house that Colonel Hendy built is in a good state of preserva- 
tion on the above named farm. 

HofTman, John Smith, son of William, was born in Southport, July 2, 1811, and in 
early life became a hatter. In 1837 he formed a copartnership with Nelson W. Gardi- 
ner, which continued until 1843. Hats were nearly all made by hand in those days. 
Mr. HofTman married, first, on September 28, 1836, Minerva Kirtland, who died July 
18, 1838. They had one daughter, Frances M., who m.'irried Charles A. Northrup. For 
his second wife Mr. Hoflnian married, Febniary 2, 1842, Lydia Logan, of Elmira, who 
bore him two children, of whom one died at the age of twelve years and one, Eloise E., 
survives. Mr. Hotlinan was supervisor for eight years, was as,*essor three years, town 
clerk two year.s, and for many years conducted a large lumber trade. He retired from 
active busine.ss in 1881. Mrs. HolTman died in 1S90. Mr. Hofl'man's fallier, one of the 
sturdy pioneers of Chemung County, (ii-st came to Newtown from Northumlierland, Pa., 
in 1799. and located herein 1800. In a recent article on the ohi citizens of Elmira the 
author of this volume says: •' William Hofi'man was the noblest Roman of them .ill." He 
married, first, Peggy Smith, by whom he had one daughter, Margaret, and second, 
Sally Smith, who bore him six children: John S., Jacob, William, jr., Joseph, George 
W., and Henry C. 

Hogan, James Henry, the present alderman of the Second^ ward, was born in Elmira, 
June 19, 1860, a .son of the late Dennis Hogan, who came from Ireland in 1849, working 
for the Northern Central Railroad for twenty-three years. He died in 1888 aged sixty- 
nine years. James H. grailuated from graded school No. 5, of Elmira, and was there- 
after employed by the IJnion News Com|iany, having in all worked about eight years 
for that concern. From ls84 to 1889 he had charge of the company's business at that 
point. Id March, 1889, at the age of but twenty-two, he was elected alderman, being 
the youngest of that body ever elected to the olTice. He has always been a Democrat. 
He is a member of the Catholic Cliurch, is recording secretary of the Liberal League, and 
is one of the proprietors of the Paragon Hotel. Mr. Hogan in 1888 led the movement 
to throw ofi" the ring rule of the politics of the wards, and as the leader of the " Forty- 
one " Club succeeded in changing the powers. 



100 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Ilolden, Horace W., who was born in Mansfield, Tioga County, Pa., April 25, 1827, 
acquired his education in tlie coninion schools and has lieen a druggist since 1852. April 
C, 1850, he married Laura A. Williams and they have had six children: Emma, Rossa, 
Ella, and Archie, all deceased, and Elsie, born October 5, 1867, and Herbert \V.. born 
December 13, 1870. The latter attended the graded schools of Elnnira and graduated 
from the .commercial college, and is a druggist with his father. Mr. Holden enlisted, 
Octol)er IG, 18G1, in Company D, Filty-sevenlh Infantry Pennsylvania V'oluuteers, and 
was transferred to the medical department because of his proficiency in medicine. He 
was honorably discharged in September, 18G4, on account of physical disability. His 
father, Daniel Holden, was born in Barry, Mass., in 1786, and married Lydia Lounsbury, 
of New York State, by whom he had nine children, namely : Eliza, IjUC3-, Daniel L., 
Isaac, Dewitt C, John A., George R., Horace W., and Reuben K. 

Ingham, John Q., F.A.I.A., was born September 4, 1838, in Bradford County, Pa., 
and is a son of Joseph Ingham, M.D., who died in Bradford County in 1843. He was 
educated in Wyoming Seminary and .shortly afterward began the study of draughtmgand 
architecture, opening, however, in 1S75 his present business in the office he now occu- 
pies. He has designed a very large number of handsome residences and other Iniildings, 
among them being the Owego High School, the High School and Presbyterian Church 
at Canton, Pa., the Baptist Church at Troy, Pa, and two schools, three churches, and 
scores of dwellings in Blinira. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum and of the Park 
Church and a fellow of the Blniira Academy of Sciences. He married, at Wyalusing, May 
13, 18G3, Nancy P., daughter of John Black, a prominent citizen of Bradford County, Pa. 
They have four daughters: Eva M, (Mr.s. Walter Aspinwall, of Buffalo, who has a 
daughter Helen), Lizzie P., Jennie V., and Helen. 

Jacob, Adam, was liorn in Vilbel, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, July 4, 1855. Edu- 
cated in the public schools of that.icountry he came to the United States on August 3, 
1872, and first located in New York city, where he remained until March 5, 1881, when 
he came to Elniira. November 3, 1883, he married Christina P. Wenz, who was born 
in Graben, Baden, Germany. Mr. Jacob conducts a line meat market on the corner of 
Pennsyvania and South avenues. 

Jacobs, Jonas, M.D., coroner of Chemung County and physician of the city of Elmira, 
was born in New York city November 15, 1862. He is a son of the Rev. Marks Ja- 
cobs, of New Haven, Conn. In the study of his profession Dr. Jacobs spent two years 
in the Medical Department of Yale College, one year in the Medical College of the Uni- 
versity of New York, and was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons 
of Baltimore, class of 1886. After three months of practice in Brooklyn he spent one 
term on the medical stall'of Ward's Island Insane Hospital, and in the fall of 1886 set tied in 
Blmira. Dr. Jacobs is a member of the Elmira Academy of Sciences, the Elmira Academy 
of -Medicine, the Pathological Society, secretary of the Medical Society of the County of 
Chemung, surgeon to the poliee force, fire department, and Civil Service Board, and 
medical examiner for numerous organizations. He is president of the Improved (Jrder 
of Red Men's Fraternal Accident Association of America (Elmira branch), and prophet 
and past sachem of To-mo-ka Tribe, No. 128, I. t). R. M. Dr. Jacobs was elected coro- 
ner in the fall of 1888 and appointed city physician January 1, 1891. 

Jenk.s, George E., was born in Vestal (now Union), N. Y, April 3, 1844, receiving 
his education in the district schools. In early life a farmer, he enlisted twice in the war 
of the Rebellion, first, on September G, 1861, in Company D, Fiftieth Pennsylvania In- 
fantry Volunteers, and was wounded twice in the battle of Chantilly, being honorablj' 
discharged for disability April 18, 18G3. He re-enlisted February 16, 18G4, in Com- 
pany A, Fifth Cavalry New York Volunteers, and was wounded m the battle of Win- 
chester, September 19", 1864. Upon his return to civil life he entered the employ of the 
Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad Company as fireman, and was promoted 
engineer April 1, 1869. He married, September 12, 1886, Miranda, daughter of Moses 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 101 

anil Louisa Clark, formerly of Susquehanna, Pa. Tliey have had three children, of 
whom one son died in infancy; Nellie J., born September 6, 1868; and Alleta B., 
born September 14, 1882. 

Jenks, Robert B., M.D., born in Tioga County, N. Y., March 10, 184,5, received an 
academic education at Owefro, read medicine in the office of Dr. T. S. Armstrong, of 
Binghaniton, and graduated from the New York llomiiopatbic Medical College in the 
class of 1808. He practiced two years at Owego, three years at Rock Island, and re- 
turned to Owego, removing to Elmira, however, in 1875. The doctor is a member of 
the city Board of Health, of the School Board, and for the past six years has lieen phy- 
sician in charge of the Southern Tier Orphans Home. He married, in New York city 
in 1874, the daughter of the late Kdwiii J. Brown, and has one son. 

Jones, Hervey K., born in Towanda, Pa., on September 11, 1840, is a son of Henry 
Jone."!, sr., who came to Elmira when the sou was three years of age. He moved to 
Iowa in IS.">2, but returned to Elmira and died there in October, 1804, aged seventy 
years. He reared eleven children, all of whom died but five. Hervey E. Jones was 
educated in the common schools of Elmira and in Iowa, and taught school in the latter 
State. Upon the outbreak of the war in 1801 he enlisted as private at Davenport, la., 
and served three years and one month. He participated in the battles of Corinth, 
luka, Farmington, and other .skirmishes, through all of which he passed without a 
wound. After the war Hervey E. returned to Ehinra and engaged as lireman on the 
Erie Railroad, leaving this position in 1870 to become a locomotive engineer. Mr. 
Jones is a member of Union Lodge, No. 95, F. and A. W., a member of the B. of L. E., 
a past commander and now an ollicer of the day of Baldwin Post, No. 6, G. A. H., and 
aid-de-camp on the stall of the deputy commander. He married, January 29, 1866, 
Miss Rhoda E., daughter of John Rees. She died January 31, 1885. 

Jones, Raymond T., grandfather of Philo Jones, was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, 
in 1791. When ten years old his parents moved to Morristown, N. Y., where he was 
educated in the public schools. The family came to Elmira in 1806. December 3, 1812, 
Philo married Jane, daughter of Mathew and Catherine Carpenter, of Elmira. They 
had seven children, viz.: Albert, Betsej' C, Simon R., Finia XI., Julia S., Philo, jr., and 
Laura J. Simon H. Jone.s, born January 17, 1819, at Bath, Steuben County, N. Y., 
was e<lucated in the public schools, and in early life was a cloth weaver. His life-long 
occupation, however, was that of a lumber merchant, in which he did a large and suc- 
cessful business. Januarj' 4, 1849, he married Jane Owens, who was born May 22, 
1822, in Orange County, N. Y. They had five children ; Clarence M., born Novem- 
ber 17, 1849; Florence, born December 22, 1853, died young; Ella M., born May 20, 
1850; Ida J., born March 20, 1861 ; and Raymond T.. born September 1. 1804. " The 
latter recived an academic education, and on December 15, 1880, married M. Effie, 
daughter of Absalom and Maria Seely, of Elmira, by whom he has two children, H. 
Morton, born July 15, 1888, and Walter S., born June 2, 1890. Mr. Jones's father died 
February II, 1881. Mathew Carpenter was born in Orange County in 1759, came to 
Elmira in 1792, and married Catherine Mathews. Mr. carpenter held several positions 
of political trust and honor. .Mr. Jones's grandfather was representative in the legislat- 
ures in 1848 and 18.50. Raymond T. .Tones has resided in Elmira seven years, and has 
been as-sociated in business with George Doane under the firm name of Doane k, Jones, 
manufacturers and wholesale and retail lumber dealer.s. 

Kelly, George H., hou.se and sign painter, wa-s born in Newark, N. J., August 17, 
18.34, and is a son of William 1)., a iiieichant, and the first chief of police of that city. 
He died in 1883 in Maryland. He iiad two sons, one, William, being now engaged in 
silver mining. The father removed to Elmira in 1844 George N. was educBled in the 
common schools and learned the painter's trade, working at it on the outbreak of the 
war. He enlisted in 1801 in Company K, Twenty-ninth Pennsylvania Infantry, and 
served one year, pa.«sing through the battles of the Shenandoah Valley, Ball's Blufl', 
and Winchester. He is a K. T., and high priest of Elmira Chapter, No. 42, R. A. M. 



102 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

He has filled most of the chairs in the order of K. T. lie is senior vice-commander 
of Baldwin Post, No. (i, G. A. K. Mr. Kelly married, in Elmira m 1864, a daughter of 
John Pickering, an early builder of this city. 

Ketchum, Hiram, was born m the town of Mount Hope, Orange County, N. Y., De- 
cember 20, 1818, and by occupation is a carpenter. He has for many years been a 
farmer, is a genius with tools, and has built his own house and made his own wagons, 
and indeed makes anything from a ''needle to an anchor." In 1861 he came to Che- 
mung County, N. Y., and located on the river road. He married twice, first, Caroline 
E. Coffy, of Orange County; they had four sons, Edward C, William Y., Alvin D., 
and George. Mrs. Ketchuui died in Decemlier, 1870, and in February, 1875, he mar- 
ried, second, Martha A. Shouts, of Veteran ; they have one son, Frank. Alvin D. 
lives on the home farm. He married Ida Goldsmith, of the town of Elmira, and they 
have two sons and two daughters: Harry W., Lottie B., George H., and Nellie. In 
poUtics Hiram Ketchum is an old-fashioned Democrat. He has been elected justice of 
the peace many times and after a short interval was re-elected. 

King, William, was born in the North of Ireland on April 3, 1835. He is a son of 
Edward King, and came to America in 18i9. Learning the trade of organ building in 
New York city he followed it there from July, 1851, to 1862, when he came to Elmira 
to assist in building the Lake Street Church organ. He has served from 1879 to 1881 
as city assessor. Mr. King is a member of the Episcopal Church. He married, in New 
York city on February 19, 1859, Elizabeth McDonald, daughter of John Cooper, who 
came to this country in 1848. Mrs. King was born in Antrim, Ireland. Tliev have 
two sons and three daughters. The firm of William King it Son, church organ Imilders, 
began in 1887. They built tlie organ for Grace Church and later erected those for the 
First Baptist, St. Patrick's, St. Mary's, SS. Peter and Paul, First Presbyterian, First Meth- 
odist, Hedding Methodist, German Evangelical, and North Presbyterian Churches. 

Knapp, Wilraot E., a brilliant young lawyer of Elmira, was born near Troy, Pa., No- 
vember 16, 1857. He resided in the village of Wellsburg, N. Y., from 1859 to 1880, 
and there received a common school education. Previous to his commencing the study 
of law he taught school for five years. It was in April, 1880, in the office of Smith & 
Robertson, of Elmira, that he commenced to pore over the pages of Blackstone. He com- 
pleted the thinl year of his studies with Dix W. Smith and remained with him until the 
spring of 1886, when he began to practice alone. As a student Wilmot E. Kiia[ip was 
most ambitious and dutiful and for many months, day after day, he drove from Wells- 
burg to Elmira and back again at night after his day's work. He was admitted to 
practice in the spring of 1883, from w'hich time almost without exception lie has tried 
and argued his cases without assistance in the higher courts of the State, both criminal 
and civil, and his opponents have been the most brilliant lights of the Chemung County 
Bar. Socially Mr. Knapp is one of the most pleasant and genial gentleman and this no 
doubt accounts for his strong popularity and host of friends. He is an interesting as 
well as an entertaining conversationalist, being well read m the leading literary works of 
the day, especially Shakespeare, which he has mastered thoroughly. He is a Republi- 
can in politics and a forcible public speaker. 

Knipp, Charles H., of the law firm of Youmans, Mo-ss & Knipp, is a native of Corn- 
ing, N. Y., and was born August 7, 18.58. His father, John Knipp, emigrated from 
Germany to America when a boy, locating in this State. Charles was his only surviv- 
ing son and received his education at the Corning Academy and in the Law Department 
of Union College. He began the study of law in 1880 in the office of E. B. Youmans 
and graduated from the Albany Law School in May, 1883. He was immediately ad- 
mitted to the bar and in July following joined in the present partnership. Mr. Knipp 
is a member of the Republican County Committee and was private secretary to the 
president p?-o tern, of the State Senate during the session of 1885. He belongs to the 
Improved Order of Red Men, is a Knight Templar, secretary of the Chemung 
County Sportmen's Club, vice-president of the Pennsylvania Roofing Company, and 
treasurer of the Silverton Coal Company, of Scranton, Pa. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 103 

Kolli, Baldwin, was born in Alsnee, France (now Germany), September 22, 1831, 
and came to America in 1S52. Two months later he came to Elmira, N. Y., and with 
the exception of two years, which were spent in the Sonth, he has always been a resi- 
dent of this city. He received his education in the old country. He built the Ex- 
change Hotel in 18G1-U2, and oocnpie<l it until ISOG, when he became proprietor of the 
(.,(ueen City Palace, where he remained for some years. He wa? engaged in the hotel 
business continuously till his retirement in 1888. He is a member of the Excise Board 
of Elmira and was appointed by Mayor Davison a member of the excise conimi.ssion in 
May, 1888, se ving two terms. He was ten years in the brewery business in the Rock 
Spring brewery. He is a member of the Catholic Church and a Democrat in politics. 
Mr. Kolb married, in Elmira in 185.5, a Miss Coakley, who died in 1881. Their only 
son died in 1873. The pre.sent Mrs. Kolb was Mrs. Anna Zett, a resident of Syracuse. 
Mr. Kolb is a self-made man. 

Koll), Jacob, park commissioner and city assessor, was born in Alsace, France. De- 
cember 27, 1841, and came to America in 1860. For a few months he followed his 
trade of machinist, but soon came to Elmira, where his brother (now retired) was in 
the hotel business. He then bouglit the Exchange Hotel, which he owned and man- 
aged for about twenty-five years. He was in 1888 and 18SJ0 chairman of the Demo- 
cratic City Commission, was appointed first assessor by Mayor Stanchfield, and re-ap- 
pointed 1)3' Mayor Davison, being now in his sixth year of that office. He was park 
commi.^sioner two years and has recently been appointed for a second term by Mayor 
Davison. Mr. Kolb is a Knight Templar and a member of the I. 0. 0. K. At present 
he is engaged quite extensively in the real estate business, and in connection therewith 
conducts a hotel, which was erected by his brother. He married Caroline Metzger in 
1871 and has a son and two daughters. 

La France, Truckson S., mechanical engineer of the La France Fire Engine Company 
and the inventorof the rotary engine and rotary pump, was born in Susquehanna County, 
Pa., September 14, 1834. He is a son of Willis B. La France, a mechanic now eighty- 
three years of age, who reared a family of five sons, of whom T. S. is the oldest. Re- 
ceiving a common school education, and learning the locomotive and stationary engi- 
neer's trade, he was for twelve years engineer of a fire engine in Elmira, which led to 
his bringing about valuable improvements in the manufacture of attachments, etc., and 
later brought into existence their present valuable apparatus, a list of the patents for 
which we are obliged to omit owing to limited space. Mr. La France began the manu- 
facture of steam fire engines in partnership with John Vischer in 1870, under the firm 
name of La P'rance & Vischer. The La France Manufacturing Company was incorpo- 
rated in 1871. In 1880 the firm was re-organized as it at present exists. Mr. La France 
married, in Elmira, N.Y., January 12, 185!), Miss H. A. Burgess, of the same place. Of 
tlieir five children one died aged two years leaving two daughters, and two sons are 
engaged in the shops with their father. In addition to the above improvements Mr. 
La France has invented a new pump for lire engines for which he is receiving rapid 
sales. 

Laidlow, John, born in Scotland, April 23, 1828, came with his father to the United 
States when four years of age. In early life he was a farmer. After residing in va- 
rious parts of the country he came in 1850 to Elmira, and two years later removed to 
Troy, Pa., wliere he married Marion B., daughter of Henry J. and Rebecca S. Hoyt. 
They have had six children, of whom one dieii in infancy. The others are Frederick 
B., who died at eight years of age; William W., born April 7, 1855; Ellen M., born 
March 21, 1858; Harriet I., born January 21, 1861; and Henry A., born March 13, 
1875. Mr. Laidlow enlisted August 13, 1862, m Company C, One Hundred and Sixty- 
first New York Infantry Volunteers, as orderly-sergeant, and August 23, 18(i3, was 
promoted first lieutenant, acting as captain until the close of the war, when he was 
breveted captain and honoral)ly discharged. The family have resided in Elmira about 
forty years. Alexander Laidlow, father of John, was born in Jedborough, Scotland, in 



104 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

1779, anil limi eleven children, viz.: Isabella, Andrew, Marg.iret, William, Betsev, Jea- 
nette, Ellen, James, Alexander, Jolin, and Euphenia. Mrs. Laiillow died in Scotland. 

Lamson, David, was born in Millbnry, Mass., November 30, 1830, and was educated 
in the pulilic schools of Rhode Island. December Ifi, 1850, he married, in Rhode Island, 
Sarah J. Wood, of Manchester, England, by whom he has a son, Elbert V., born August 
24, 1871. Mr. Lamson is foreman of the carding rooms of the Elniirs woolen-mills. 
In 1864 he enlisted in Company F, Forty-second Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 
and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. He is a writer of some ability, 
being acoutrioutor to the Industrial Record of New York c.ty and other textile trades 
publications. 

Little, Enoch M., was born in Chemung, December 13, 1846. and obtained his educa- 
tion in the public schools, supplemented by a few terms at Starkey Seminary. Coming- 
to Elmira in 18G5 he enlisted on April 4th of that year in Company C, One Hundred and 
Ninety-fourth Infantry New York Volunteers, receiving his discharge May 3, 186.5. 
Returning from the war he came to Baldwin, and was its town collector in 1875 and 
1876. He served as deputy sherifl' several terms, resided in Hor.seheads for a time, and 
conducted the R3'ant House for two years. He is a memljer of Baldwin Post, No. 6, 
G. A. R. On June 19, 189U, Mr. Little married Emma J. Cline, of Utica, N. Y. He 
conducts the Casino Hotel at Eldridge Park. 

Little, Levi D., chief of police of Elmira, N. T., was born May 20, 1850, in Baldwin, 
Chemung County, and is a son of Davis Little, who was a farmer, who had held the 
offices of supervisor and assessor of the town of Baldwin, and who died in 1882, aged 
sixty-si.x years, leaving two sons, of whom Levi D. was the younger. The latter was 
reared on a farm, was elected constable on the Republican ticket in 1873, and re-elected 
in 1874. He came to Elmira in 1874 as deputy sheritt' for three years under Sheriff 
Allen Cooper, a Democrat, and was then appointed under sheriff under Gen. E. 0. 
Beere, a Democrat, who succeeded Sheriff Cooper. After serving three years as under 
sheriff under Sheriff Beers Air. Little was elected sheriff in 1879 on the Republican 
ticket by a majority of 1,775. April 11, 1883, he was appointed chief of police of the 
city of Elmira, wliich office he still holds. Levi Little, grandfather of Levi D., whose 
ancestors emigrated to America in company with the well known Clinton family of 
which De Witt Clinton was a descendant, was born in the town of Blooiningrove, 
Orange County, N. Y., January 14, 1791. He was the son of James and grandson of 
Archibald Little, and learned the trade of saddler andharne.ssmaker, at wdiich he worked 
some years. He served in the War of 1812, and was detailed with his company to 
guard the city of New York, being honorably discharged May 11, 1816. He married 
Abigail Smith, of Monroe. Orange County, N. Y., where she was born in 1795. Twelve 
children were born to them, four of whom survive. In 1819 he removed to Baldwin, 
where he settled and commenced the life of a farmer, remaining there until his death in 
1862, at the age of seventy- one years. He reared six sons, of whom three are deceased ; 
J. Smith and Levi are merchants and farmers in North Chemung; and Johnson is a 
farmer in Erin. J. Smith Little has held the office of supervisor of Baldwin for six 
years. Levi D. Little is a Republican in politics; a thirty-second degree Mason ; amem- 
berof St. Omer's Commandery, K. T.; a member of Corning Consistory ; aniember of 
Damascus Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Rochester. N. Y.; a member of 
Newtown Lodge, I. O. of 0. F.; and a member of the canton and of the K. of p., 
the B. P. 0. E., the Board of Trade, the Maple Avenue Athletic Association, and the 
Centurj' and City Clubs of Elmira. 

Lockwcod, Matt J., was born in Elmira, December 17, 1848, where he was educated 
in the graded schools. He began his stage life at the age of sixteen years with the 
Christy Minstrels. His occupation is that of costumer and property maker. He has 
a fine collection of costumes and relics of every conceiveable kind, arms that date back 
to ancient days, Mexican implements of war, sabers, revolvers, etc., and one sword of 
the exact pattern of the Roman period. Mr. Lockwood's property room contains one of 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 10.> 

the larpest and best collections of sta>re properties as well as the most valuable in tlie 
country. John, father of ifatt, born in Vates County, N. V., July "l, 182.'J. M:irch 
7, 1848, he married Electa, youngest daufrhter of Abijali and Sarah Hawley, who was 
born May 1, 182S, in Elniiia i^then NewlowiiJ. They had six children, namely : M;ilt. 
Mary, Jennie B., Abbie, Robert, and llollis C. John Lockwood came to Elmira in 
1847 and died September 24, 1882. Three children sinvive, Jennie 15., Abbie, and 
Matt. 

Logan, John S.. son of Robert, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, February 21, 18J'", 
and came with his mother to the United States in 1854, his (atlier having preceded thrni 
one year. They located in Sc)iU3'lkill County, Pa., where John S. was educated in the 
common schools. December 31, 1874, he married Jennie S., daughter of John M. and 
Mary Smith, of Milesburg, Pa. They have had si.x children, two of whom are deceasid 
and four survive: James S., born October 2, 1875; I.«aac J., horn June 10, 1880; 
Charles A., born April 30, 1886; and Lena Belle, born Februarj' 20. 1891. Mr. Log.m 
has re.sided in Elmira for twelve years. 1 1 is father, Robert Logan, born in Scotland, 
April 15, 1815, married Barbara Shaw. They had fourteen children : James, Alexan- 
der, Robert, John S., Sarah, William R., Margaret R., Jacob, Charles S., Barbara C. 
Jennie R,, Agnes N., David Y., and Elizalieth W. James was killed in the battle of 
Gettysburg in Company G, One Hundred and Forty-ninth Regiment Pennsylvania 
Volunteers. 

Lonergan, James, born August 18, 1842, in Ireland, emigrated to the United States 
with his parents and acquired his education in the district schools of Pennsylva- 
nia. When thirteen years of age he began to learn the trade of machinist and. at the 
age of twenty-one he became a locomotive engineer for the Delaware. Lackawanna, 
and Western Railroad Company. When twenty-two he was made foreman of the 
machine shops and when thirty was sent to South America as master mechanic, when? 
he remained only eight months on account of failing health. He now holds the posi- 
tion of engine dispatcher and has charge of the motive power and machinery depart- 
ment. January II, 1805, he married Catherine Lonergan, of Susquehanna County, Pa. 
They have six children living: Richaid T., born July 20, 1809; James E., born May 21, 
1873; Catherine, born July 7, 1875; Phillip, born April 16, 1877; Johanna, horn Feb- 
ruary 11, 1879; and John, born January 17, 1883. 

Losie. John M., born in Canada on .July 17, 1830. is a son of Abram Losie, a native 
of New Jersey, who with his parents came to Canada, where he .^pent the remainder of 
his life. He died in 1840, aged fifty-two years. J. M. Losie came to Elmira in 1851. 
He was mustered in the service July 23, 1802, in Company A, One Hundred and 
Seventh Regiment New York Volunteer.-;, for which he enlisted eighty-four volunteers, 
and went to the front as second lieutenant. He was discharged with the rank of bre- 
vet-major on January 21. 1805. The list of battles in which he participated includes 
Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysliurg, Resssaca, and Dallas, in the latter of which he 
was wounded ou the 25th of May and had his leg amputated above the knee on May 
26, 1804. Returning to Elmira he received an ai)pointment in the Senate Document 
Department at Albany in 1880-81. He was twice elected city collector, in 1865 and 
in 1800, and is now notary public. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. Losie is a 
member of the K. of H. and G. A. R. He married, in Phelps, N. Y., in 1850, Miss 
Elmira Harrington, who has borne him three children, of whom one is a teacher in El- 
mira; another married Professor Beckwith, of Newark, Del.; and still another married 
F. H. Palmer, of Syracuse. 

Lowman, Charles VV., was born in Luzerne County. Pa.. March 22, 1851. In 1877 
he entered the employ of the Northern Cenlial Railroad Company and was promoted 
to the position of engineer in 1885. March 24. 1874, he married Kate E., oldest daugh- 
ter of Robert and Henrietta McCormick, of Montoursville, Pa. They have resided in 
Elmira for thirteen years. George, his father, was born in Northampton County, Pa., 

N 



106 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

in 1822. About 1843 he married Maria Cliilds. They had six children, two of whom 
died yonng and four survive: Kate, Ellen A., Charles W., and James G. 

Lutz, Peter J., born in Waldsee, Bavaria, Germany, June .0, 1870, a son of Jacob and 
Barbara Lutz, received his education in Waldsee, and at the age of eleven, in August, 
1881, came with his parents and two sisters to America. They located in Elmira, N.Y., 
where Mr. Lutz received another term of schooling and qualified himself tor the drug 
business. Later, in September, 1891, he formed a partnership with F. X. Kaster, of 
Syracuse, N. Y., and together they started a German pharmacy at No. 531 Lake street, 
Blmira. Mr. Lutz is an enterprising young man and does all in his power to aid the 
development and industrial progre.ss of Chemung County. 

Mayo, William, a native of Broome County, N. Y., was born April 17, 1841, and was 
educated in the district schools of that locality. October 3, 1861, he enlisted in Com- 
pany G, Eighty-ninth Infantry New York Volunteers, being honorably discharged 
October 15, 1804. April 17, 1867, \\i married C. Elizabeth, daughter of Ileury and 
Elizabeth Gej'ert, who was born near the River Rhine, Germany. They have two sons, 
Charles J., born March 6, 1868, and Edgar L., born April 22, 1874. Mr. Mayo has been 
an engineer in the employ of the Northern Central Railroad for twenty years and a res- 
ident of Blmira for thirty years. His father, Warren Mayo, was born in Broome 
County, N. Y., about 1834. He married Rachel Van Volkenburg, by whom he has five 
children : Electa, George W., Lymau, Harriet, and William. 

Mauder, Adam, was born in Hessian, Germany, March 8, 1829, and emigrated to 
America in 1853. In October, 1854, he married Gertrude Gelhach, of Rochester, N.Y., 
who was born in Prussia. They located in Elmira in 1857 and have six children : Jacob, 
George, Henry, Charles, Adam, jr., and Frederick. Adam, jr., is an alderman. Al- 
though a Democrat in politics he was elected in the Fourth ward on an independent 
ticket and votes with those who wish good municipal government. They began bus- 
iness on Water street in 1858. Shortly afterward they built a large brewery at the 
foot of Ea-st Church street, having a capacity of 20,000 barrels per annum. They do 
business under the firm name of Adam Mander & Sons. 

McCann, James, was the sou of John McCann and occupies the old homestead near 
the reformatory. He was born September 2, 1820, and was educated in the pioneer 
schools of his day. He married Helen L., oldest daughter of David and Margaret Nish, 
of Erin. They have had six children : three daughters (deceased), and John, George, 
and James D. John was born February 17, 1860, and is a farmer in Horseheads. 
George is a practicing attorney in Elmira and a member of the firm of Collins, Stanch- 
field & Reynolds. James D. is a graduate of Miller's Commercial College and is a 
farmer with his father. Mr. McCann's father, John, came to the United States about 
1800 from County Antrim, Ireland. The family are of Scotch extraction and came lo 
Ireland during the persecution of Christians at tlie time of the Reformation. In 1804 
John, in company with John Sufl'ern, came from New York to Elmira on horseback 
through the woods. He married Susan Adams, formerly of Orange County. 

McCann, William, better known as William, 3d, was born in Pompton, N. J., June 1, 
1806. In 1829 he moved to Catlin, Chemung County. He married twice, first, De- 
•cember 29, 1828, Sally M. Smith, of Ithaca, by whom ho had thirteen children, five of 
whom survive, viz. : Margaret, Susan, Mary, Alice, and Clementine. Mrs. McCann 
■died July 31, 1881, and October 25, 1882, Mr. McCann married Mina, daughter of 
William and Amanda Wheat, of East Elmira. Mr. McCann has lived in the city and 
town of Elmira for thirty-two years. He has been deputy sheriU'and constable fifty- 
six years. When he came to the county in 1829 there were only three stores in El- 
mira. His grandfather, William, was born in County Antrim, Ireland, and his father, 
William, on the ocean in 1774. 

McDowell, J. Lowman, born in the town of Chemung, Marcli 24. 1822, is a son of 
John G. and a grandson of Daniel McDowell, the latter a pioneer of this county. Of 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 107 

tlie four sons reared by John G. the subject of this sketoli is the second, and only tliree 
of llie family are now living. J. I.ownian .McDowell received an acadeniic education 
and spent his early life as a merchant and a miller at Chemung, coming to EIniira in 
IStiS, and engaged in his present business. He was county treasurer from 1882 to 1888, 
a member of the Board of Education from 1872 to 1870, and was iiominated for State 
senator on the Democratic ticket in 1SG7, but was defeated by .John I. Nicks. Mr. 
McDowell was candidate for county clerk in 1890 and was defeated by Mr. Fitch. He 
was chairman of the Democratic County Committee for si.x years under Tilden, Robin- 
son, and to Mr. Cleveland's election. He is a Mason of the Royal Arch degree and a 
prominent member of the Melhodist Episcopal Church. Mr. McDowell married, in 

1847, Frances, daughter of O. D. Boyd. She died in 11573, leaving two sons and a 
daughter. One son, Edwaid, ilied at the age of si.\teen years; the daughter i.s the wife 
of E. J. Baldwin. Mr. McDowell married, second, in 1875, at Elmira, Mrs. Clara Ed- 
sall, nee Jones. 

McDowell, John Guy, attorney at law, is a son of Maj. Robert Morris McDowell, and 
was born in Elmira, January 17, 1867. Afier graduating from the Elmira Free Academy 
he spent one year each in Smith Academy and Wasliington University, both of St. 
Louis, with a view to the profession of engineering. Finding this study unsuited to his 
tastes he spent two years in Cornell University, and then entered the Law Department 
of the same institution, from which he graduated two years later in the cla.ss of 'S'O as 
LL.B. He was admitted to the bar in September. 1890. In December foliowing he 
was taken into jiartnership by the Hon. H. H. Rockwell, and i.s now practicing in the 
city of Elmira, N. Y. 

McGralli, Michael H.. born in Philailelphia, Pa., December 9, 1817, is the fourth son of 
M. H. McGrath, sr., a farmer who reared ten sons and four daughters. In 18.34 the 
father moved to Ohio, where he died in 1847, The family are of Scotch- Irish descent. 
Michael H. early learned the trade of carpenter and joiner and was an architect of consider- 
able note. He de.iigned SS. Peter and Paul's Church and many other fine buildings 
in Elmira. He entered the army from Painted Post, July G, 1862, enlisting in Com- 
pany F, Fiftieth Engineers, as first lieutenant and served three years, being promoted 
on October 3, 1862, to captain, leaving the service with the rank of captain and brevet- 
roajor. Among other eiigagement.s he participated in the battles of Frederickslmrg, 
Cbancellorsville, the Wilderness, and before Richmond, being made captain for gallantry 
at Fredericksburg. Returning to Painted Post he came thence to Elmira in 1874 and is 
a worthy member of Baldwin Post, No. 6, G. A. R. ilr. McGrath married in Aurora, 
N. Y., October 27, 1840, Lucinda A., daughter of Ralph Cady, a .soldier of the War of 
1812. She is a granddaughter of Eli.sha York, a soldier of the Revolution. They have 
had four children, of whom three survive. The son, Henry A., is a traveling salesman 
and a daughter is the wife of A. D. Patterson, of Brooklyn, N. Y. Emily A. McGrath, 
unmarried, resides with her parents in Elmira. 

McKay, John C, of Scotch descent, was born in Milton, N. J., August 4, 1848. and 
obtained his education while he resided with his uncle, John A. Conglelon. January 1, 
1872, he married Emma, daughter of John and Marian Osman. They have three chil- 
dren, viz.: John E., born March 11, 1873; Harry, born March 14, 1876; and Lulu B., 
born August 6, 1881. Mr. McKay has been an engineer for the Northern Central Rail- 
road Company since 1873. His father, Edward A., born in Milton, N. J., married Maiy 
Massaker, of that Slate. They had three sons: Simeon H., John C, and Phillip. 

McNaney, John, son of Patrick, was born in Ulster, Bradford County, Pa., March 24, 

1848. Hi,^ father was a farmer and lumberman and died in 1876, aged sixty-eight years. 
Of his family of five sons four reside in Chemung County and one lives in Tioga County, 
Pa. John McNaney was reared on the farm, but early engaged in the lumber business 
and moved to this county in 1859, settling in Southport. He came to Elmira, however, 
soon after, and immediately established his present lucrative business. He is a member 
and treasurer of the I. 0. 0. F. and a member of Metacomet Tribe, No. 167, 1. 0. R. M. 



108 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

His grandfatlier, Joshua Conklin, a pioneer of Southport (probably about 18-45), spent 
Ills life in this county. He was a farmer. John McNaney married, in Southport, in 
IS65, Miss Mary H. Macuniber, by whom he has had nine children, seven of whom .sur- 
vive. Mr. McNaney established liis present business in 1884 in a small way, handling 
al)0ut $2,000 worth of goods the first season. It grew steadily till September 15, 1890, 
when lie leased the wood and coal business. His trade has grown to about §50,000 or 
$75,000 per year. 

Meade, Spencer, the superintendent of the Elmira and Canandaigua division of the 
Northern Central Railroad, is a son of the late General Meade, and was born January 
19, 1850. at Philadelphia, Pa. He graduated as a civil engineer from the Polytechnic 
College of that State in the class of 18G9, and entered the railway service on August G, 
1869, serving until March, 1870, as rodman of the engineer corps in surveying the Al- 
legheny Valley road : from April until July, 1870, as sub- assistant engineer on surveys 
of the .Morrison Cove extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad; from July, 1870, until 
April, 1871, as assistant engineer of surveys of the Allegheny Valley Railroad; troni 
April, 1871, until September, 1873, as assistant engineer of construction on the same 
road; from September, 1873, until March, 1874, as resident engineer of construction of 
the .Summit tunnel of the same road ; from September, 1874. until March, 1878, as as- 
sistant engineer of the motive power department of the Pennsylvania Railroad; from 
March, 1878, until May, 1880, as assistant engineer of the middle division of the Phil- 
adelphia and Erie Railroad division ; from May. 1880, until September, 1881, as assist- 
ant engineer of the middle division of the Pennsylvania Railroad ; and as superintendent 
of the Elmira and Canandaigua division of the Northern Central Railway from .Septem- 
ber, 1881, to the present time. 

Merchant, Louis H., M.D., of the Board of Health of Elmira, was born in Tioga 
County, N. Y., September 16, 1856. He was prepared for college at the Owego Free 
Academy, and graduated from the Medical Department of the University of Buffalo in 
1883. His professional life has been spent in Elmira, his office being at 253 East Union 
street. The doctor is a member of the various local medical and scientific societies, and 
has recently been honorably discharged from the National Guard after a continuous 
service of six years. 

Merrill, George V. R.. M.D., secretary of the Elmira Academy of Medicine, was born 
at McGrawville, Cortland County, N. Y., February 24, 1841, and came with his parents 
to Elmira when about nine years of age. After receiving a thorough academical edu- 
cation he entered the Medical Department of the University of Michigan. In April, 
1861, he enlisted at Elmira in Company F, Twenty-third New York Regiment, was made 
orderly-sergeant, and in July following went with his regiment to the front. Six 
months later he was examined at Wasliington, D. C, for a medical cadetship, passed the 
examination, was commissioned, and .sent to Fortress Monroe, where he remained one 
year. He then entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York city and 
graduated in the class of 1863. In the following October he was appointed assistant 
surgeon of the Sixth United States Regiment (colored). In this capacity he was 
located at Pliiladelphia, Yorktown, and Point of Rocks Hospital, opposite Bermuda 
Hundred, where he built the noted hospitals for occupation during the winter of 1864 
and 1865, floating the materials for the purpose across the James River. He accom- 
jianied both expeditions to Fort Fisher, and had charge of the Tenth Corps field hospital 
<luring the march from Wilmington to Raleigh. Subsequently he was appointed by 
General Terry health officer of Newbern. In June, 186.5, he was promoted to surseon, 
was assigned to the Fifth United States Regiment, and was mustered out at Delaware, 
O., in September, 1865. In 1873 he settled in Elmira, where he has since practiced his 
profession. Mr. Merrill li.as held the office of president of the Academy of Medicine 
and from 1885 to 18S9 was superintendent of public schools in Elmira. He married in 
this place in 1863 a daughter of the late I. G. Johnson. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. Ui9 

Milan, Thomas F., was born in Nicholson, Pa., December 18, 18n2. He is a son of 
Martin, a railroad man at Oxford, N'. Y. Mr. Milan was educated at Nicholson and at 
the age of eleven was water boy on the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad. 
When sixteen lie was a fireman on a locomotive and when he attained his majority he 
took charge of a locomotive, having been a locomotive engineer on a passenger train 
since 1883. He is a member of the city council from the Seventh ward. He lias lived 
in Elmira since 1881 and was elected alderman in 1889. He is a Democrat in politics, 
a trustee of the Catholic Legion, and a member of the Catholic Church. He married, 
at Binghamton, January 18, 187(;. Miss Rourke, daughter of John Rourke, of Bing- 
hamton, and sister of Rourke Brothers, wholesale druggists in Binghamton, N. Y. 
They have one child, a son, Martin, who is attending school. In 188o Mr. Milan pulled 
the train that carried William H. Vanderbilt on his last trip west. On the same train 
were Cyrus W. Field, Sidney Dillon, Jay Gould, and others, and Mr. Milan was pre- 
sented with a pass over the New York Central by Mr. Vanderbilt. In 1888 he pulled 
the train carrying D. B. Hill and others to the Bufl'alo Convention, where Mr. Hill was 
nominated for governor. There Mr. Milan had the handsomest train and engine, and 
was so complimented by Governor Hill and Governor Abbott, of New Jersey, as well 
as the leading papers of New York city. 

Miller, Nelson .\., president and proprietor of the Elmira School of Commerce, was 
born at Hamilton, Canada, in November, 18."A His parents came to Tioga, Pa., when 
he was young. They were natives of New York, but six years ago returned to Canada. 
Mr. Miller was educated in the Normal Schools and in the Eastman College, and grad- 
uated in January, 1880. He was instructor nearly a year at the latter college. Thence 
he moved to Alansfield, Pa., and assisted in organizing the Allen Business College. 
They moved here in 1882 and in the fall of 1884 he went to Lock Haven, where he 
taught Cliristie's School of Business six months. He then moved to Scranton, Pa., and 
opened Wood's Scranton Business College for Mr. Wood, of Williarasport. He bought 
the Commercial College of Elmira of Mr. Allen and changed its name to the Scliool of 
Commerce. In 1886, at the time of its purchase, the students numbered about sixty or 
seventy. The present yearly average attendance is 400, with a staff of nine professors. 
He established the Hornellsville Business College in 1888, which school has a yearly attend- 
ance of about 1.50, with three professors. Mr. Miller was reared on a farm. He is a 
member of the official board of Hedding M. E. Church, director of the Co-Operative 
Savings and Loan Association of Elmira, is W. M. of Ivy Lodge F. and A. M., and is a 
K. T. He married, in Elmira, in 1882, a daughter of Col. J. T. Davidson, and they have 
two children. 

Minier, Theodore L., present alderman of the First ward, was born in Bradford County, 
Pa., December Ki, 1819. He is a son of John Minier. wlio moved to .McLean County, 
III., in 183><, where he died in IS.'io. He was born in 1777 and was a soldier in the War 
of 1812. One son, G. W., is a Christian clergyman. Theodore L. was educated at 
Athens Academy in Pennsylvania, and in 1842 went to Elmira, where he became teller 
of the Chemung Canal Bank. He was paymaster of the Erie Railroad during its con- 
struction from Callicoori Creek to Binghamton and after its construction was President 
Benjamin Loder's private secretary in New York city, .serving later as paymaster on the 
line, making a total service for the company of nine years. He removed from there to 
Havana in 1854 and was cashier of the Bank of Havana for fifteen years. In 1870 he 
removed again to Elmira. He was senator from the Twenty-seventh District in 1870-71. 
Since his residence in Elmira he has served three terms as aMerman. Mr. Minier mar- 
ried, in Elmira, May 25, 1848, a daughter of Hector I. Maxwell, and three children were 
born to them, two of whom are deceased and the other. Maxwell, is engaged in the 
liardware Business in Elmira. Mr. Minier was active during the war of the Rebellion in 
[procuring volunteers. He is an expert in banking knowledge. 

Moore, George C, born February 14, 1847, in Abington, Luzerne County, Pa., en- 
listed September 18, 1864, in Company A, Ninth New York Heavy Artillery Volunteers, 



110 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. June 22, 1808, he married 
Mary R., daughter of Francis and Maria Hull, of York, Livingston County, N. Y. They 
have one daughter, Nellie I., born May 17, 1800. His father, Hugh Moore, was horn 
in Scotland in 1814 and when twenty-two years of age emigrated to the United States, 
locating in VValden, Orange Oounty, N. Y. About 1839 he married .Jane Crawford 
and came to EIraira in the spring of 18U1. They had five children. 

Morey, Andrew B., was horn in Elmira on December 1, 1841. He is a son of Solo- 
mon Morey, an old settler of Elmira, who was killed in a railroad accident in 1869, aged 
seventy years. .Solomon reared five sons, of whom three served in the army, one, 
Samuel, being killed at South Railroad, Va., in 1864. He was a sergeant in the Six- 
teenth Pennsylvania Cavalry. Another son, Chester, was in the One Hundred and 
Seventh New York Regiment two years and ten months, and died at Hornellsville in 
1888, aged about forty-nme years. Andrew B. Morey learned the trade of gilder in 
Buftalo and was there when the war broke out. He enlisted on August 12, 1862, in 
Company C, One Hundredth New York Volunteer Infantrj', and served nearly three 
years. From a private he became orderly-sergeant and left the army at Richmond, Va. 
He participated in the battles of Yorktown, Bermuda Hundred, and Appomatto.x. On 
July 18, 1863, at Morris Island, he was slightly wounded in the head by a niinie-ball. 
Returning to Buffalo and thence to Elmira in 1866, he has since been engaged in busi- 
ness in all about twenty-five yearg. He is a K. T. of the thirty-second degree, being 
a member of Corning Consistory, and was eminent commander of St. Omar's in 1884—85. 
He is also a member of the A. 0. U. W. and the G. A. R , and has held a number of 
offices in Baldwin Post, No. 6. He was a charter member of the Century Club. He 
married in 1869, Libbie, daughter of the late George French, a builder and an old citi- 
zen of Elmira. They have two children, a son and a daughter. The family are mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Morgan. Eber F., a son of Johr», born August 30, 1846, in Montour, Pa., was edu- 
cated in the public schools, and in 1872 became a railroad man. In June, 1878, he was 
promoted locomotive engineer. April 2, 1872, he married Fannie E. Bolton, of Vete- 
ran, and they have four children, viz.: Err L., born June 14, 1873 ; Guy B., born Octo- 
ber 4, 1875; Fay, born July 4, 1878; and May. born September 12, 1887. John 
Morgan was born August 12, 1809, in Orange County, N. Y. He married, first, 
June 7, 1829, Hannah Bennett, of Tioga County (now Chemung), by whom he had four 
children : Mary M., Samuel B., William, and Amos. November 27, 1839, Mr. Morgan 
married, second, Maria Burnett, and they had six children: Mortimer, Demetrius A., 
Hannah, Eber F., Gooilwin H., and Milden. The family are of Welch extraction. Mr. 
and Mrs. Morgan have resided in Elmira some eighteen 3'ears. 

Moss, Roswell R., was born in New York city, October 10, 1845, and is a son of 
Reuben E. Moss, an old-time merchant of New York and now a retired resident of this 
county. The son received his education in the schools of Brooklyn and Elmira, and in 
January, 1871, began the study of law in the oflice of Smith, Robertson & Fa,ssett. He 
was admitted to the bar in January, 1874. Mr. Moss has risen to his present position 
through his native talent. An active Republican in politics and an elocpient speaker he 
has made himself prominent in that field as he is also in educational matters. His nat- 
ural tastes are of a literary ciiaractcr and his pen is often employed for the press. He 
has long kept records of daily meteorological observations and has the reputation of 
great accuracy in weather predictions. Mr. Moss married a daughter of the late George 
W. Mason. 

Mulcahy, Daniel, was born in Elmira, February 6, 185.5, and was educated in the 
graded schools of Elmira. In 1871 he entered the employ of the Northern Central 
Railway Company and worked his way through various positions until 1880, when he 
was promoted engineer. June 5, 1889, he married Jennie, daughter of John and Mar- 
garet Powell, of Elmira. They have one son, Daniel Francis, born ilarch 3, 1891. 
They reside on Franklin street on the south side. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. Ill 

Munsell, Charles C, of Scotch and French ancestry, and who was born in Auburn, 
N. Y., September '28, 1843, was educated in llie district schools and by occupation is a 
locomotive engineer. He married, first, in July, 1862, Anzo Goodwin, by whom he 
had one son, George B., born January 23, 18G3, and resides in Buffalo. For liis second 
wife Mr. Munsell married Lydia Azer, July 9, 1870. Alonzo Munsell, father of 
Charles C, was born December 29, 1815, and April 23, 1827, married Ami E. McNab, 
by whom lie had seven children : Albert A., Ur.^ula, Mary K, Charles C, George H., 
Sarah JI., and Albert. Mr. Munsell has resided in Elmira for twenty years. 

Neily, John, a Methodist minister, was born in Nova Scotia and married Harriet 
Kichol.*, of Connecticut, by whom he had two children, George VV. and John A. 
George \V. Neily, born April ti, 1844, came to the United States with his parents in 
his thirteenth year and was educated in the common schools. October l6, 1870, he 
raarrieil A. Amelia, daughter of John and Abigail Tremaine. Her family dates back 
to 1660 as settlers in Connecticut. Mr. Neily has been a resident of Elmira nineteen 
years and by occupation is one of the foremost contractors and builders of the city. 
He is also a manufacturer of mantels, sideboards, and desks at IIG Partridge street. 

Noble, Dr. George Z., born at Nineveh, Broome County, N. Y., December 27, 1833, 
was a son of Dr. Oliver E. Noble, who lived for many years in Binghamton and Penn 
Yan, N. Y., dying at Dundee in 1885, aged eighty-one. Dr. George Z. was educated 
at the seminary in Penn Yan and read medicine with his father. He graduated from 
the Hahnemann Medical Academy, class of '56, in this State, and spent some time in 
hospital practice at the Hoinoeopathie Hospital College at Cleveland, O. He practiced a 
year witii his father, after which he spent one year in Hornellsville and thirty-three 
years at Dundee, coming to Elmira on September 1, 1890, where he enjoys a general 
practice. He is a member of the Ontario and Yates Counties Medical Societies, the 
Uomroopathic Medical Socie'y of the State of New York, and the Southern Tier 
HomcEopathic Medical Society. His son. Dr. Ellsworth Noble, was born in Dundee, 
N. Y., June 2, 1863, was educated in Dundee, and began the study of medicine with 
his father, in whose office he may be said to have grown up. He graduated from the Col- 
lege of Pharmacy of New York city in March, 1886, and from the New York Hom<jeopathic 
Medical College in 1890. He has been in practice since Ai)ril 1, 1890, associated with 
his father. He is a member of the New York State Pharmaceutical Society and of the 
Southern Tier Homa'opathic Medical Society. 

Northcott, Theodore C, was born in Athens, Minard County, 111., in 1844, a son of 
James H. Northcott, a civil engineer who died in Sangamon County, III., in 1877, 
where he lived for many years. His death was the result of wounds received in a 
battle in Arkansas during the Civil war. Mr. Northcott was prominent in the organi- 
zation of the Republican party in Central Illinois and was a personal friend of Mr. 
Lincoln. After returning from the war, disabled, he was a justice of the peace and a 
notary public up to the time of his death. One of his sons, Dr. E. M., lives in Chi- 
cago. Theodore C. Northcott was educated in the Springfield (III.) Lutheran College 
and the Chicago Union Park Congregational Theological Seminary, and preached lor 
seven years in .Minnesota and in Toledo, Ohio. In January, 1884, he entered the em- 
ploy of Colonel Snie.ad as a warming and ventilating engineer, and bought a half inter- 
est in the business for the territory of New York and the New England Slates. He 
immediately establi.slied an office in Elmira in partnership with D. L. Stiiie, of Toledo, 
Ohio, under the firm name of Northcott & Stine. In 1?87 Col. Isaac D. Smead, of Toledo, 
bought the interest of Stine, and formed the firm of Smead & Northcott. which existed 
till February, 1890, when Mr. Northcott bought out Colonel Smead, and he has since 
been sole owner. Mr. Northcott married a daughter of Hiram Brown, of St. Joseph, 
Mich., in 1878, and they have three children. He is an active member of the Y. M, C, A. 
and is withal an eminent and influential citizen. 

O'Brien, John C, if.D., born at Rochester, N. Y., June 23, 1860, was trained in the 
best schools of that city, and graduated from the Medical Department of the Western 



112 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Reserve University of Clevelantl, Ohio, class of '88. lie located in practice first in 
NorwalU, Ohio. Soon afterward he went to North Carolina and from there came to 
Elraira in 1889. Dr. O'Brien is a member of the Chemung County Medical Society. 
He married, in Elmira, June 23, 1890, a daughter of William Fudge, of that city. 

O'Connell, Daniel, city recorder, was born in Elmira, August 17, 1858, and was edu- 
cated at the High School and the Free Academy. For a period of twelve years he fol- 
lowed his trade of car painting and ornamenting, and while thus engaged the propriety 
of his studying law was suggested to him by David B. Hill, then a practicing lawyer at 
Elmira and now governor of the State. He accordingly registered in that gentleman's 
office and studied as opportunity ofi'ered for several months, and in 1884 changed to the 
office of Dix W. Smith. He was admitted to the bar in 1888, returned to his trade for 
some month.'!, and finally in 1887 began the practice of his profession. In the spring of 
1888 he was elected justice of the peace as the candidate of both political parties. In 
the .sprnig of 1889 he was elected to the office he now holds on the Republcan ticket by 
a majority of about 900, running of 1,500 ahead of his ticket. He has always been an 
effective political worker, and when only twenty-one years old stumped the State for 
Garfield and Arthur — the youngest man ever sent out for that purpose by the State 
Central Committee. Mr. O'Connell is a disciple of the Catholic faith and is presidentof 
the Elmira Branch, No. 150, C. M. B. A. 

O'Connor, Jeremiah J., was born in Ireland, December 5, 1844, and came to America, 
when three years old and lived in Canada till nineteen years of age. He received his edu- 
cation in Canada, removed to Elmira in 18tJ4, and taught the Roman Catholic school for 
about eighteen months. He has been engaged in merchandising, oil producing, etc. He 
was tliefirst city chamberlain in Elmira in 1876, 1877, and 1S78, and put the present 
financial .system in shape. He was a member of the Board of Health for over two 
years. Elected on the Democratic ticket to the General Assembly in 1883, and the one 
who placed Hon. David B. Hill before the convention at Saratoga for nomination in 
1885'for governor, he is a public speaker of no mean ability, and was a delegate to a 
recent convention of the National Land League, was a member of the National Execu- 
tive Committee, and third vice-president. In Chicago in 1880 he started a subscription 
for the National Land League by giving §500. He was one of the founders of the 
Free Press and was president of the Grand Forks Land and Investment Company, 
Grand Forks, Dakota. He is a member of the Catholic Church. He married a daugh- 
ter of John Purcell. deceased, of Elmira, in June, 1871, and they have eight children. 
Mr. O'Connor was appointed deputy collector of the port of New York by Mr. Manning 
in 1885, but resigned in a few weeks, as he found it unprofitable. He has been often a 
delegate to the State convention, and has attended as delegate every Irish National 
League of America. Ke has been treasurer of the Irish League since its organization 
and has sent to Ireland over $15.0oO to the Irish poor. 

Oldham, John, a native of Manchester, England, was born January 22, 1843, and 
came with his parents to America in 1851, locating in Patterson, N. J. In April, 18G1, 
he enlisted in Company I, Si.xth New York Infantry Volunteers. June 21, 1864, he 
married Agnes Gibbons, of Manchester, England. They have had eight children, of 
whom David and Frank B. died young and six survive, viz.: John Bimson, Elizabeth 
Augusta, Martha Barker, Curtis Raymond, Agnes Gibbons, and Jennie May. Mr. Old- 
ham is foreman of the boiler department in Payne's Boiler Works in Elmira. 

Orton, George E., M.D., oculist and aurist, with an office at 122 East Water street 
and a residence at 614 Park Place, Elmira, was born in Broome County, N. Y., Janu- 
ary 4, 1847. Graduating from the academy at Syracuse in 1804 he enlisted in Com- 
pany M, First Veteran Cavalry New York Volunteers, and was honorably discharged 
at Wheeling, W. Va., in June, 1865. He then began the study of medicine and gradu- 
ated from the New York Medical College in 1868, and has since given his personal at- 
tention to his profession. In 1888 he took a post-graduate course in the New York 
Medical School and Hospital, and now enjoys the benefits of a large and successful 
practice, standing high among the leaders of his chosen profession. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 113 

Orvis, Emmerson, of English ancestry, was born in the State of New York on April 
4, 1844. In January, 1862, he enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Third New 
York Infantry Volunteers, and was honorably discharged in the fall of 1865. Decem- 
ber 26, 1867, he married Fidelia A., daughter of Silas A. ami Lucy Lyon, of Elmira. 
They have two children : Seba H., born December 2.i, 1875, and Josephine, born Octo- 
ber 27, 1879. For the past twenty-one years Mr. Orvis lia.s conducted a wholesale mar- 
ket gardening busines.s, utilizing more than 100 acres of land. 

Owen, Henry W., was born in Vernon, Sussex County, N. J., on May ), ISO'2, and 
died in Elmira, August 3, 188.i. He was a son of Isaac H. and Abigail (\Visner) Owen, 
the latter being a daughter of Gen. Henry Wisner, a member of the Continental Con- 
gress and one of the framers of the Declaration of Independence. He married Erminda, 
daughter of Jesse and Sally fOwen) Oldfield, of Lilierty Corner, Orange County, 
N. Y. They had one son, Jesse, now of Elmira, N. Y. He married Emily, daughter 
of Maj. James J. and Huldah (Hudson) Board, of Chester. Orange County, N.Y. They 
had four children: James Henry, Mary Emily, Minnie (who died in childhood), and 
Minnie Wadsworlh, all born at Liberty Corner. James Henry married Marguerite M., 
daughter of George and Mary G. Grey, of Port Elgin, Canada; they have had two 
children, J. Grey and Mary Steven (deceased). Mary Emily married Robert Steven, now 
of Sisson ; she died a few months after her marriage. Minnie Wadsworth married 
William II. Frost, of Elmira, and has two children, Robert and Kmily. Je.sse Owen 
came to Chemung, .March 1 1, ISfii!, and with his father bought the " Minniedale Farm " 
and also a large lumber tract. They were both engaged in farming and lumbering for 
many years. Jesse and his son James II. own the " Minniedale Farm " and are largely 
engaged in butter dairying for special New York trade. On this farm General Sullivan 
found 175 acres of corn, which he destroyed when he made his memorable march 
through the Chemung Valley in 1779. A few of the barn holes where the Indians 
buried their gram are yet plainly visible. One of the council-houses of the Six Nations 
was located near where the large barn is, a part of which barn was built by Capt. Dan- 
iel McDowell before the Indians left, forty-two of whom assisted him at the raising. 
The famous spring at which Captain McDowell and his Indian captors halted to rest, 
when he was being conveyed a-s a prisoner to Niagara in 1782, is also on this farm. 

Pagett, William, born in Wordsley, Worcestershire, England, came to this country 
in 1847 and settled at Washington ville, N. Y., removing thence to Elmira in 1855. He- 
purchased the tannery on Newtown Creek opposite the woolen factory, which he sold 
in 18G4 and returned to England, but came again in 1865 and purchased the H. Bow- 
man tannery on West Water street. He retired from that business in 1870. During 
the war he fed the Rebel prisoners in Elmira for six months under a government con- 
tract. He lia-s served twice as alderman from the First ward, and has dealt largely in real 
estate both in the city and county. Of late years he has dealt in a number of valuable- 
New York city and Brooklyn business properties, lie has al.so been a large oil producer, 
having drilled and owned at one time no less than sixty oil wells. He is now actively 
engaged in drilling and producing oil in the newly developed oil 6eld McDonald, situated 
eighteen miles from Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Palmer, Edward H., born in Westchester County, N. Y., October 29, 1820, is the only 
son of Israel D. Palmer, a cotton manufacturer of that place, who died when Edward 
was about ten years old. He was educated in the common .schools and spent his boy- 
hood on a farm. Early learning the trade of tanner in Orange County he became a 
practical tanner and currier. Coining to Elmira in the spring of 1842 he engaged in 
tanning in partnership with Francis Bowman, who had recently liought the old tanyard 
of William Williams, now the site of Richardson's row on Water street. Here he wa» 
in active business for six years, or till 1848, when he moved to his present location. 
Mr. Palmer has served a.s town supervisor and has been a member of the Board of Ed^ 
ucation one term. He married, in 1851, Julia, a daughter of Adna Bridgeman. 
o 



114 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Palmer, M. Dwight, the elder of a family of tliree sons born to Martin W. Palmer, 
who died in July, 1890, was born in Klmira on October 27, 1843, was educated in the 
•common schools, and learned the trade of blacksmith with his father. He enlisted in 
July, 18G2, in Company I, One Hundred and Forty-first New York Volunteers, and 
served three years m the Army of the Potomac, bein<r with Sherman ui his march to 
the sea. He participated in the battles of Wahatchu Valley, Lookout Mountain, Mis- 
sionary Ridge, Resacca, Atlanta, Peach Tree Creek, Savannah, Goldsboro, Raleigli, and 
Richmond, and was discharged from the service as sergeant. Returning to Klmira he 
engaged with his father at lilacksmithing for two or three years, when he went to Corn- 
ing, and three years later returned to Elmira. He has heen for six years a tnember of 
Baldwin Post, Gr. A. R., being elected junior vice-commander m January, 1891. Mr. 
Palmer married, in Elmira, November 'I'l. 1865, Miss Fanny, daughter of Isaac P. 
Briggs, an old settler of this place. They have two children, Fannie L. and Harry B. 

Parke, Floyd B., M.D., was born in Chemung County, January 27, 185(i. He is a 
son of Alexander H., a farmer, and later a merchant, now residmg in Elmira at the 
age or about sixty-four. Mr. Parke's mother was a McDoel, an old pioneer family of 
Erin township, Chemung County. The Parkes were also among the first settlers of 
Erin. Floyd B. is the only son, and was educated at the public schools of Elmira and 
the Elmira Free Academy. He began the study of medicine with Dr. 0. A. Jackway, 
at Breesport, when about twenty-one years of age, and graduated from the Medical 
Department of the Buffalo University on February 28, 1879, beginning practice in North 
Chemung at once, where he was for four and one-half 3'ears. He moved to Erin and 
was there two years, and came to Elmira in September, 1885, and in July, 1869, en- 
gaged in the wholesale and retail drug business with Drs. Moroney and Bush as the 
Elmira Drug Company, 333 Bast Water street. In 1883 he was elected coroner on the 
Democratic ticket and served three years. He was United States pension examining 
surgeon during Cleveland's administration and city physician for two years from Janu- 
ary 1, 1886. Hs has been surgeon of the fire department since Jnly, 1886, and first 
lieutenant and assistant surgeon of the Twenty-sixth Separate Company since May. 
1887, which olfice he still holds. He was appointed member of the Board of Health on 
January 1, 1839, by Mavor Davison, itr. Parke is a member of the I. 0. R. M., being 
their official examiner, and a member of other associations. He is the instructor of the 
ambulance corps at the armory and is now county and jail physician. He married, in 
De Kalb, 111., in October, 1882, Cora B. Ennis. Mr. Parke was elected school commis- 
sioner in District No. 1, city of Elmira, October 13, 1891. 

Parkhurst, Lewis D., a member of the Chemung County Medical Society, was born 
in Orange County, N. Y., May 4, 1845. Two sons are physicians ; his brother is in 
practice in Brooklyn. Lewis D. was educated in Florida in private schools, and began 
the study of medicine with an uncle, D. C. Jayne, of Florida, graduating from the Med- 
ical Department of Holiart College at Geneva. In 1870 he graduated from the New 
York Homreopathic Medical College and began practice at Elmira in 1870, where he 
has since devoted his entire time to his profession. He is a member of the Masonic 
Lodge of that city. 

Peters, Charles B., born in Candor, Tioga Count)', N. Y., May 3, 1865, was educated 
in the public schools and graduated in an academical course. In 1881 he began his 
railroading career with the Delaware, Lackawanna,and Western Railroad Company, first 
as cashier in the freight and transportation oflice for six years. He now holds the re- 
sponsible position of traveling passenger agent. April 18, 1888, he married Carrie M. 
Lown, of Elmira, and they have one daughter, Florence L.. born November 27, 1890. 
Mr. Peters enjoys the confidence of the traveling public and the various officers of the 
Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad Company. 

Peters, William H., born July S, 1854, married Carrie M., only daughter of James 0. 
and Emily Boak, of Elmira. They have three children: M. Emily, bora March 2, 
1883; Ilarrv Clarke, born March 6, 1887; and Aimee M., born December 30, 1888. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 115 

Pettengill, Philamler L., was born in Tioga County, N. Y., June 16, 1831. Tlie fam- 
ily moved to Bradtoni County, Pa., m ISyj. He acquired liis education in the public 
schools and in 1856 began his railway life. In 1S72 lie assumed the position of con- 
ductor on the Northern Central Railro.id. Octolier l(i, 1862, he married Mary M., 
daughter of John F. and Phebe C. Gillette, oE Bradford County, Pa„ and they have one 
son, John G., a telegraph operator lor the same company. The family have resided in 
Elmira for eighteen years. Mr. Peltengill's father, Samuel, was born in Vermont and 
married Sally 0. Taylor, of the same State. Their five children were Samuel B., Sally 
E., Dorcas M., Lorena M., and Philander L. 

Pierce, Joseph H., was born in Dundee, Yates County, N. Y., September 2, 1855. 
His father, H. W. Pierce, was a well known mechanic and builder and died at that 
place January 23, IS'Jl. iged seventy-three. William H. Pierce, his only brother, fol- 
lows his late father's vocation in Dundee. Joseph II. Pierce had pnrsueil a course in 
mechanical draughting and drawing, and graduated from Starkey Seminary in 1878. 
In 1880 he came to Elmira and entered the architectural office of W. H. Haye.«, now of 
Minneapolis, Minn., whom he succeeded in the profession which he conducted in his 
own interest over two years. In 1884 he formed a co-partnership with Otis Dock- 
stader under the firm name of Pierce & Dockstader. The latter withdrew in 1890. 
After a period of one year a partner was taken in the person of H. H. Bickford, the 
style of the firm being Pierce &, Bickford. Mr. Pierce, has always taken an active interest 
in all matters pertaining to the architectural profession and associations, having served 
three years as a member of the executive committee previous to his election to the office 
of secretary of the Western New York Chapter. A. I. A,, at Butialo, in November, 
1890. Among the buildings designed by him are the following; First M. E. Church, 
Northcott building, Thompkins, Fassett & Crocker's wholesale grocery building. First 
Baptist Cluirch, College Hill Chapel, New York State Armory, Advertiser building. 
Telegram building, and numerous other residences, churches, and nulilic structures, not 
only in Elmira and Chemung County, but in various cities and villages in the States of 
New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. He has been eminently successful. Pains- 
taking, careful, and conservative, never hasty or partisan, his opinions carry much 
weight. During the decade in which Mr. Pierce has been engaged in the practice of 
his chosen profe.ssion, a vocation at once ennobling and interesting, he has attained 
recognition among the leading members of the fraternity in this country. His designs 
evince a high degree of that fine artistic taste combined with those principles of eco- 
nomic building that are so es.sent,ial to success in modern architecture. His work is re- 
garded as embracing such principles of hygienic construction that come only from dili- 
gent study, wide experience, and careful application. Many of his drawings have been 
published in the best architectural periodicals in the 1 nited States and the writer hereof 
has not infrequently found such sketches treasured by younger architects as examples 
worthy of imitation. As secretary of the Western New York Chapter. A. I. A., he is 
editor of that department in the Architectural Era, published at Syracuse. N. Y., the 
official organ of that organization. Although at the zenith of man's allotted life Mr. 
Pierce has already accomplished work worthy of emulation, and is withal a striking ex- 
ample of all that goes to make a worthy citizen and a successful architect. Mr. Pierce 
is a thirty-.second degree Mason and has held the office of captain-general of St. Oiner's 
Comniandery. He is also a prominent member of the Iledding M. E. Church, being a 
trustee, a member of the Board of Stewards, and has for several years taught a large 
Bible cla.ss. He has served one year and six months more than a full period of enlist- 
ment in the National Guard of the State of New York, being a sergeant for the last 
two or three years of Ids service. September 29, 1886, he married Carrie, daughter of 
the late David Decker, of Elmira, N. Y. 

Plumb, George E., was born near Syracuse in 1850. He is a son of William, a farmer 
who died in 1878, aged seventy-eight years. Mr. Plumb was educated in the common 
schools, and learned his trade of saddlery hardware in Syracuse. In 1880 he came to- 



lie OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Elmira and establisheii liis business in a small way, doing about $30,000 the first year. 
It soon grew from $140,0110 to $145,000. He is the head of the present .'irm of Phinib 
& Slieldons. He is a tru.stee of the Methodist Episcoiial Church and a member of the 
Board of Stewards, and a director in the Y. M. C. A. He married, in Syracuse, Decem- 
ber 10, 1879, E. Isadore, daugliter of John A. Stanard, a salt manufacturer, and they 
have four children, George E., Frank S., Laura 0., and Eugene S. The firm of Plumb 
<fe Slieldons began business iu Elmira in 1880, at 118 Lake street, as jobbers of saddlery 
and hardware, and came to their present site in 1800, where they began manufacture 
iu connection with their jobbing trade. They employ about 100 hands and have four 
men oti the road, and sell throughout the United States. They have agencies at San 
Francisco and Chicago. The members of the firm are George £. Plumb, F. M. Sheldon, 
and M. W. Sheldon. 

Potter, Charles H., was born in Springfield, Bradford County, Pa., January 29, 1838. 
He was educated in the common schools and in Springfield Academy. September 11, 

1862, he enlisted in Companj- I, One Hundred and Forty-first Infantry New York Vol- 
unteer.*, was taken prisoner in June, 1863, while on the march, by South Carolina 
.scouts, was duly paroled, was very sick in the general hospital at Aimapolis, Md., and 
was honorably discharged as corporal on surgeon's certificate of disability October 11, 

1863. After his return he resided in Michigan for ten years, where he was town clerk 
for three terms. In 1873 he became a permanent resident of Elmira, being for several 
years general agent and local secretary for a life insurance .society here. In 1890 he 
became associated with Newlove Wilhson in the pension busine.ss and is one of the no- 
taries public of the city. Mr. Potter is a member of L. Edgar Fitch Post, No. 165, G. A. R., 
and Pilgrim Lodgfe, No. 180, F. and A. M. Mr. Potter has never married, but is a jolly 
bachelor. 

Pratt, Charles R., a prominent member of the bar, was born in Elmira, January 24, 
1847. His father, the late Ransom Pratt, settled in Elmira in 1842, and with his 
brother operated for many years the Elmira woolen-mill, now the Queen Cit\' voolen- 
mill. He died April 30, 1871, at the age of sixty-three years. Charles R. Pratt was 
graduated from Amherst in the class of '69, and began the study of law in the office of 
Smith & Hill (G. L. Smith and David B, Hill) in the same year. In 1872 he was ad- . 
mitted and became at once the junior member of the firm of Collin, Atwell & Pratt. 
This firm dissolved a year later and in 1875 Mr. Pratt began practice by himself. In 
the same year he became connected with the Second National Bank, first as its vice- 
president and later as cashier. In 1882 he returned to his profession and has since de- 
voted his time to it, though he remained nominally the ca.sbier of the bank until 1885. 
He then resigned and was again elected vice-president of the bank and held that office 
until 1888. 'The present firm of Pratt & J oerg was formed iu 1882. Aside from his 
law practice Mr. Pratt devotes much attention to literature and other matters. At the 
present time (1890) he is delivering a series of lectures on political economy at the El- 
mira Reformatory. He was the Republican candidate for county judge in the fall of 
1890. Herman Jeorg is a son of Dr. Edward Jeorg, and was born in Potter County, 
Pa., August 14, 1857. He studied law with Rockwell <t Collin in Elmira and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1880. Two years later he formed a co-partnership with Mr. Pratt. 
He was appointed special agent of the census of 1890 by Superintendent Porter. 

Pratt, David M., son of Daniel R., born in Elmira, May 10, 1861, was educated in the 
graded and high schools and in the Williston Seminary in Massachusetts, where he pre- 
pared for college. In 1880 he entered the Shefiield Scientific Department of Yale Col- 
lege and graduated therefrom in 1883. He then engaged as messenger and book-keeper 
in the Second National Bank of Fjlraira, which positions he held until January 1, 1887, 
when he was promoted cashier, which place he still holds. On December 8, 1886, Mr. 
Pratt married Madaline, daughter of John H. Woodward, of Portland, Ore., by whom 
he has two children, Daniel W., born July 9, 1890, and Madaline, born August 4, 1891. 
Daniel R. Pratt was born in 1837 in Havana, Schuyler County, N. Y. He married 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 117 

Isabella, daughter of Rev. David Murdocli, in 1860, ami tliey had five children : David M.; 
Daniel T., born December 14, 18C2; Walter G., horn August 14, 1869, died at the age 
•of five years; Harriet D., born May 11, 1871; and a daughter who died in infancy. 
He married, second, Kate, sister of his iiisl wife, by whom he had one son, James B., 
born June 'J-1, 1876. 

Pratt, George K, born in Colchester, Conn., January .'i, 1820, removed with his 
parents to Dix, Schnyler County N. Y., in 1829. Ilis father, Daniel R., a manufact- 
urer of woolen fabrics at Colchester, failed in business by reason of the enactment of 
greatly diminished duties~on woolen goods. lie became a farmer on his removal to 
Dix, and George E. was reared on the farm until twenty-one years old, when he read 
law for about a year in the office of Gray k, Hathaway at Elmira, but gave it up on ac- 
count of his father's decease in Octolier, 1843. His mother being left alone it was de- 
cide<l that George E. should live on the farm with her. October 7, 1844, he married 
Lavina M., oldest daughter of Daniel S. and Sally Buck, of Catlin, by whom he has had 
three children, of whom one son and one daughter survive : Arthur, born June 22, 
1851, a book-keeper, and Irene, born April 18, 1860, who resides with her parents. 
In the fall of 1848 he left the farm and removed to Elmira, and there obtained a situa- 
tion and five shares of the stock of tlie Elmira Woolen Manufacturing Company, estab- 
lished that year and conducted by his lirotliers, Daniel and Ransom Pratt. lie worked 
for this company about eight years, during which time he purchased some law books, 
and while still employed in the factory resumed the study of the law and was admitted 
to the bar at Delhi, N. Y., July 9, 1856. In the spring of 1857 he removed to Sparta, 
Wis., where he practiced law twelve years. He lield the oHice of county judge from 
1862 to 1867. when he resigned, having been elected district attorney, which office he 
held till 1869, when he returned to Elmira. Since that time he has been engaged for 
about three years in the wholesale hardware business with his brother Daniel and F. A. 
Stowell, about five years in the practice of law and has held the office of recorder four 
years from 1878 to 1882. Since 1882 he has not been engaged in any business. The 
Pratt famdy came from England to Cambridge, Mass., in about 163.3. From Cam- 
bridge, on account of a difference of religious ojiinions between Rev. Thomas Hooker 
and other ministers in Boston and vicinity, Mr. Pratt and about 100 other persons, in- 
cluding John and William Pratt, removed to Hartford, Conn., in June, 1636. Jo.seph, 
a descendant of John in the .second generation, removed to Colchester in 1700. Daniel 
was a family name and Daniel R. Pratt Cthe fourth Daniel), father of George E., was 
born in Colchester and married Mary R. Pratt, by whom ho had six children, George E. 
at this time being the sole survivor. 

Pratt, II. deValson, jr., M.D., was born in Waverly, N. Y., September 12, 1856, 
and was educated at Amherst College, graduating in the class of 1878 as A.B. and re- 
ceiving the degree of A.M. in 1881. He entered the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons in New York city in 1878, from which he was graduated in 1881. Later he at- 
tended th-; Universities of Vienna and Heidelberg, spending two years in Europe. He 
began the practice of his profession in Elmira in 1882 with Dr. Stanchfield, which part- 
nership existed nine months. Since then he has practiced alone. Dr. Pratt is a mem- 
ber of the Chemung County Medical Society, a member of the Academy of Medicine, 
and a permanent member of the New York State Medical Society. He wrote a highly 
praised monograph on extra-uterine pregnancy in 1890. Dr. Pratt belongs to the order 
of Elks, the A. O. U. W., the K. T., and St. Onier's Coinmandery. He is also a prom- 
inent member of the American Academy of Nfedicine and in politics is a Republican. 
He has been health officer and was surgeon of the Thirtieth Separate Compajiy. He 
married, in Elmira in 1883, a daughter of Mr. Murdoch, and they have three children. 
Dr. Pratt acts as medical examiner for several insurance companie.s. 

Pratt, Raymond B., M.D., received his literary training at the schools of Elmira and 
New York city, being graduated from tha College of Physicians and Surgeons, from the 
Medical Department of Columbia College, and took a course at the New York Post- 



118 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Graduate Medical School and Hospital. He also served a full term at Chambers Street 
Hospital, 0. P. Department, New York city. He located in Elmira in the practice of 
his profession as succe.ssor to Dr. H. H. Piirdy. Dr. Pratt is a member of Ivy 
Lodge F. and A. M., being at present J. W., the Elmira Chapter R. A. M., St. Omer's 
Commandery of Knights Templar, the Elmira City Club, the B. P. O. Elks, the Elmira 
Academy of Medicine, and the Medical Society of Chemung County. 

Putney, Jedediah M.. was born in Vilinovia, Chautauqua County, N. T., August 15, 
1832. April 8, 1856, he began his railroad life with tlie New York, Lake Erie, and 
Western Railroad Company, then the New York and Erie. He served six months as 
breakman, wa.s fireman until 1859, and has since been engineer. June 1, 1858, he 
married Ruth A. Barns, of Tioga County, N. Y., and they had one son, William W., 
born May 129, 1859. William W. was educated in the graded schools with an academic 
course of four year.s. He has taught nine years in the Elmira Business College and re- 
sides at home with his father. Mrs. Putney died March 14, 1889. loved and respected 
by all. Mr. Putney's father, Solomon, was born in Oneida County and married Eunice 
Alden, by whom he had ten children, of whom five are living, viz. : Jedediah M., 
William W., Milton, Ellen, and Emma. 

Ouinlan, Daniel, born in Elmira, April 21, ISC'?, was educated in the graded schools 
of Elmira. At the age of nineteen he engaged with Barlow and Wilson's minstrel troupe, 
first as property man. Elmirans are fond of calling him " Our illustrious Dan." He has 
become stage manager and interlocutor, and is styled the prince of conversationalists. 
The press everywhere highly praise his remarkable abilities. He is universally pop- 
ular and makes friends wherever he goes. December 22, 1890, Mr. Quinlan married 
Margaret Doherty, of Elmira, the wedding being the largest ever held in Elmira. 

Ransom, Henry V., was born in Madison County, N. Y., November 23, 1843, and 
came to Elmira in 1856. Here he was educated at the academy and became an em- 
ployee of the United States Express Company. During the encampment here of the 
One Hundred and Seventh Regiment he was drummer, and when that command went 
to Washington he accompanied it. Rheumatism, which has crippled him for life, pre- 
vented him from continuing with the regiment and in consequence he returned to El- 
mira. In 1SG4 he engaged with the United States Express Company, but in 1865 he 
was again incapacitated with rheumatism. At the end of a year he entered the employ 
of the Merchants Union Express Company, and later read law with his brother, who is 
now the surrogate of New York city. After a brief engagement with the Southern 
Tier Savings Bank he was again laid up with rheumatism until 1876, and in January, 
1881, he was elected justice of the peace, serving until January, 1888, when he was 
elected county clerk on the Democratic ticket. 

Reid, James R., senior member of the steam engine and boiler manufacturing firm 
of Reid it Cooper, and of Reid, Cooper & Thomas, manufacturers of oxide paints, was 
born in Amsterdam, N. Y., November 11, 1837. He is a son of James B. Reid, a mer- 
chant and lawyer who died in Amsterdam. Two of his sons served in the army. 
James R. graduated from West Point in 1863 and was immediately assigned to the 
Tenth United States Infantry as second lieutenant of Compan}' B, in which he served one 
year. He wa.s made second lieutenant and in 18GG was promoted captain of the same com- 
pany. He participated in the battles of the Wilderness, where he received a gun-shot 
wound in the head. Returning to Buflalo with his regiment, and thence to Elmira, he 
again entered the service in command of Ids company in Minnesota and resigned in 
1866, at which time he came to Elmira and engaged in the wholesaled grocery business 
till 1870, when he formed his present co-partnerships. Mr. Reid was president of the 
Board of Trade for some years, of which he also was one of its organizers. In June, 
1865, he married Mary B., daughter of David H. Tuthill, and they have two daughters. 

Reilly, Edmund A., M.D., now for the fourth successive term health officer for the 
city of Elmira, was born in this city April 6, 1860. From the local graded .schools he 
took up the study of medicine with the late Dr. Newman as his preceptor, and in 1881 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 119 

was graduated from the Western Reserve Medical College. The doctor is a member 
ot the various local medical societies and represented the profession as a delegate from 
Elmira to the American Health Association at Charleston, S. C, in December, 1890. 
Mrs. Reilly, to whom the doctor was married on June 3, 1890, is the accomplished 
daughter of Patrick Ronan, esq., of Elmira. 

Reynolds, John A., attorney at law, was born in this county November 11, 1842. 
His father was Nathan Reynolds, a native of Orange County, N. Y. In 1849 Mr. 
Reynolds came to Elmira, where he has since resided. He prepared for college in the 
Elmira schools and was graduated from Williams in the cla-ss of '63. At the age of 
twenty-one he registered as a law student in the law office of Smith, Robertson & 
Fassett, was admitted to the bar in 1867, and at once commenced the active practice of 
his profession. In 187.") Mr. Reynolds formed a law partnership with Frederick Collin, 
esq., in the firm name of Reynolds & Collin. This firm in 1886 was changed by the ad- 
mission of John B. Stanchfield, and since that time has been Reynolds, Stanchfield it 
Collin. In politics Mr. Rejnoldsis a Democrat, and while always interested in the 
-success of his party he has for many years taken no active part in political matters, but 
has confined himself to the practice of law. 

Richards, George A., son ot Samuel, was born near Salem, Mahoning County, 0. 
He attended the High School of that place and received a diploma in dentistry from 
the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery in 1872. He has practiced his profession 
in Salem, 0., and in Battle Creek, Mich., and for the past nine years has been located 
in Elmira. Sanniel Richards married Lydia Brown, of Friends Village, Pa., and they 
have had five children, viz.; Stephen B., Daniel I., George A.. Hannah B., and Huldah E. 

Riggs. Edward H., was born in Wells, Bradford County, Pa., March 13, 1845, and 
obtained a common school education. July 16, 1SG2, he enlisted in Company A, One 
Hundred and Seventh New York Infantry Volunteers, and served till the close of the 
war. January 15, 1868, he married Ella, daughter of Peter M. and Lucretia H. Close, 
and they have two children, Edith T. and Louis J. Edward H, is an engineer on the 
Norlhern Central Railroad. His father. Rev. Joseph L. Riggs, son of tlie Rev. Elias 
Riggs, was born in New Providence, Essex County, N. J., March 19, ISOit. He grad- 
uated from Amher.'it College in 1831 and entered Andover College in 1833 and Andover 
Theological Department in 1833, finishing his course at Princeton, N. J. May 1, 1844, 
he married Elizabeth A. Roosa, by whom he had six children: Edward H., William C, 
Mary E., Charles B., Emma C, and Elias F. 

Roberts, Henry S. (decea,sed), born in Schoharie County, N. Y., February 3, 1812, 
was by occupation a blacksmith. He came to Chemung County when a boy and lived 
here until his death, which occurreii January 2G, 1890. He married twice, first, Han- 
nah Culp, of Elmira, who bore him six children, one of whom died in infancy and five 
survive: Stephen T., Elizabeth J., Charles V., Sophia O., and William R. April 22, 
1847, he married, second, Hannali Beaumont, of Yorksliire, England, who came to 
America with her parents when four years old. Thev had nine children, six of whom 
survive: James H., John I., Mary P., Ella A., Frank G., and Albert C. The last posi- 
tion ilr. Roberts held was in the Pullman palace car shops for fifteen years. 
Stephen T., Charles V., and William R. served in the army. Mrs. Roberts had two 
brothers in the Tenth Cavalry. 

Roberts, Prof. J.W., is president of the Elmira Shorthand College. Among the city's 
prominent educational institutions there is no brighter light than this. This college 
was founded by its president in November, 1888. and has become one of the largest 
and most successful institutions of its kind in the State. Professor Roberts filled many 
positions of honor previous to establishing this college, covering an experience of more 
than twenty years. Among them he was principal of the shorthand department of the 
Elmira Business College, the Allen Business College, and other institutions. He is an 
expert stenographer and is frequently engaged in reporting speeches, lectures, etc., for 



120 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the local press. He is also a member of the Metropolitan Stenographers Association 
of New York city. The school occupies three large and well ventilated rooms at 156 
Lake street, in the Second National Bank building, in which are conducted three de 
partments, shorthand, typewriting, and reporting. Tlie college is one of the few in the 
country under the management of an experienced and practical stenographer. On this 
account many student.s from other colleges attend for advanced instruction, and its 
graduates are filling important positions in many cities in the United States. Students 
come from a radius of several hundred miles to take advantage of its superior facilities. 

Roberts, Mrs. Harriet, is a daughter of Thomas Williams, who was born in Blacna- 
von, Monraouth.sbire, Wales, England where the family for many generations had lived 
and died. He married Ann Lloyd and they had nine children, five of whom survive, 
viz.: Winefred, Benjamin, Llewellen, Harriet, and Ruth. Harriet WilUiams married 
William Roberts, by whom she had seven children, four of whom are living: Benjamin 
F., born April 1, 18G4, in Danville ; Thomas C, born at Morris Run, Pa., September 25, 
186G ; Annie S., born December 23, 18G8, at Elmira ; and D. >[ay, born June 6, 1875, 
at Elmira, N. Y. Mrs. Roberts is conducting two grocery stores in Elmira, one on 
Washington avenue, where she resides, and one on Walnut street, for the latter of 
whicli Benjamin F. acts as manager, while Thomas C. divides his time between the two. 

Robertson, Andrew J., of the law firm of Robertson, Smith & Bull, is a native of 
Delaware County and a son of John L. Robertson, now a farmer and ranch owner in 
Wyoming. He was born March 30, 1851, and was educated at the Andes (N. Y. I Acad- 
emy, the Delhi Academy, and at Cornell University. After a limited term teaching 
in the Delhi Academy he began the stud)' of law and was admitted to the bar in Sep- 
tember, 1876. In March, 1877, he located m Elmira, spent a few months with E. B. 
Youmans, and in January, 1880, formed a co-partnership with Judge Gr. L. Smith. 
This firm continued for eight years, and was then changed by the admission of Mr. Bull. 
There were some other changes in 1890 the present style was adopted. Mr. Robertson 
is an able lawyer and also possesses excellent literary taste and ability. He was the 
poet of his class at Cornell University and at one of its annual festivities was the poet 
of the Zeta Phi fraternity, a famous literary association of Delhi. He is now a regular 
contributor to the Young Men's Journal. His wife is a daughter of La Rue P. Thomp- 
son, now of Whitney's Point, N. Y. Dix W. Smith, born in Tioga County, Pa., March 
1, 1854, was graduated from Michigan University in the class '75 as LL.B. He read law 
with Smith, Robertson & Fassett and was admitted in 1876. He is the author of 
" Smith on Chattel Mortgages," a text book and digest published in 1889. John Bull, jr., 
born in Tompkins County, N. Y., September 2.5, 1863, was graduated from Cornell in 
the class of '85 and from Columbia Law School as LL.B. in the class of '87. He was 
admitted to practice in November, 1887. 

Robertson, Hollis C, attorney at law, born in Elmira, January 11, 1860, is the 
son of the late Archibald Robertson, who for thirty years occupied a high position at 
the Elmira Bar. During his life-time he held many positions of public trust and honor, 
and just prior to his death, which occurred June 4, 1880, he resigned the office of dis- 
trict attorney. H. C. Robertson, the youngest of seven sons, was educated at the El- 
mira schools and at the University of Michigan, graduating at the age of nineteen years. 
He began the study of law in the office of his father and afterward pursued his studies 
with the Hon. J. S. Fassett, Smith & Robertson, and Youmans, Moss & Knipp, and in 
January, 1887, was admitted to the bar. He is a member of I. 0. R. M. and of the 
P. O. S. of A. Of the latter fraternity he was the first president of the Elmira Camp, 
has been district president, and was the delegate to the National Convention of the 
order held at Boston on November 11, 1890. Mr. Robertson's wife is the daughter 
of the Rev. David Williams, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Roe, Edward Drake, a native of Newtown and a son of Isaac, was born February 23, 
1820, and has always followed farming, having resided on the farm he now owns since 
he was fourteen years old. February 3, 1842, he married Eleanor J., daughter of John- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 121 

athai) and Klizahetli L. Frost, of Catlierine, X, Y. Tliej' have four cliildren, two of 
wlioin survive: Edward Drake Roe, jr., a graduate of Harvard Uiiiversily, Cambridge, 
Mass., who married Mrs. Adelaide (Gourley) Bridge ; and Ida Roe, who resides with 
her parents. IJis father, t)orn in New Yorii city on Marcli 2, 1788, a shoen)al<er by 
trade, moved with liis family into the Chemung Valley from Newbnrgh, N. Y., in 1818, 
following Ids trade for some year.s. October 10, 1807, he married Hannah Dral<e, who 
was born Feburary 15, 1789. They liad ten children, eight of wliom grew to adult 
age: John K., Sally A., Catherine, Mary S., Elizalielh, 'William F., Edward D., Hester 
Anne, Francis A., and Maria. The Drake family date back in England to Sir Francis 
Drake. 

Ronan, William II., an enrolled attorney, is deputy county treasurer and clerk of the 
Board of Supervisor.'. He was educated in the Elmira schools and the Elmira I'^ree 
Academy, read law with Babcock & Robinson, of Khiiira. and was admitted to the bar 
at Albany in January, 1882. In 188S he w.is made deputy treasurer, and in November, 
1890, was appointed clerk of the Board of Supervisors. Mr. Ronan is an active politi- 
cian in the Democratic ranks and is cpiiie prominent in the B. P, 0, E, (Elks). 

Rose, Theodore C, official stenographer of the Supreme Court, Sixth Judicial Dis- 
trict, of New York, was born in Tompkins County, N. Y., April 23, 1843, He was ed- 
ucated in the common schools and in July, 18G3, entered the army as a private in Com- 
pany K, Ninety-seventh New York Volunteers, serving to the close of the war and 
taking part in all the battles in which !iis regiment participated, viz. : The Wilderness, 
Spottsylvania, Petersburg, Wilden Railroad, raid to Hicksford, Hatcher's Run, Five 
Forks, and Appomatto.x. He was mustered out at Syracuse as a non-commi.ssioned 
oflBcer on August 6, 18(it5. He soon after began the study of stenography an<l in 1870 
commenced the practice of his profession at Ithaca, N. Y. In 1871 he was appointed 
assistant stenographer of the Supreme Court, and in 1882 was appointed official sten- 
ographer for the Sixth Judicial District. As a stenographer Mr. Rose has had a very 
wide and extended practice in the courts of the State. He was one of the originators 
of the New York Slate Stenographers Association and served as its president in 1885, 
In 1883 he was admitted to the bar, but has never practiced that profe,ssion. He is a 
member of Baldwin Post. No. C, O. A. R., and was an aid on the stall' of the depart- 
ment commander in 1880 and on the stafT of the national lommander in 1891. Mr. Rose is^ 
also a Knight Templar and is married. In 1885 he removed to Elmira, where he still 
resides. 

Ross, Alonzo D., born in Bradford County, Pa,, December 25, 1840, was educated in 
the public schools, and in April, 1,^01, enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirty-second 
Pennsylvania Infantry Volunteers, for nine months, February 28, 18G4, he married 
Ann, daughter of Daniel D, and Ann Meade, and they have had one daughter, Ollie 
M., born February 22, 1875. In March, 1804, he again enlisted in Company D, One 
Hundred and Sixty-first New York Infantry Volunteers. His father, David A. Ross, 
was born in Bradford County, Pa., and January 21, 1815, married Rhoda M. Kmgsley, 
by whom he had three children : Sloan K., Alon/.o D., and Dallas F. 

Ros.s, Frank Ward, M.D., born at Ilorseheads, Chemung County, July 10, 1859. re- 
eived an academic education and began the study of medicine with the late Dr. T. H. 
Squire as his preceptor. He entered the Medical Department of the University of New 
York city at the age of twenty and was graduateil in March, IS83. He entered upon 
the practice of his profession in Elmira. Dr. Ross is a member of the various 
local medical societies, the Elmira Acailemy of Science.s, the American Micro- 
scopical Association, of the Board of Examiners of the Medical Department of 
the Niagara University, and of the regular stafl' of the Arnot-Ogden Hospital. The 
doctor married, in Elmira in 1884, a Miss Hart, daughter of a Georgia planter and 
a gran<ldaughter of the late Rev. Samuel Newell, a pioneer missionary to India, 
where his mother was born. 



122 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Ross, Rev. Major II., was born in tlie township of Friendship, Maryland, January 21, 
1855. His father, Benjamin, bonglit his freedom. Major H. enlisted in tlie One Hun- 
dred and Ninth Infantry Xevv York Volunteers, and was exempted, heart disease being 
the trouble. He married twice, first, August 11, 1860, Miss Eliza Booth, by whom he 
had six children, all of whom are deceased. Ilis wife died at Saratoga Springs, March 
15, 1873. September 10, 187G, he married, second, Sarah F. Douglas, of New Bedford, 
Mass. In 185:! ilr. Ross became converted, and was licensed to preach in 185G in 
Maryland, which he did until the war. After the war he came with Col. B. F. Tracy to 
Owego, N. Y., and joined the Genesee conference in 1865. He has preached in Ithaca, 
Syracuse, Bath, Corning, Troy, Newburgh, Boston, Washington, U. C, Philadelphia, 
and many other cities, and now has charge of the A. M. E. Zion Church of Elmira, 
N. Y. In 1876 he organized the A. M. E. Zion Church in Chatham, Ont.. Windsor. 
and other places in Canada. In early age he had the advantage of education, being a 
pupil under Rev. R. L. Dasheihls. D.D., president of Dickinson College. He is widely 
known throughout the A. M. E. Zion denomination as one among the leading theologians. 

Ross, Thomas, born November 5, 1845, in Burlington, Bradford County, Pa., acquired 
his education in the district schools and in the Troj' (Pa.) High School. He enlisted, 
first, in the Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania Infantry Volunteers, and January 3, 1864, re- 
enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Sixty-first New York Infantry Volunteers, 
being honorably discharged November 12, 1865. December 28, 1869, he married 
Alvira Shults, and they have one son, Wilson C, born August 20, 1873. His father, 
John Ross, born in Bradford County, Pa., about 1792, married Hannah Head, by whom 
he had eleven children. 

Roth well, James A., was born in Bradford County, Pa., March 23, 1861, and received 
his education in the public schools. In 1880 he began work for the Northern Central 
Railroad Company, being promoted conductor September 10, 1886. October 19, 1882, 
he married S. Jennie, daughter of John E. and Ruby E. Parker, of Elmira. They have 
three children: Ruby E., born August 27, 1883; Pearl E., born May 7, 1886; and 
Robert E., born April 2, 1889. His father, Robert, was born near Manchester, England, 
about 1831, and married Alice Buckley, of his native place, by whom he had five chil- 
dren, Thoinas. William H., James A.. Mary J., and Charles. 

Sanliorne, Rev. Plin}' F., was born in Reading, near Boston, Mass., October 25, 1820. 
He graduated from .-imherst College in 1840 and from the Hartford Theological Sem- 
inary in 1844. He has been an active minister of the gospel for forty-eight years, but 
has recently retired from the pulpit and now resides in Elmira. On May 28, 1846, he 
married Caroline, daughter of Chester and Sophia Goodale, of South Egremont, Berk- 
shire County, Ma.ss. They have had ten children, three of whom died in infancy and 
seven survive, namely : Mary E., who married William C. Dalzell, of South Egremont, 
Mass.; George G., who married Imogen Minier and resides in Philadelphia, Pa.; Carrie 
S., who married Dr. George P. Packard, of Denver, Col; Fred W., a distinguished law- 
yer and district attorney of Santa Anna, Cal.; Rev. Henry K., a graduate of Hamilton 
College and Auburn Theological Seminary- in 1891, now of Tonavvanda, N. Y., who 
married A. Belle Baker, of Auburn, N. Y.; Lewis W., who married Kate C. Drake, of 
Elmira, by whom he has had one son, Walter Drake, born June 14, 1891 ; and Wallace 
H., whose home is in Elmira. The ancestors of the Sanborne family came from Eng- 
.land in 1632. 

Satterlee, Harry T., was born May 7, 1866, and was educated in the graded schools 
■ of Elmira. In October, 1S84, he entered the employ of the Elmira, Cortland, .and 
Northern Railway Company as clerk in the auditor's office. He was promoted station 
agent March 1, 1889. His father, Ellas B., was born in Elmira in 1S36. He was a dry 
goods merchant and afterward a grain dealer. May 7, 1862, he married Cornelia L., 
daughter of Myron II. and Henrietta A. Ferris, of Elmira. Their children were Augusta 
L., Harry T., and Albert. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 123 

Sayles, Phillip H., son of Phillip, was born in Rochester, X. Y., April IG, 1849. In 
18G5 he began lailrondinf; and in 1873 was promoted to the position of conductor on 
the Northern Central Railroad. August 14, 1806, he tnarried Sarah E. Jenk.s of Great, 
Bend, Pa., and they had one son, Phillip W., horn Auj^ust 11, 1869, who died June 21, 
1873. The family have resideil in EIraira for eighteen years. Phillip .Sayles. born 
on the Isle of Man, England. April 16, 1817, marrieil Mary Rliinevault, of Connec- 
ticut, and they had four children, two of whom died in infancy and two, Iliram E. and 
Phillip II., survive. 

Schornstheimer, Peter, born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, October 9, 1827, came 
to America in 1850, locating in Elmira. He married, August 3(1, 185.5, Chistiana Stampp, 
of his native place. They have these children: Henry, P'red, Peter, jr., Ella, Carrie, 
Kate, and Lena. Fred was born June 18, 1859, in Wells, Bradford County, Pa., and 
entered his father's store at the age of fifteen. Peter, jr.. was born in Klmira, April 14, 
1867, and received a commercial education at that place. June lb, 1891. he married 
Blanch Graser. They opened a general grocery store in 1870, and soon afterward it was 
conducted under the firm name of Schornstheimer & Stampp. The above named sons are 
members of the firm. Fred was elected alderman for two years in 1883 and is now 
notary public. He is a Republican. The family have resided in Elmira since 1850 with 
the exception of four years. 

Schwartz, Jacob, a prominent member of the Elmira Bar, is a native of the city of 
Chicago, where he was liorn thirty-six years ago, coming to Elmira with his parents 
about thirty years ago. He was educated at the Elmira Academy, began the study of 
law when sixteen years of age in the office of Murdoch & Stephens, and in 1876, at the 
age of twenty-one, was admitted to practice. Mr. Schwartz is devoted to his profes- 
sion and has met with a most flattering success in its practice. 

Schweppe, Frederick, born in German}', near Hanover, April 4, 1837, is a son of John 
Ernest Schweppe, who died there. Frederick came to America in July, 1865, and 
spent nine years in and about New York city, working at iiis trade of fresco painter and 
decorator. In 1874, being sent to Elmira by his employer to fresco the Second National 
Bank, he found it to his advantage to remain and has since been engaged in the same 
business. He now emplo3's from fifteen to twenty-five men. Mr. Schweppe spent seven 
years in the army as a private, and the last year in the field, during the war between 
Germany and Denmark. He is a Mason, an I. 0. 0. F., and a B. P. 0. E. He married, 
in Germany, Eleanore Johannsmeyer, and they have had six children, of whom two 
sons and two daughters survive. 

Seeley, George ]•".. was born in Columbia, Pa., February 28, 1860. In 1879 he began 
work for the Northern Central Railroad Company, being promoted conductor in 1887. 
September 17, 1889, he married Nellie H., oldest daughter of William II. and Caroline 
E. Oornee, of Elmira. iIose.«, father of George F., was born in New Jersey, February 
22, 1826. He married Eliza J. Kimber, of his native State, and their six children were: 
Isabel, William, Sarah, George F., Joseph E.. and Mary J. 

Sheely, William T., born in Belfast, Allegany County, N. Y., May 21, 1857, is a son 
of Frederick Sheely, who moved to Elmira in 1868. He received a practical education 
in every department of the business he now conducts and has been eminently success- 
ful. He married, in Patterson, N. J., in November, 1881, Mifs Anna Hen.sel, and by 
her he has had two soixs and two daughters. AVilliam T. Sheely succeeded to the busi- 
ness of F. Sheely <fc Son. He conducts the tannery established by Couch & Kinley in 
1867, who sold to Reitenbach, Tuttle A; Co. in 1875, the latter firm selling to F. Sheely & 
Son in 1888. Mr. Sheely employs about 100 men and tans 15(1 hides a day or 45,ii00 
a year. 

Shelve, William E., a former well known contractor, was born May 11, 1848, in Rut- 
land, Bradford County, Pa. At the age of four years his parents moved to Elmira, 
N. Y., at which place he was educated in the common schools. Early learning the 



124 OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE. 

carpenter's trade he was for many years a conlraotor and builder, but about 1870 be- 
came general appraiser for the Board of Underwriters. Mr. Sheive is also a dealer in 
real estate. April !J, 1874, he married Helen il. Blister, who bore liim one son, 
Georcfe E., who died in infancy. On September 27, 1804, he enlisted in Company C, 
One Hundred and Sixty-first Infantry New York Volunteers, and was honorably dis- 
charged on May 9, 1865. He is one of the Board of Directors of the Secoiui National 
Bank of Elmira. His father, George, born in Montgomery County near Philadelphia, 
Pa., May 22, 1815, came to Elraira in 1852 from Rutland, Pa. He married Susan 
Searle.s, of Tonipkins County, N. Y., and they had five children, of whom two, Will- 
iam E. and Hattie M., survive. 

Sheldon, Morris Woodworth, was born in HornellsviUe, N. Y., in 1804. He is the 
only son of Frederick M. Sheldon, now of HornellsviUe and engaged in tlie general 
hardware business at that place, and also a member of the firm of Plumb & Slieldons, of 
Elmira. M. \V. Sheldon was educated at Cornell after thorough preparation at East- 
haniton, Mass. He studied chemistry, but preferred business. At tlie age of twenty- 
three, in the city of Binghamton. he founded the manufacturing business whicli is now 
carried on at Elmira by Plumb & Sheldons, of which firm he is a member. M. W. Shel- 
don devotes his entire time to his business. The firm has four men on the road selling 
their productions throughout the United States. They also have an agency at Chicago 
and San Francisco. M. W. Sheldon was married, at HornellsviUe in 1888, to a daughter 
of John Crarer, a native of Blairgowrie, Scotland. They have one child, a daughter. 
He is a member of Park Church. 

Smith, Elias, born in Luzerne County, Pa., March 24, 1828, attended the public 
schools of that State, and December 6, 1846, married Diana, only daughter of Samuel 
and Barsheba Greene, by whom he had children as follows: two who died in infancy, 
George P., Anson B., Amy, Henry N., Elias, jr., Hattie, Charles, Normie, Samuel S., and 
Hiram. In 1852 Mr. Smith began work for the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western 
Railroad Company, and has been conductor for twenty-five years and yardmaster for 
nine years. His father, Permenus. was born in Luzerne County, Pa., in 1784, and mar- 
ried Sarah Phillips, of Rhode Island. Their thirteen children were Maria, James. 
Waitey, Henry, Isaac, Sarah, Eleck, Permenus, jr., Nancy, Elias, Ezra, Polly A., and 
Jeremiah. Elia.s, jr., is night dispatcher for the same company. He married Nettie M., 
oldest daughter of Warren and Emeline Warner, of Pennsylvania, and they have one 
daughter. Alma D., born August 12, 1886. 

Smith, Elijah B., head of the firm of the Clipper Chilled Plow Company, was born in 
Broome County in 1 827, and is the son of a farmen', Elijah L., of that county. He was edu- 
cated in the common schools and followed farming till twenty-two years of age. He 
came to Elmira and engaged in the lumber business until 1858, when he bought out a 
bakery and manufactory of confectionery, which business he followed till 1865. He was 
engaged in the same business in Corning for nine and one-half years, but lived in Elmira. 
He engaged in business with the Clipper Chilled Plow Company and in 1888 with 
Bogardus & Strait (William Strait and John Bogardus), wiio had burned out at 
Horseheads. The firm employs about twenty-five or thirty hands. L. G. Abbott was 
also a member of the firm, but retired after two years. The firm now has for one of its 
members II. G. Mix. Elijah B. Smith has been three years superior president of the 
Elmira Silver Mining Company of Idaho, and was one of the organizers of that com- 
pany. At the outbreak of the war he was identified with the militia of the State. He 
married, in Elmira in 1861, a daughter of James Swing, a carriagemaker who is now 
dead. Mr. Smith put in the first steam bakery in Elmira. 

Smith, Hon. Gabriel Lewis, born in Orange County, N. Y., August 4, 1829, is now 
the oldest practicing attorney at the bar of Elmira. He was educated in the Green- 
brook Family School at Plainfieid, N. J., and began the study of law in the office of 
Diven, Hithaway & Wood at Elmira in 1847, being admitted to the bar in 1850. He 
first practiced at Millport, Chemung County, whore he was first a partner with Judge 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 125 

Theodore North and afterward with Mr. Dailey. About 1853 he returned to Elmira, 
where he has since resided. At aliout the beginning of the war of the Rebelhon he 
was selected by (jrovernor Morgan as one of the hi.storic senatorial committee for the 
enhstment of troops, and soon afterward was appointed adjutant witli authority to 
raise the One Hundred and Seventh Regiment, which was done by General Van Valk- 
enburgh, General Diven, Rev. Thomas K. Beecher, Mr. Smith, and others, Mr. Smith 
mustering in personally nearly 500 men. This regiment received a prize banner from 
Governor Morgan for being the lirst regiment mustered m under tlie President's call 
for 300.000 men, and it received tlie personal thanks of President Lincoln for being 
ttie first regiment to arrive in Washington under that call. The first colonel of the 
regiment was Hon. R. B. Van Valkenburgh, late chief judge of tlie Supreme Court of 
Florida, and its second colonel was Gen. A. S. Diven, who were both members of 
Congress at the lime. Mr. Smith was its first adjutant, its first major, and its second 
lieutenant-colonel, but was forced by physical disability to leave the service in the 
spring of 18G3, receivmg an honorable discharge from the hospital in Washington. In 
1864 he was elected county judge and surrogate and served one term. In 1865 Gov. 
David B. Hill entered his ollice as partner, and they practiced law together under the 
firm name of Smith & Hill until 1S71, in the same offices where Mr. Smith now is, and 
which he has occupied continuously since 1857. In 1890 Mr. Smith was appointed by 
Governor Hill one of the constitutional commission to propose revision of the judiciary 
article of the constitution, and acted with the commission until it had performed its 
work, but being opposed to almost every one of its recommendations. Colonel Smith 
is past commander of Post 6 of the G. A. R., is a thirty-second degree Mason, an earnest 
Republican in politics, and has a very extensive practice as a lawyer. 

Smith, Horace Boardman. was born at Whitiiigham, Vt., August 18, 1820. After 
graduating from College in 1847, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1850. 
In 1859 lie was appointed county judge of Chemung County and in the same year was 
elected to that office. In 1860 he resigned the office and continued in the practice of 
law until 1870, when he was elected to the Forty-first Congress and was re-elected 
in 1872. In 1874 he declined a nomination for the same office and resumed the prac- 
tice of his profession in Elmira. In 1883 ho was elected by both parties as judge of the 
Supreme Court and took his seat June 1, 1884. He filled this high office until 1888, 
when he resigned on account of ill health. He died on the 26th of December, 1888. 
Judge Smith married Miss Ella Hays and had two son.<:, Rev. Dr. Wilton Merle Smith, 
of the Central Presbyterian Church of New York city, and Judge W. L. Smith. 

Smith, Hon. Walter Lloyd, justice of the Supreme Court of New York State, was 
educated at the Elmira Academy and Princeton College, graduating from the latter in 
1877. He read law with his father, Judge Horace Boardman Smith, and was admitted 
to the bar in May, 1879. In March, 1888, he succeeded his father as justice of the Su- 
preme Court by appointment of Governor Hill, and was elected to the ollice in the fol- 
lowing fall for a term of fourteen years from January 1. 1889. At the time of his ap- 
pointment he was only thirty-one years of age. In 1884 he was a Republican delegate 
to the National Convention. Judge Smith is a member of the Presbyterian Church. 

Smith, Huron 0., a prominent architect at 108 Lake street, Elmira, was born in Can- 
necticut, Sejitember 25, 1H:J2. His father, Irwin W. Smith, is a builder at Ilornells- 
ville. His mother survives at the age of seventy-nine years. His maternal grand- 
father, David Arnohl. attained the age of ninety-six years, and died in Smithfield, Pa. ' 
He was a Revolutionary soldier and serveil as first lieutenant in the War of 1812. 
Huron 0. Smith was cdiicaled in the common schools and learned the trade of carpen- 
ter. He came to Elmira in 1851, where he followed the building business till 1866, 
when he began the study of architecture with G. W. Gardner, soon after, however, 
opening an office for himself. His work inchiiles designs for many fine churches, public 
buildings, and private residences, which are recognized as monuments to his architect- 
ural skill and ability. Mr. Smith was married in Ulster, Bradford County, Pa., on 



126 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

June 11, 1853, to Rachel H. Pearsall. They have a daughter, Mrs. L. M. X. Mingos, 
of Towanda, Pa., and a daughter wlio lives at home. 

Smith, Theodore G., born in the town of Naples, N. Y., enlisted in Company F, One 
Hundred and Seventh Infantry New York Volunteers, was wounded in llie battle of 
Antietsni, and was honoralily discharged on a surgeon's certificate of disaliility. lie 
was elected city collector in 1S75, county clerk in 1879, 1880, and 1881, and is now 
chief United States deputy marshal for the Northern District of New York, which ])0- 
sition he has held for the past two years. In December, 18G8, he married Lillie A., 
daughter of George H. and Elizabeth Beers. They have these children : Bertha E., 
Ella B., Frank W., Dana L., Edith M., Wick B., Bessie H., and Ruby. 

Smith, Thomas S.. city clerk of Elmira, was born in Philadelphia, February 16, 18(i3, 
a son of Daniel Smith, and was educated at the public schools. For some years he was 
a manufacturer of confectionery with his father. In 1888 he was appointed civil serv- 
ice clerk for one year, and in March, 1889, was city clerk, being re-appointed in March, 
1890. lie married, in Minneapolis in 1885, Bertha V., daughter of Lester B. Morris, of 
this place. He is a Mason, clerk of the park commission, and fire commissioner. 

Smith, William Charles, police commissioner and manager of the Elmira Opera House, 
was born in Albany on December 23, 1843, a son of Daniel Smith. He came to Elmira 
in 18.j9, and when the war broke out he was clerking in a dry goods house. Entering 
the army on May 22, 18G1, as a drummer in Company F, Nineteenth New York Vol- 
unteers, he served five months in Virginia, and being discharged he entered One Hun- 
dred and Seventh Regiment, but this organization was full, and he was refused mem- 
bership, yet he remained with them nearly fourteen months. He took part in the bat- 
tles of Antietam and Chancellorsville. Returing to Elmira he engaged in the theatrical 
business as stage carpenter and property man. Since 1870 be has been the local mana- 
ger. Mr. Smith has managed the Madison Avenue Theater in New York for tw'o years, 
opening it first in 1886. He was superintendent of the street railway for a while, was 
manager of the Elmira base-ball team for two years, and at one time was manager of 
the Maple Avenue Athletic Association. On the road he managed for Augustin Daly, 
the Vernon Sisters, Victoria Loftus Company, and Madame Du Clois. Mr. Smith is a 
grand trustee of the A. 0. U. W., a member of the Grand Lodge F. and A. M. for six 
years, a K. T., and the founder of Elk Lodge, of which latter organization lie has filled 
all the offices. He is now master workman of the A. 0. U. W. and a member of Bald- 
win Post, No. 6, G. A. R. He was police commissioner for three years and nine 
months, resigning January 2, 1891. He married, in 1868, Miss Louise Vail, and has 
three children. 

Smith. William K., was born in Erin, March 7, 184.5, and by occupation was a farmer. 
March 8, 1862, he enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Third New York Infantry 
Volunteers, and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. He was married 
four times, his first wife being Mary E. Van Wort, whose only child was a son. George. 
For his second wife he married Hannah M. Grinnell, and they had four children, of 
whom one died in infancy and three survive: Bertha E , Harrj' J., and Hattie S. His 
third wife was Susie Weaver and his fonrth was Mary A. Kingsbury, of Boston, Mass. 
This last marriage occurred October 17, 1889. His father, John Smith, born near Brees- 
port, married Susan Davies, of (Jrange County, and tliej' had eight children: Benjamin, 
George, William K., Charles, Henry, Sarah, Mary J., and Frederick. William K. Smith 
is deceased. 

Soble, Naman H., M.D., was born in Russia in 1864 and with his parents came to 
America in 1873. Graduating from the Elmira Free Academy he chose materia medica 
as the field for his life's labors and after proper preparation matriculated at the College 
of Physicians and Surgeons of New York city, graduating therefrom in the class of 
1890. After a special course at the New York Polytechnic Institute lie returned to 
Elmira and entered at once into the practice of his profession. The doctor is a member 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 127 

of tlie Cliemunf; County Medical Society, tlie Eliniia Academy of Medicine, tlie Ini- 
jiroved Order of Ited Men, and the Royiil Arcanum. 

Spaulding, H. C, the heart of the firm of H. C. Spaulding & Co., manufacturers of 
doors, sa.sh, bhnds, etc., and dealers in lumber and coal. wa.« born June 22, 1812, in 
Vermont, and came to this part of New Vork Stale while a younij man. After some 
years spent as a farm laborer and r>oatiii<j on the old canal and lumbering he estab- 
lished the latter business, to which he added manufacturmg. The large business of the 
firm is growinfr rapidly and they now employ from seventy-five to eighty-five men and 
handle 3,t)00.000 feet of Inmlier annually. The Co. of the firm is Charles E. Rapelyea. 
While a young man Mr. Spaulding was married near Havana to Clara Wisner. 

Sperry, Robert T., was born in Frankfort. Pa., April 14, 1844. When quite young he 
went with his |)arcntsto Westville, Conn., onto the Sperry farm of 800 acres. There 
he learned the trade of blacksmithing, which he followed for three years. He was en- 
paged in a variety of occupations until 18(il, when he enlisted in Company K, Sixth 
Connecticut Infantry Volunteer.s, as ensign, and .shortlj' after entered the .secre- 
service under Colonel liaker, serving until the close of the war. July 3, 1884, he mar- 
ried Carrie B. Rice, of Ulster, Pa., and they have one daughter, Flossie B., who was 
,l)orn February 11, 1891. Mr. Sperry has resided in Elniira eight years. He has been 
a wholesale dealer in musical instruments for thirty years. He began the retail busi- 
ness here April 8, 1891, at 220 West Water street. He is a K. T. and A. K. of P. 

Stagg, S. Fayette, M.D., was born in Vermont, July 19, 1847, and educated at Wal- 
worth Academy in Wayne County, N. V. In 187.'! he began the study of medicine in 
Ontario, N. Y., and in 1878 was graduated from the Howard Medical College, Wash- 
ington, D. C. After practicing about one year at Mendon he removed to Livonia, and 
from tliere three years later to Chemung County, stopping for a time at Wellsburg. He 
located in Elmira in 1884. Dr. Stagg belongs to various medical societies, is devoted 
to his profession, and gives it his whole attention. He married, at Livonia, a daughter 
of David Eckler, of Mendon, December 17, 1879. Mrs. Stagg died December 1, 1881. 

Stanch, Louis G., was born in Weisbaden, Germany, in 1828, and about 1848 came 
to the LTnited States and located in New York city. He afterward moved to Angelica, 
Allegany County, N. Y., where he married Ruth, daughter of David H. and Electa War- 
ren. They had three children : Louis, Marguerite, and George. In 1861 Mr. Staucli 
enlisted in the Eighty-fifth Infantry New York Volunteers as rausicitin. He died Oc- 
tober 20, 1878. Mrs. Stauch and her children reside on Coburn street in the city of 
Elmira. 

Steele, Frederick C, born in Lisle, Broome County, N. Y., February 4. 1817, moved 
with his parents to Caroline, Tompkins County, and thence to Owego, Tioga County. 
He was educated in the public schools and followed farming until he attained his ma- 
jority, coming to Elmira in 1848. He became a grocer in 1851, in which business he 
continued until ISfiG, when he was burned out. From 1868 to 1875 he manufactured 
boots and shoes in company with Jackson Richardson. December 23, 1851, he married 
Clara P., daughter of Isaac and Jane Reynolds, who came to Elmira in 1826. Mr. 
Steele resides on Church street. 

Steinberger, George, a native of Hesse- Darmstadt, Germany, was born July 4, 1836, 
and in 1857 came to the L'nited .States and soon after settled in Elmira. February 25, 
1864, he married Kale, daughter of Uriah and Lucy Luca.s, of Well.s, Bradford County, 
Pa. They have had five children, of whom one daughter died in infancy, one son, 
William R.. at the age of eleven vears, and three survive: Libbie .S., born February 13, 
1868; Lucy A., born July 3, 1870; and Sarah .S., born August 3, 1872. Libbie S. 
.Steinberger married Harry L. Jeffers, of Elmira, .September 26, 1888. Lucy A. Stein- 
berger married George W. Patterson, of Elmira, Septemlier 16, 1891. Mr. .Steinberger 
enlisted, September 10, 1861, in Company F. First Light Artillery New York Voluteers, 
and re-enlisted in the same company and regiment on January 24, 1864, being honor- 



128 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ably discharged June 20, 1865. He is now a stationary engineer and resides at 407 
Herriclc street. 

Stewart, Tliomas H., was born in Notaway County, Va., a slave, about 1831. In 
1852 he turned bis face toward freedom, the North, his first stop being made to work 
at Belfout, Pa. In 1854 he came to Elmira, where he has since resided. September 
15, 1S58, he married Ann Johnston, formerly of New Jersey. They had eight children : 
Theodore, Fred. Walter, Frank, Nettie, Cornelia, Cora, and Helena, Mr. Stewart has 
been sexton of Elmira College for nine years, of the Free Academy for eighteen years, 
and continuously sexton of Trinity Church for twenty-five years. Mrs. Stewart died 
July 14, 1886. Mr. Stewart is a member of Trinity Church and owns a fine home on 
Dickinson street. 

Stiffey, Prof. William K., was born in Wa.shington County, Pa., April 17, 1858, and 
acquired his education in the public schools, with one year at Waynesburg College. 
About 1874-75 he attended Beaver College, Pa. After a period of one year he again 
went to the same college under the direct tuition of Prof. August Rhue. Having 
taught two years at Wellsville, 0., he turned his attention to a special study of music 
iu the public schools. In 1881 he was elected director of music in the public schools 
of Washington, Pa., holding the position three years and refusing an election for the 
fourth year on account of failing health. He took chaige of the music department of 
the State Normal School at California, Pa., September 1, 1885, and served in that ca- 
pacitj' two years with signal ability. His term of service as director of music in the 
public schools of Elmira began September 1, 1890. 

Stowell, James H., was born in Tompkins County, N. Y., April 2, 1830, and was a 
farmer in early life. He was educated m the common scliools, which he attended win- 
ters. In October, 1849, he began his railroad career, first with the old Erie road, but in 
1875 he became identified with the Lehigh Valley Radroad as passenger conductor, 
having been conductor for the Erie. May 8, 1855, he married Mary, daughter of Caleb P. 
and Mary Thurber, of Oxford, Chenango County. N. Y., and they have two children : 
Jennie, who died in 1874, and Eugene. Mr. and Mrs. Stowell have resided in Elmira 
thirty-six years. His father, Alexander, was born in Worcester, Mass., in 1793, and 
married Mary Hyde, who was born in North Carolina, They had six children : Nanc}', 
Catherine, Emma, Alexander D., James II., and William W. 

Stowell, Rufus R., born in Elmira, N. Y., May 18, 1838, was educated in the Elmira 
Academy. Mr. Stowell has always been engaged in mercantile pursuits, and is now 
conducting a first-class grocery on the south side. August 16, 1862, he enlisted in 
Company B, One Hundred and Forty-eighth Infantry New York Volunteers, was sev- 
eral times wounded, once in the battle of Cold Harbor, and was honorably discharged 
at the close of the war. December 20, 18GS. he married Mary Ann, youngest daugh- 
ter of John and Mary Breese, of Horseheads. They have six children: John S., Harry 
C, Mary Elizabeth, Edgar S., Ralph C, and Grace A. Mr. Stowell's father, Abel, was 
born in Worcester, Mass , in 1806, and married Elizabeth Stronger. They came to 
Binghamton about 1830. They had nine children, of whom these are living: Charles 
M., Rachel T., Rufus R., William H., John E., and Henry C. 

Stuart, Ryerson Hull, was born in Branchville, Sussex County, N. J., February 12, 
1824, and came to Port Jervis, Orange County, N. Y., about 1848. He entered the 
employ of the New York, Lake Erie, and Western Railroad Company in 1848, but 
owing to ill health ceased running June 12, 1886. His service was noted for its regu- 
larity and punctuality. For eight years he never lost a trip. June 1, 1851, he married 
Adeline Smith, of Port Jervis, by whom he had four daughters: Florence, who married 
Albert D. Wood, of Warren, Pa.; Estelle, who married William H. Sowell, of Elmira ; 
Jennie B., who married John B. Locke, of Elmira ; and Carrie A., who resides with 
her parents on Lake street. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 129 

Sturdevant. Alva B., born in Veteran, Chemung County, N. Y., July 13, 1S29. ac- 
quired his education in the public schools. October 27, 184'J, he married Malinda Lu- 
cas, of Bnidtord County. Pa., by whom he had three children, viz.: Eugene J., Lewella, 
and Stephen. Mr. Sturdevant enlisted in Coujpany K, One Hundred and Forty- first 
Infantry New York Volunteers, and was honorably di.scharged at the close of the war. 
His father, Joshua, married Esther Baker, of Westchester County, N. Y., and they had 
five children: Jesse, William, Thomas, Alva B., and Angeline. Mr. and Mrs. Sturde- 
vant reside on the south side in Elmira. 

Swan, Matthew V., born in Warwick, Orange County, N. Y., married Isabella Long- 
well, who was born in New Jersey, they being scliool and playmates together. Of 
their six children three daughters survive, viz.: Margaret, Eva S, and M. Alice. Mar- 
garet Swan married B. E. Snell, by whom she had one daughter, Lenna, who married 
George S. Marx, of Elmira, and they have two <langhters: Helen M., born January 12, 
18t?a. and Alice, born January 15, 1887. They reside in AVyoming. .Mr. Swan's grand- 
father, William Swan, emigrated from Scotland and served in the Kevohitionar}' war. 
His son William, father of Matthew V., was a soldier in the War of 1812. 

Swayze, Gershom H., was born in Warren County, N. Y., January 17, 1844. His 
parents moved to Michigan when he was six years of age. His education was obtained 
at the common schools of that State. December 20, 1801, he enhsted in Company I, 
One Hundred and Fourteenth Michigan Infantry Volunteers, was promoted duty ser- 
geant, and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. He served two terras in 
same the regiment. Mr. Swayze began his life on the railroad in 1868, first with the 
Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad Company for fifteen years. He has 
been yardma.ster for the Elmira, Cortland, and Northern Railroad Company since 1883. 
November 2, ISiJ'J, he married Caroline Marlatt, of New Jersey, by whom he has had 
three children: Mary, Emma, and Herbert. Mr. Swayze returned to New York some 
time after the war. 

Taylor, Hon. Sylvester S., county judge and surrogate, is a native of Chemung 
County, and was born May 2o, 1844. His father, the late Chauncey Taj'lor, came to 
Elmira from Montgomery County in 1834, and was for many j'ears superintendent of 
the Chemung Canal. He died in September, 1877, aged about sixty-seven years. S. S. 
Taylor was educated in the common schools, carae to Elmira in 1808, read law in the 
ollice of the late John Murdoch, and in 1870 was admitted to the bar. He began prac- 
tice at once and in 1874 was elected district attorney. He was candidate for re-elec- 
tion, but was defeated with his party by the Greenbackers. In September, 1889, he 
was appointed by Governor Hill to the vacancy in tlie office of count}' judge occasioned 
by the resignation of Seymour Dexter, and at the November election in 18'JO he was 
regularly elected for the ensuing term. In the practice of law Judge Taylor's prefer- 
ence was always for the criminal branch, and for the past fifteen years he has been 
connected with almost every important criminal trial in the county. 

Thacher, Charles C, son of Mowry, born in Hornellsville, N. Y., March 27, 1847, 
finished his education at Alfred University. He learned the trade of printer in Kansas 
City and followed it for twenty years. He came to Elmira in 1809 as foreman of the 
Advertiser, in which ca|iacity he served nine years, when lie became proprietor of the 
Lawrence Herald of Lawrence, Kan. In 1885 he was .selected manager of the Farm- 
ers Club Journal of Hornellsville, N. Y., and came to Elmira in 1889 to become assist- 
ant secretary of the Interstate Fair of that city. On June 23, 18(i9, he married Al- 
mira, daughter of Dea. Nelson Lockwood, of Hornellsville, N. Y. They have had two 
daughters, Caroline L. and Nellie M. Mowry Thacher was the son of Nathaniel, who 
was the great-grandson of the Rev. Peter, the first pastor of the Old South Church of 
Boston. Mowry Thacher came with his parents to Hornellsville when four years old. 
He marrieil ilalinda Livermore, of Oneida County. N. Y. They had eight children, 
VIZ.: Timothy D., Safl'ord M.. Lydia L., Eugenia M., Mary, Eugene t^Miincey, Charles C, 
and Gcorgiana. 

Q 



130 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Thompson, Oscar, born in Tio^'ii Connty, N. Y., Jniie 12, 1S44, was reared on a farm, 
and August 9, 18G2, enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Nuitli Infantry NewVork 
Volunteers, serving till tlie close of the war. July 4, 1864, he married Mary, daughter 
of Harry and Hannah Noyes, of Newark Valley, N. Y. They have three children, a 
son, Lavern 0., and two daughters, Minnie E. and Lillian E. Lavern 0. is a graduate 
of the College of Pharmacy, of the University of Buffalo, of the class of 1888, and is a 
druggist of Hornellsville. He married Grace L., daughter of Rev. S. E. Walworth, of Can- 
dor, October 14,1891. Mrs. O. Thompson's grandfather was a soldier in the Kevolution- 
ary war and in the War of 1812. Mr. Thompson has resided in Elrairafor fifteen years 
and in the county for twenty-five years. He is superintendent of building and re- 
pairs of tlie State Reformatory, which position he has held five years. He is a member 
of Baldwin Post, No. 6, Gr. A. R., of the I. O. O. F., and grand counselor of the State of 
New York of the Order of United Friends. 

Tidd, Charles, son of John, was born November 23, 1830. February 20, 1856, he 
married Clara L., daughter of John and Sarah Kingsbury, of Spencer. Mass. They have 
three children, viz.: Edward K., born October 19, 1859; Grant N., born February 11, 
18G5: and Anna W., born July 7, 1874. Edward K. Tidd married Carrie, only 
daughter of Edvvin L. Gage, of De Ruyter, Madison County, N. Y. Grant N. married 
May F., only daughter of Luther and Sarah Barney, of Ehnira. John Tidd was born 
in 1794 and served in the War of 1812. About 1825 he married Jane, daugliter of 
Thomas and Phebe Washburn, and they had four children : James W., Charles, Polly, 
and Jay. They came from Westchester County, N. Y., to Trumansburg, Tompkins 
County, N. Y., in 1838. 

Tompkins, Charles M., was born in Lawrenceville, Pa., in 1853. His father came to 
Elmira in 187tl, where Charles M. engaged in the grocery business in 1879 in partner- 
ship with W. J. Lormore, later, however, forming a co-partnership with his brother 
Ray. Mr. Tompkins is president of the Board of Trade and of the Elmira Building 
■Company, is park commissioner, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the 
Arnot-Ogden Hospital. Ray Tompkins was born in Pennsylvania in 1861 and gradu- 
ated at Yale College in the class of 1884. Upon leaving college he formed a partner- 
ship with his brother, which has since continued. The firm of C. M. & R. T. Tompkins 
had its inception when their father founded the business, and as a partner in 1879 with 
Mr. Lormore, who were succeeded six years later by Lormore Brothers. This concern 
was succeeded by Tompkins & Tompkins and in 1886 the present firm was formed. They 
are transacting a flourishing business. 

Tompkins, Stewart D., was born in Trumansburg, N. Y., April 27, 1863. He re- 
ceived his education in the Elmira schools and began business as clerk with his father, 
who was superintendent of schools in 1883, one year. He then engaged with Mr. 
Sayles in the grocery business and clerked for six months ; then he went on the road as 
a salesman for three and one-half years, and was probably the youngest and most suc- 
cessful man traveling. He then went with Bundy & Tompkins on the road, where he 
remained two years, and upon the organization of the present firm left the road and 
now does the buying. He devotes his entire time to the business. He was married in 
Elmira, December 6, 1888, to a daughter of Jabin A. Bundy, and they have two sons. 

Tompkins, William W., the head of the firm of Tompkins, Fassett & Crocker, was born 
in Trumansburg, N. Y., July 7, 1859, a son of Cornelius, now of Elmira, who originated 
;the present Board of Trade and a well known editor. William W. Tompkins was edu- 
cated in the common schools and when but sixteen years of age began clerking. In 
1887 he went into business for himself. He has been in Elmira continuously with the 
exception of one year, when he resided in Owego. He devotes his entire time to busi- 
ness. He married, in Elmira, a daughter of E. B. Smith in 1884, and they have one 
child. He is a member of the Park Congregational Church. 

Tompkins. Fassetl & Crocker. — In March, 1887, the firm of Bundy & Tompkins was 
.organized, composed of F. E. Bundy and W. W. Tompkins, doing busmess on Carroll 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. \■^\ 

street. The firm existed until July, 18S7, when the capital was increased and H. L. 
Fassett was admitte<l to partnership. In January, 188!), Mr. Bundy sold his interest; 
to K. B. Crocker and S. D. Tompkins was admitted to the firm. After moving several 
times they at length estalihsbe<l them.'elves in new and commodious quarters on State 
street in November, 1890. Tliey have six men on the road, hoth in New York and 
Pennsylvania, and employ in all about forty people. The firm is composed of energetic 
and practiced men and is doing an extensive business. They transact a large trade 
in smoked meats, known on the market as the " Crown Royal " brand, which they cure 
themselves, and have numerous other s[iecialties. 

Treadwell, Hezekiah D., was born at Deposit, Delaware County, N. Y., August 10, 
1819. His fallier, He/.ekiah, died when he was eleven years old, and he early learned 
the trade of bootmakmg. He came to Elmira in 1841, where he became prominently 
engaged in the boot and shoe trade. He married Rhoda Pratt in 18.5,5, and is now re- 
tired from active business, but is identified with the North Presbyterian Chapel on Col- 
lege avenue. His fatlier, a resident of Delaware County, married Julia Noble, of Ilani- 
den County, Mass., who Ijore him seven children, namely : Noble S., Sophia, Charles 
H., Hezekiah D., Conrad E., Samuel B., and John N. 

Tremaine, Warren H., was born in Lindleytown, Steuben County, N. Y., November 
2G, 1845. His father moved to Tioga County, Pa., where he died January 15, 1878, and 
Warren H. returned to Lindleytown in 1801, where he enlisted in Company D, One 
Hundred and Korty-first Infantry New York Volunteer,':, August 21, 1802. ]lis 
brothers, Lyman and Gilliert, enlisted about this time in the same regiment. There 
were six of the same family in the army at one time. W.arren H. served in the Army 
of the Potomac till after the battle of Gettysburg, when he was transferred to the Army 
of the Cumberland and was with General Sherman in his march to the sea. He was 
honorably discharged May 20, 1805, having served thirty-three months. Mr. Tremaine 
taught school and sold goods until 1870, when, on September 11th, he married Kva M., 
daughter of Dr. Henderson A. and Althea M. Phillips, of Knoxville, Pa., by whom he 
had one daughter, Bessie A., born October 5, 1878. Members of the family participated 
in the Revolutionary war and in the War of 1812. John, the father of Warren H,,was 
born in the State of New York, December 2, 1810, and married Abigail B. Goodwin, of 
Lowell, Mass, They had ten children, namely: Alinira M., Seth K., Lyman J., John 
A., Gilbert H.. Warren H., Abigail A., Orren A., Maria L., and Theodore M. His sec- 
ond wife was Betsey Whipple, by whom he^llad two children, Willis J. and Luther D. 

Trout, George W., born in Towanda, Pa., January 18, 1831, was a son of Andrew 
Trout, a native of Germany, who was drowned at Shomishin dam a short time before 
the birth of George W. Andrew Trout had five sons, three of whom served in the 
army, two being in the Mexican war. Capt. A. J. Trout, of the Fifth Pennsylvania 
Reserves, died at Williamsport. Pa., in November, 1800, aged sixty-six years. George 
W^. was a carpenter by trade. July 19, 1852, Mr. Trout boarded a vessel and traveled 
in foreign lands for three years, being in Hong Kong, China, on the coastsof Africa and 
Asia, in the Arctic region, and along the shores of Brazil, S.A. He enlisted at Willianiis- 
port. Pa., in 1802, in Company C, First Penn.sylvania Battalion, as private, being out 
about nine months. He re-enlisted in December, 1863, in New York city, in Company 
G, Sixteenth New York Heavy Artillery, remaining to the close of the war and coming 
out as corporal. Mr. Trout came from Williamsport to Elmira in 1870 and has lived 
here ever since as foreman for the firm of E. A. Swan. He was one of the organizers 
of the Col. H. C. Holfman Post, No. 000, G. A. R., in 1887. He has been senior and 
junior vice- commander and was made commander of the post in December, 1889. He 
was elected supervisor in the last election. George W. Trout married, in Steuben 
County, November 4, 1855, Miss Rachel Bechtel, and they have four sons, three of 
whom are in business in Elmira and one in Bradford, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Trout are 
members of the Methodist Kpisropnl Church. 



132 OUR COUNl Y AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Tiibbs, Harrison K., was born at Adrian, Mich , October 26, 1853, where lie first at- 
tended scliool. After the family returned to Klniira he graduated from the graded 
schools and commercial coUese of that city. In 1878 he entered the employ of the 
Northern Central Railway Company. Mr. Tubbs ha.s worked his way through the dif- 
ferent departments of the railway service and now occupies the respon.silile position of 
private secretary or cliief clerk to the superintendent, Spencer Meade. April 18, 18S2, 
he married Helen N., daughter of Peter A. and Samantha La France, of Elmira. They 
have one son, Howard Reynolds, V>orn May 26, 1883. Mr. Tubbs's father, Henry M., 
was born May 27, 1832, and married Harriett, daughter of Almon and Ber.sheba Kin- 
yon, of Southport (now Elmira.) They had three children : Ella, Harrison K. (as 
above mentioned), and Sibyl (i., Ella having died in infancy. The following transfer 
of property shows the early settlement of both families: Lands of Mrs. Harriet Tubbs. 
of Southport, patented by the State of New York, to John Jameson, 1703, lot No. 70, 
John Jameson to David G-riswold, 1706 (Tioga Courty Records, volume 1, page 157); 
David Griswokl to Enoch Kenyon, July 20, 1807 (Tioga County Records, volume 3. 
page 207) ; Enoch Kenyon to A. C. Kenyon by will July 31, 1830, (volume 59 of 
deeds, page 500) ; A. C. Kenyon to Harriet Tubbs (volume 13 of wills, page 629), at the 
surrogate's office. 

Tubbs, William, born in Ridgebury, Bradford County, Pa., March 2, 1805, was edu- 
cated in the public schools, and took a course of business instruction in a commercial 
college. In October, 1887, he began business life as a clerk for the Delaware, Lacka- 
wanna, and Western Railroad Company, and was promoted chief clerk on August 1, 
1891. He married, September 1, 1891, Minnie Wallace, of Elmira. His father was 
born in the town of Elmira in 1820, and married Matilda Kerrick, of Ridgebury, Pa. 
They had four children : Alta, Andrew, Charley, and William. 

Van Duzer, Edv/ard C, M.A., of the law firm of Turner & Van Duzer, was born in this 
county January 1, 1844. His father wasJaraes M. Van Duzer. His mother's maiden 
name was Turner, and she was descended from the Pilgrim Turners of the Mayflower. 
The Van Duzers came from Holland, and the great-grandfather of Edward was a cap- 
tain in the Revolutionary war. Edward C. was educated at Alfred University in 1865 
and graduated from Union College in Schenectady in 1807, the latter institution having 
conferred upon him the degrees of A.B. and A.M. He studied law under his uncle, James 
L. Woods, and was admitted to the bar in 1869. He soon after became a member of 
the firm of Turner, Dexter & Van Duzer, and since the retirement of Judge Dexter has 
been associated with Robert T. Turner. Mr. Van Duzer has served three terms in the 
office of city attorney, 1873, 1883, and 1884. He married, in Elmira in 1873, Harriet, 
daughter of the late Henry S. Brooks, and has three children. 

Van Gordon, Robert B, was born in Delaware County, N. T., December 25, 1839. 
When a year and a half old his parents moved with him to Chemung, where they lived 
and died. He was reared on a farm and received a district school education. April 
16, 186 1, he enlisted in Company K, Twenty-third Infantry New York Volunteers, and 
was honorably discharged January 1, 1803, for plu'sioal disability. November 4, 1864. 
he married Mrs. Louisa (Parshall) Bovier. He was a farmer in Southport and Ashland 
up to 1876, since which time he has been a re.sident of Elmira and followed the busi- 
ness of engineer and dealer in real estate. He is a member and past commander of Bald- 
win Post, No. 6, G. A. R., is also a prominent member of the Ma.sonic order, being past 
master of Union Lodge, No. 95, F. and A. M., a member of Elniira Chapter, No. 42, of St. 
Omer's Commandery, No. 19, of Damascus Temple Mystric Shrine of Rochester, and of 
Corning Consistory Scottish Rite. His father, Simon, born in Ulster County in 1799, 
died \n 1890. He married Jane Kish, of his native county, by whom he had nine eliil- 
dren, five boys and four girls. The family are of Dutch descent. The great-grand- 
father. John, was in the Revolutionary war, and the grandfather, Lawrance, served in 
the War of 1812. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 133 

Van Kiiren, William H., born in Bradford County, Pa., February IG, 1861, was edu- 
cated in the district schools, and July 5, 1880, entered the employ of the Northern 
Central Railroad Company, Octolier 29tli beinj; promoted freight conductor. February 
18, 1885, he married Julia, daughter of John and Louise Knurr. They reside on the 
south side. His father, James E., was born July 23, 1819, and April 19, 1843, married 
Xancy J. McCann, formerly of Orange County, N. Y. They had six children: Clarissa, 
Annie, Chark P., John F., Hiram E,, and William H. 

Van Wormer, Theodore, born in Chemung County, December 25, 1847, was educated 
in the pulilic .schools and enlisted in the army twice, first, on September 24, 1861, in 
Company B, Thirty-eighth Infantry New York Volunteers, and second in Company L, 
First Veteran Cavalry New York Volunteers. He was honorably discharged at the 
close of the war as duty-.sergeant. May 24, 1873, he married Adelia Palmer, of Corn- 
ing, by whom he has two children: Archie, born February 10, 1874, and Mildred, born 
April 18, 1876. Mr. Van Wormer has been in the employ of the New York, Lake Erie, 
and Western Railroad Company for twenty -five years, having been locomotive engin- 
eer since 1870. His father, Aaron, was born in the Mohawk Valley in 1800. He mar- 
ried twice, his second wife being Eliza Mapes, formerly of Orange County, N. Y. 
They had four children : Francis, Orlando, Theodore, and George. 

Vincent, James K., was born in Elmira on November 26, 1844, and on August 6, 
1862, enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Thirteenth Infantry New York Vol- 
unteers (afterward consolidate<l with Company A, Seventh New York Heavy Artillery). 
At the battle of Ream's Station Mr. Vincent was wounded and taken prisoner August 
25, 1864. Ke was honorably discharged July 21, 1865. On April 3, 187U, he married 
Angeline Dickson, of Potter County. Pa. He has by his first wife one daughter, 
Blanche, born December 15, 1880. He married, second, May 24, 1801, Rosse Reed, of 
Elmira. Mr. Vincent has held a variety of positions. He is now doing business at 
527 East Union street, Elmira. 

Wale.s, Theron A., M.D., secretary of the local board of United States pension ex- 
aminers, was born at Weymouth, \Iass,, July 15, 1842. He received his literary edu- 
<:ation at Dartmouth College and the University of Michigan, and was graduated from 
the Medical Department of the University of Penn.sylvania in the class of '73. He 
began the practice of his profession at once after leaving college, and has remained in 
Elmira, where his superior literary attainments have gained him reputation as a writer 
upon various topics. His professional skill is fully recognized in the community. He 
is a member of the Chemung County Medical Society, the New York State Medical 
Association, the American Medical Association, and was a delegate to the International 
Medical Congress which met at Washington, D. C, in 1887. Dr. Wales married, in 
Elmira in September, 1872, Miss Zippie Brooks, a native of Winhall, Vt. Immediately 
after her marriage Mrs. Wales took up the study of medicine and on the 12tli of March, 
1873, was graduated from the Woman's Medical College at Philadelphia. Associated 
with her husband she devotes her time to the successful practice of medicine in its 
various branches, but with especial reference to the diseases of women and children. 

Ward, James N., attorney, was born in Chautauqua County, N. Y., February 20, 
1852. He was educated at the Almond Academy, read law in the office of Hon. 6. L 
Smith and with Turner, Dexter & Van Duzer. of this city, and was admitted to the bar 
in September, 1878. He remained in the office of his last named preceptors till 1887, 
since when he has had no partnership associates. Mr. Ward is secretary of the Che- 
mung Valley Mutual Loan Association, a position he has held since April, 1882. In 
October, 1882. upon the formation of the Elmira Fire Underwriters Association, lie was 
chosen its secretary without his solicitation, or even knowledge that such an organiza- 
tion was contemplated, and has held the position ever since with the added one of 
treMurer of the association. He is a member of the ifasonic fraternity, being a past 
master of Ivy Lodge, No. 397, a K. T., and a 32° member of Corning Consistory. He 
married a descendant of one of the original settlers of the county, Mary E., a daughter 
of the late Morris Seely. 



134 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Ware, AVilliara M., a veteran of the Rebellion, was born in Danville, Pa., March 22, 
1840. He enlisted September 10, 1S62, in Company I, One Hundred and Korty-fnst 
Infantry New York Volunteers. He was promoted duty and orderly-sergeant and 
second lieutenant and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. Mr. Ware 
has resided in Chemung County lor thirty years. April (i, 186(;, he married Mary 
Powler, and they had seven children, five of whom are living: William D., Albert l\.. 
Chauncy B.. Edith M., and Jessie K. For his second wife he married Anna H. Fowler. 
Mr. Ware is pro])rietor of the palace bath rooms in the Robinson block on Lake street, 
Elmira. Albert R., his son, acts as manager and Chauncy B., another son, has charge 
of the office. 

Webb, George F., was born in Chemung, September 18, 1811, was educated in the 
public schools, and for many years followed the occupation of farming. December 24, 
1860, he married Hettie, yonogest daughter of Simeon and Maria Wilbur. They have 
two children, Henry A. and Libbie S. Henry A. married Minnie Johnson and by her 
has three children : George R., Albnrtus J., and Hettie L. Libbie S. married John \V. 
Neish, formerly of Horseheads. Mr. Webb has held the position of foreman of the car 
repair shops of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company for eighteen years. His father, 
Anson, was born in New Haven, Conn,, in 1805, and married Alvira Burnham, form- 
erly of Chemung, and their eight children were Ruth, Amanda, Deborah A., Asahel, 
John L., George F., Howell, and Aden B. 

Wehnes, Conrad, was born in Canada, April 2, 1856. He was educated in their 
public schools until he was ten years old. In 1866 the family came to the United 
States and located in Elmira. February 24, 1872, he entered the employ of the Lehigh 
Railroad Company and is now agent at Elmira, having succeeded the late J. S. Sheafe 
in that position August 1, 1891. July 5, 1883, he married Emma W., only daughter of 
Thomas and Emily Wellman, of Springfield, Pa. They have one son and two adopted 
daughters: Grove W., born August 18, 1884, and Grace and Nellie. His father, 
Michael, was born in Hesse- Darmstadt, Germany, in 1825, and came to Canada in 
1853. He married Catherine Ruppersberger, of his native place, by whom he had seven 
children, four of whom survive: Conrad, Lizzie, Kattie, and Mary. 

Wells, Horace D., born in Wellsliurg, October 15, 1831, attended the common schools 
and the Homer Academy. October 18, 1860, lie married Jane Burt, of Ridgebury, Pa., 
and has been a resilient of Elmira since 1861. They have three children: Bessie E., 
who married Grant H. Jones, of Corning, and Bertha O. and Tom B., both of whom re- 
side with their parents. Mrs. Wells has carried on a floral business for sixteen years, 
her husband acting as manager. His father, Abiier Wells, was born in Wellsliurg in 
1801 and married Orpah, daughter of Solomon Smith, one of the earliest settlers of 
Southport. They had five children. His grandfather, Henry, was Judge Wells, one of 
the earhest settlers of Wellsburg. 

Westlake, John A., M.D., city physician and police surgeon of the city of Elmira, 
was born at Horseheads, August 2, 1846, only son of Harrison Westlake, now of Steu- 
ben County. After a thorough academic training he turned his attention to the study 
of medicine and in the spring of 1877 was graduated from the Medical Department of 
the University of New York. The first four years of his professional life were passed 
at Cooperstown, N. V., and he then spent two years in Havana, Schuyler County, N. Y. 
From 1882 to 1886 he held the position of surgeon to the Northern Pacific Railroad 
with headquarters at St. Paul, Minn. In January. 1886, he located in Elmira and in 
1887 was made county physician. At the present time he is serving the closing part 
of his second term as city physician. Professing no specialty, but adhering to a general 
practice and the ethics of the regular school of physicians, Dr. Westlake is, neverthele.ss, 
an enthusiast on electricity as applied to the treatment of disease, and to that element 
in the advanced methods in its application in the hands of experts he looks for won- 
derful results. This is not a new subject with him, for he read the first paper before the 
Elmira Academy of Medicine on this topic. He is a member of the various local med- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 135 

ical societies, the Masonic Fratcinily, and the I. (). R. if. Dr. Westlake entered the 
array in 1862 as a private soldier in Company C, Fifth New York Heavy Artillery, 
served two and one-half years, and was mustered out with the rank of sergeant-major. 
He was married in lialtiMiore in 1869 to Miss Kate Call, and has two children. Dr. 
Westlake is the proprietor of the Queen City Medical and Surgical Sanitarium at 121!) 
Lake street, Elmira, an institution that has attained considerable prominence as a 
health-giving and vigor-restoring place of resort. 

Weyer, J. Phillip, who was born in IIcsse-Darmstadt, Germany, April 26, 1836, 
was educated in that country, and by occupation was a millwright and machinist. In 
March, 18f)G, he came to America, and June 27, 1861, married Alhertina Pautz, who 
was horn in Colhnrg, Prussia, May 19, 183G. Their children are: Otto \V., Laura E., 
Dora E. , and Julia. Otto W. is a distinguished attorney in Bufl'alo. Mr. We3er is an 
extensive brick manufacturer and a member of the Crystal Ice Company. His yard is 
on the cornerof Sullivan and Pattin.son streets and has a capacity of 3,000,000 brick an- 
nually. He has been a resident of Elmira for thirty-five years. 

Wheaton, Calvin S., who was born at Hall's Corners, Ontario County, N. Y., Decem- 
ber 4, 184G. received a common school education, and in 1873 began work on the rail- 
road. He was made conductor after serving as brakeman for six months, and held that 
position for ten years, being elected in the meantime to the executive oflice of the Na- 
tional Order of Railway Conductors, which position he al.>;o held for ten years. The 
order under his administration grew from 800 to 1,400 members, being now one of the 
permanent organizations of the country. He married, first, December 9, 1868, Jennie 
Smith, of Hall's Corners, and they had one daughter, Jessie M., born July 4, 1870. His 
second wife, whom he married August 12, 1876, was Frances L., daughter of the late 
James W. Bowen, one of the first settlers of this county. His uncle, Seth Stanley, 
represented Ontario County in the legislature of 1873 or 1874. Henry Wheaton, the 
father, was born at Hall's Corners, February 10, 1830. and married Emily W., daughter, 
of Lucius and Polly Stanley in 184,5, and their four children are: Calviu S., George M., 
Jennie E., and Seth S. 

White, Merritt P., born in Connecticut on March 4, 1831, was educated in the com- 
mon schools and spent two years in the academy at Warren, Mass. On February 16, 
1860, he married Susan P. Adams, of Westford, Conn. In 1863 he enlisted in the 
Fourteenth Heavy Artillery New York Volunteers and was honorably discharged in 
1865. Mr. and Mrs. White have had eight children, of whom four survive, viz.: 
Harvey W., Charles A., Paul A., and William C. Mr. White is a member of Baldwin 
Post, No. G, G. A. R., of Elmira, and is also a Free Mason. His father, Moses White, 
was born in Uxbridge, Mass., April 26, 1790, and married Betsey Paul, of Tolland 
County, Conn., December 1, 1814, by whom he had six children: Julia, Laura, Marcia, 
Moses, Merritt P., and Cornelia. Mr. and Mrs. White are lineal descendants of the 
original families of White and Adams familiarly known among the early settlers of New 
England. 

Wilcox, H. D., of the law firm of Edminster & Wilcox, was born in Bradford County, 
Pa., January 24, 1855. From the age of seventeen to twenty he taught school and in 
1875 took up the study of law in tlie office of Hon. G. L. Smith, of Elmira. He was 
admitted to the bar in 1879 and in the spring of 1882 was elected justice of the peace. 
A[r. Wilcox is an expert stenographer and for three years was employed as a teacher of 
that art in the Elmira School of Commerce. 

Williams, Charles W., born at Carbondale, Pa., May 6, 18.59, w.ts educated in the 
common schools and Deposit Academy, and came to Elmira in 1880. beginning life as 
clerk with the Commercial Express Fast Freight Line. In 1885 he w.-us promoted 
traveling agent and February 28, 1890, he became general freight and pa.«senger agent 
for the Elmira, Cortland, and Northern Railroad Company. Jime 10, 1885, he married 
Margaret, oldest daughter of William and Sarah Reese, of Danville, Pa. They had one 
Bon, David S., who died in infancy. Mr. William.s's father, David, was born in South 



136 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Wales, England, and married Margaretta Jones, of his native place. They had twelve 
children, seven of wliom are livint;: Benjamin, Maria, Margaret, John W., Charles W., 
Sarah \V., and Elizabeth R. They uame to the United States in 1841 and located in 
Pennsylvania. 

Williams. Daniel F., was born in Bainbridge (now Afton), May 18, 1843, attended the 
district schools, and in early life was a farmer. July 4, 1861, he enlisted in Company 
D, Twenty-seventh Infantry New York Volunteers, and was lionorably discharged May 
31, 18G3. He married twice, first, in 1SG3, Lovina Hopkins, of Ninevah, who died in 
1864. By his first marriage there were no children. For his second wife he married 
Margaret, daughter of Robert and Fanny Sly, of Ashland. They have five children : 
Estella, born June 3, 1872; Charles N., born Mav 30, 1874; George F., born August 
12, 1878; Cora P., born January 29, 1882; and Mmnie, born August 1.5, 1S83. The 
Williams family on the paternal side are Welch and on the maternal side English. His 
father, Jeremiali L., was born in Bainbridge (now Afton), Chenango County, X. Y., 
about 1818, and married Eleanor Alger, of Cooperstown, N. Y., by whom he had seven 
children : Eliza Jane, Lavinia, Daniel F., Emory, Lucy, Charles, and Josephine. 

Williams, John D., 33", was born in Elniira, October 6, 1820, a son of William Williams, 
of Wales, who was born in 1788, came to America in 1801, and removed to Ehnira on 
February 13, 1818. Up to that time lie liad followed the trade of tanner and currier 
in Orange County. He died in 1850. He was inspector of sole leather by the appoint- 
ment of Governor Seward, and was also collector of the village of Ehnira. He was a 
prominent Mason, being J. W. of Union Lodge, No. 30, and reared five sons, of whom 
three are living. The oldest, John D., was educated at the common school.*, learned 
the trade of tanner and currier, and followed it from the age of sixteen till twenty-four. 
In 185(5-.o7 he was State clerk and collector of the Chennnig Canal at Horseheads and 
from 1858-63 was collector on the Junction Canal in BImira. From April, 1864, to 
October 4, 1890, he was paymaster of the Elmira rolling-mill. He was five years col- 
lector of taxes of Big Flats, eight years a justice of the peace, and served ten terms as 
supervisor since living in Elmira. He is a Mason, a member of Union Lodge, No. 95, 
F. and A. M., of Elmira Chapter, No. 42, of the Southern Tier Council, No. IG, and is 
past grand master of the State of that rite. He is also a member of St. Omer's Com- 
mander}', No. 19, K. T., of Corning Consistory A. and A. Z., and of the Supreme Council, 
Northern Jurisdiction of the United States. He was made a 33" Mason on November 
17, 1871, in Boston. Mr. Williams has been high priest of Elmira Chapter for six terms, 
commander of St. Omer's two terms, and is a member of the B, P. 0. E., the I. O. R. M., 
and the Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Mecca Temple, New 
York city. He was one of the Elmira Guards in 1838, is honorary member of tiie 
Thirtieth Separate Company, and was for three years school commissioner. He mar- 
ried, in Big Flats in 1852, Mary J. Hott'man, who died in 18.54. leaving an only son. 
His second marriage occurred at Horseheads on February 22, I860, to Miss Adaline 
Saylor. The father of John D., in partnership with Isaac Roe, started the tanning busi- 
ness in 1818. They were partners eight years. 

Williamson, John C, a carpenter and joiner by vocation, was born in Steuben County, 
N. Y., May 11, 1861. Shortly after learning his trade he became a contractor and 
builder. In 1883 he married Estella Sutton, of Wellsville, N. Y., and they have two 
children. Edward, born in 1886, and Florence, born in 1891. Since Mr. Williamson 
has resided in Elmira he has taken a leading position among the contractors and builders 
of the city. 

Willison, Newlove, born in East Bloomfield, Ontario County, N. Y., December 1, 
1840. tnoved with his parents to West Bloomfield, N. Y., in 1843, where he w.is edu- 
cated in the public schools, supplemented by several terms of academic instruction. 
August 22, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Forty-eighth Infantry 
New York Volunteers, as private, and participated in many severe eng.igements. Oc- 
tober 27, 1864, he was wounded in the battle of Fair Oaks, and June 22, 1865, at the 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. i:57 

close of the war, he was honoralily ilisihargeil with ins legiinent as orderly-sergeant. 
March 23, 1807, he iiiarrieil Ellen E. CanlieUI, of West liloomfield, N. Y. They have 
two sons, Frank C, born February SJ, 18(18, who married Mary Linberger, October 21, 
1891; and Thomas M., born April 11, 1809. In 1872 the family moved to Elmira. Mr. 
Willison was general manager ni (louring and planing-mills here for eight years. July 
1, 1890, he opened a pension and claim oltice at No. 138 East Water street. He is a 
duly recognized attorney at the general pension office at Washington, D. C, for the 
prosecution of all pension claims. C. H. I'otter is as.sociated with him. In politics he 
identifies him.^elf with the Republican party and has held various positions of official 
trust. He is a member of L. Edgar Fitch Post, No. 105, G. A. R., was elected its com- 
mander in 1808, and was its representative at the Slate Encampment on thiee dilTerent 
occasions. He was aid on the department commander's staff in 1890 and was also aid 
on the national commander's stall' in 1891. The ancestry of the family is English. 

Wiukel, John K., was born in Germany, June 20, 1856, and came with his parents to 
England in 18C9. About 1871 they came to America, locating in Elmira. He was by 
occupation a butcher, and while he lived conducted a fine and profitable trade in the 
meat business. January 22, 1877, he married Kate, only daughter of George Bien, by 
whom he had three children: Minnie M., Henry A., and Carrie A. Mr. Winkel was 
drowned while bathing on June 17, 1883. Mrs. Winkel and family reside on High street. 
Woods, James Lawrence, attorney and counselor-al-law, was born in 1819 in Oneida 
County, N. Y. His father and grandfather were lawyers. The grandfather was born 
in the North of Ireland in 1775 and came to this country when eleven years old. 
James L. studied law with his grandfather and his father, and in 18-11 came to this 
county and entered the office of Gray & Hathaway (Hiram Gray and Samuel G. Hath- 
away, jr.), where he pursued his studies until February, 1846, when, Mr. Gray having 
been appointed judge and vice-chancellor, the firm of Diven. Hathaway & Woods was 
formed. They continued business together in Elmira until during (he Civil war Diven 
and Hathaway entered (he army, Mr. Diven as colonel of the One Hundred and Seventh 
and Colonel Hathaway of the One Hundred and Foriy-first Regiments New York 
Volunteers. Mr. Wood continued in business until September, 1805, when his health 
failed, compelling him to relinquish active practice. Up to that time he had led an in- 
dustrious life and was very temperate in many things. He does not blush when he 
confesses that he has never held any public office that was of any pecuniary profit or, 
(as he thinks, any honor to him, but declares that he has rendered an equivalent for all 
*he has received for public service. Whether he has been as scrupulous in other relations 
of life, or whether he has sought reputation by means equally as delusive, he declines to 
answer, insisting that, as this brief notice can give but little of his life or character, 
those matters with all the rest must be left to his friends and enemies. He thinks he 
has many of the former and few of the latter, and he is vain in supposing that his best 
friends are a very few who know him — even many of his faults — and are competent 
to judge him. He quotes this verse, though he does not claim for himself any relation 
to the sentiment of it, from memory : 

" O living friends who love me ! 

dear ones gone above me I 
Careless of other fame, 

1 leave to you my name. 
Hide it from idle praises ; 
Save it from evil phrases : 

Why, when the loving lips that spake it 
Are dumb, should strangers take it':'" 
As an aiioriicy Mr. Woods occupies a high station and as a man has won the esteem 
and regard of the community. He has been twice married. His first wife was Susan 
Van Duzer, daughter of William Van Duzer. She died in 1866. In 1870 he was mar- 
ried to Emma Dickinson, a daughter of the late A. B. Dickinson. She died July 22, 1887. 



138 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Wright, William E., rector of Grace Churcli, was l>orn in Newark, N. J., February 6, 
1850. He was a stiulent at the Universit}' of New York and received his theoloojical 
traininjj under the direction of the Rt. Rev. John Scarboroush, D.D., Bishop of New 
Jersey, and \va.s ordained by liim in St. Marv's Church at Burhnglon, N. J., June 8, 
1884. He marrie<l Klla, daughter of Hon. N. W. Vail, of Miildletown, N. Y. Mr. Vail 
was formerly a member of the legislature of Pennsylvania and was afterward appointed 
supervising architect of the State Asylum at ^Iiddletown by the late ex-Governor 
Robinson. 

Wrigley, Isaac, was born in Delphi, West Rideing, Yorkshire, England, December 27, 
1845. He came to the United States in 1865 and located at Little Falls, Herkimer 
County, N. Y. In 18GG he married Mary Pott.s, formerly of Scotland, and they have 
three children : ilinnie E., who married Willis E. Lyon; I. Edward, wdio married Libbie 
B. lireatliwaite; and Garret. Mr. Wrigley is foreman of the weaving department of 
the Elmira woolen-mills and resides on the south side in the Fifth ward. 

Wyckoff. Arcalous, was born in Warren County, N. J., April 10, 1816. His parents 
moved to Tompkins County, N. Y'., in 1817, where he was educated in the public .schools. 
He remained at home until twenty-five years old. In 1841 he came to Wellsburg, 
Chemung County. He married three times, first, ilay 29, 1842, Frances G., daughter 
of Dr. Hopkins, of Wellsburg, by whom he had four sons, two of whom died in infancy 
and two grew to manhood: George W, and Ernest L. His first wife died August 10, 
1854. For his second wife he married. May 10, 1857, Melissa D. Treeman, who died 
August .31, 18G5. For his third wife he married, April 10, 1877. Caroline C. Benedict 
Hull, of Elmira, N. Y. His son George W. married Sibyl Welling, of Orange County, 
N. Y., January 26, 1870. He died in 1883 aged forty years. Ernest L., the only sur- 
viving son. was born in Elmi^'a, June 20, 1852, and was educated in the public schools 
of the city. February 7, 1872, he married Alice C. Brooks, of Owego, Tioga County, 
N. Y. Mr. WyckofF, soon after arriving at Wellsburg, in 1841, began to manufact- 
ure fanning-mills and potash and also conducted a general grocery business. About 
1851 he moved to Elmira and began the manufacture of chain pumps, but soon went 
to Tompkins County and various other places in the State of Ohio, returning to Elmira 
in 1854, where he has since made his permanent home. He then began to manufacture 
wood water pipe and chain pumps, which have been appreciated by their patrons and 
financially successful to the proprietors. George W. and Ernest L. were associated 
with their father in the business until the death of George W. The business is now' 
carried on under the firm name of A. Wyckoflf & Son. Mr. Wyckoff is the inventor and ' 
patentee of several useful inventions. 

Wyley, Thomas, born in Selkirk, Scotland, August 18, 1832, came to America in 
1854 and located at Lawrence, Mass. He is a dyer by occupation and is foreman of 
•the dye-room in the Elmira woolen-mill. In 1863 he enlisted in Company A, One Hun- 
•dred and Nmety-eighth Infantry Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was honorably discharged 
in 18()5. The First Division of his corps received the arms surrendered by Lee's army, 
Mr. Wyley is a permanent resident of Elmira. 

Yerger, Bertram, born at Cologne, Germany, January 22, 1849, came to the United 
.States in 1866, and located in Rochester, N. Y., where he was educated. December 30, 
1869, he married Ellen Keogh, of Ithaca, and they have four surviving children, namely : 
Bertram J., born June 10, 1875; Kate M., born July 17, 1878; Ellen E,, born June 3, 
1880; and William C, born February 2, 1882. Mr. Yerger is a stonecutter by occu- 
pation and employs six men. He has resided in Elmira for eighteen years. His father, 
Joseph Yerger, born in Germany, married Margaret Pitkin, who bore him four chil- 
dren. They came to this country in 18.54 and he shortlj' afterward died of cholera. 

Young, John, born in Bavaria, German}', in 1834, was educated in the public schools 
■of that place and served a regular apprenticeship at the tailoring business. In 1857 he 
came to America in the sading vessel Oeorge Canning and first located in Baltimore, 
Md. In 1861 he went to Washington, D. C, where he remained until 1865, when he 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 13!> 

removeii to Philadelphia, Pa., where lie remained two years. In 18C7 he came to 
Elmira. wliere he lias since resided. He formed a co-parnership in the merchant tailor- 
ing liusiness under the firm name of Stowell tt Young. October 13, 1859, he married 
Adamine Hehns. of Baltimore, hut formerly of Hamlmrg, Germany. Mr. Young is a 
member of Union Lodge F. and A. M., of the Commandry, and of several other socie- 
ties. They reside on Maple avenue in Elmira. 

Toumans, Edward B., attorney at law, was horn at Otego, Otsego County, N. Y., 
May 15, 183li. He was educated at the Deliiware (N. Y.) Institute and the Delhi 
(N.Y'.) Academy. He began the study of law at Delhi in 1862, and was about twen- 
ty-five years of age when admitted to the bar. He was associated with his brother in 
the practice of law at Delhi until 1867, when he removed to his native place and passed 
the succeeding five years. In 1872 he removed to Elmira, where he has since prac- 
ticed his profession. He is prominent m Democratic politics and one of the foremost 
workers in educational afifairs. On the 15th of July, 1885, he received the appointment 
of chief clerk of the Treasury Department at Washington, which office he held until his 
resignation April 1, 1889. ilr. Youmans then relumed to Elmira (February, 1890) and 
resumed his practice as the head of the firm of Youmans, Moss & Knipp. Mr. You- 
mans was married in Elmira on the 25th of February, 18G8, to a daughter of the late 
Dr. D. A. Towner, and has three children, one son and two daughters. The family are 
communicants of the Episcopal Church and ilr. Youmans is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity. 



APPENDIX. 



The following personal references were received by llie publishers too 
late for insertion in the regular alphabetical list : 

ELMIRA. 

Birmingham, Michael, was born in County Clare, Ireland, about 1S17, and came to the 
United States in 1840, first locating in Elmira. October 30, 18-12, he married Julia 
Harrington, of County Cork, Ireland, by whom he had twelve children, of whom seven 
survive, viz.: Mary, James, Margaret, Ellen, Elizabeth, Edward, and Fred. Mary mar- 
ried Timothy Lucy, Margaret married Charles Richardson, and Edward married Mary 
McCormick. James Birmingham is one of Elmira's thrifty farmers. He was elected 
supervisor in 1889 and 1890, and was chairman of the board the la.ist term. 

Holbert, George VV., born in Minisink, Orange County, N. X ., September 13, 1835, 
came with his parents to Broome Count}', N. Y., when seven years old. There they 
remained three years, when they came lo this county. George W. was educated in the 
common schools and in Deckertown .\cademy, and October 13, 185!», married Barbara 
Badger, of Union, Broome County. They had five children: Charles, who married 
Mary V. Goodspeed and located in Kno.wille, Pa.; Frank, who married Sarah Cox, of 
Deckertown, N. J., and resides at Union, Broome County, N. Y .; Judd and Tarcy B., 
who live at home; and George \V., who died in infancy. Mr. Holbert, on October 2, 
18G1, enlisted in Company K, Twenty-third New York Infantry Volunteers, and was 
honoralily discharged on a surgeon's certificate of disability. He has resided in the 
county for forty-si-X years, and lias brcn iriwn clerk and ju.^tice of the peace for several 
years. 



140 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Newkirk, John, liorn in Ulster County, N. V., in ITitO, married Amy Burhance, who 
was born in Dover, Dutchess County, in February, 1806. They had nine children, live 
of whom grew to maturity: Milton, Nellie, Isaac, Ann M., and Rachel. Milton New- 
kirk, born September 18, 1824, was edm^ated in the public schools, and came first with 
his parents to Pennsylvania when a small bov. Thence they moved to Tompkins Couutv, 
N. v., and when he was twenty-one years old they came to Chemung County. Even 
at that date the farm he now owns was all timber, Mr, Newkirk in politics is a Dem- 
ocrat and was chosen by his townsmen in 1877 as supervisor, continuing in office four 
years. He has been assessor seven years and has served as justice of the neace six 
years. His gi-andl'ather, Isaac Newkirk, was a soldier in the Revolution. The family 
first came to America about 1635. They are of English and Dutch descent. 

Stannard, Frank E., is a son of Gdes, who was born July 12, 1812, and who married 
Lydia J, Hunt, of Greene County, N, Y. They had twelve children, of whom five 
grew to maturity, VIZ.: Martha, who married, first, Adelbert Hollenheek. and second. 
John Boardman, of Elmira; Mina A., who married Fiank Monroe, of Chemung; Maggie 
C, who married Daj-win Felter, of Binghamton; Hattie F., of Binghamton; and Frank 
E., born September 10, 1849, in Cayuga County, N. Y. The latter was educated 
in the public schools and is a farmer by occupation. April 6. 1875, he married Nettie 
Terwillinger, of Horseheads, and tliey have two children : Dana C, born October 14, 
1876, and Dora B., born January IS, 1878. Mr. Stannard is an ardent Democrat. The 
ancestry of the family on his side is English and German, vvliile on hers it is German 
and Frencli. 

Williamson, Oscar S., M.D., born in Steuben County, N. Y., August 7, 1848, received 
his education in the select schools of his native town, and began the study of medicine 
in the oftice of Dr. W. R. Crocker, of Cameron, N, Y. (since deceased). At the age of 
twenty-iwo he entered the University of New York city and was graduated in 1874 
from its medical department. On leaving college he began practicing at Greenwood, 
N. Y., where he remained until coming to Elmna. In the year 1886-87 he took a post- 
graduate course in medicine. He has made the diseases of women and the practice of 
surgery his sjiecialty, though he devotes time to the practice of other branches of his 
profession. Dr. Williamson is a member of the Chemung Medical Society, of the 
Steuben Medical Society, and of the Hornellsville Academy of Medicine, and has been 
coroner of Sleuben County three years. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity 
and of the B. O. H. M. He was married at Cameron, N. Y. 

SOUTHPORT. 

Burlew, William, was born in New Jersey and moved to Tompkins County eighty- 
eight years ago. He was a soldier in the Revolution and in the War of 1812. By his 
wife, Catherine, he had horn to him seven sons and two daughters : William, John, 
Frederick, David, Millen (born in New Jersey), Miner, Samuel, Samantha, and Eliza. 
Millen Burlew died at Roseville, Tioga Comity, Pa., aged seventy-one years. He was 
a carpenter and joiner by trade. He married Betsey E., daughter of Abram Updyke, 
and they had these children : John, George, Chaiies, William, Catharine, Samuel, Eliza, 
Cynthia, and Oliver. The latter was born in Enfield, Tompkins County, N. Y., No- 
vember 17, 1833, and married, January 2, 18.55, Laura, daughter of Jacob and Sally 
Benson, by whom he had two children, Howard and Annie. He married, second, Char- 
lotte, daughter of Granville and Catharine Jones, and their children are Alfred, Willie, 
and John. Mr. Burlew is the proprietor of the Pine City Hotel on the plank road in 
Southport. 

Gardner, Jacob, was born in Prussia, wdiere he lived and died in 1830 at the age of 
sixty years. He married Elizabeth Kes.sler, who died in Southport in 1855 at the age 
of seventy years. Daniel Gardner, born in Trenewire, Prussia, September 12, 1820, 
<;ame to Southport, N. Y., and cleared a farm where he died May 3, 1885, aged sixty- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 141 

five years. He married Elizabeth, daughter of John and Susannah Ilamm, and his 
children are Wilham, Katie, Cliarles, Mary, Rose, Adam, Minnie, Emma, Lizzie, and 
Lena. The latter married John Motsclmian, and their cliildren are Adam and Lizzie. 
Lizzie married An;.;iist Kuster, by wliom she had two cliildren, Lizzie and Freddy. 
Emma married Joe McCann, and tliej- have one child, Archie. Minnie married Jacob 
Hiesbeck, and their children are Emil, Lizzie, Louie, and Adam. The latter married 
Liyd. No children were horn to them. Rosa married George Eftenberger and their 
children are Louisa and George. Mary married Emil Schaple; their children are Lizzie, 
Laura, and Emma Charles married ITenerietta Sohmitt, and their children are Daniel, 
Louisa, Emma, and Leroy. Katie married Godfrey Bierwiler; they have two children, 
Charles and Willie. William married Mary Hostedder, by whom he has these children : 
Freddy, Charles, Willie, Walter, and Eddy. Elizabeth Gardner survives her husband at 
the age of sixty-seven years, residing upon the Gardner homestead. 



PART vm. 

Index. 



Seek, and ye shall find. — Luke x\.: (). 

Then there was great exploration, scrutinizing, and searching among the old 
•parchments and vellum with which many of the closets and convenient nooks ant! 
niches were piled. But there had been neither regularity nor method heretolore 
in the keeping of the minutes, notes, and chronicles. Then the .'\bbott ordered 
that several of the younger brothers who were apt and discerning should separate 

distinguish, and set apart each by itself the various enrollments and record.s. T/ie 

Venerable Bede. 



PART VIII. 

Index. 



ABBOTT, JOSEPH, 3G.5. 
Al)olitioni,sni in wartimes, 184-188. 
Academy oi Medicine, 3IJ1. 

of Our Lady of the Angels, 188. 

of Sciences, .333. 
Acme Ho.se Company, -175. 
Adams, Miss Libbie, 401. 
Adffrtiser, Elmira, 181, 400, 403. 
African M. E. Zion Chnrcli (^colored), 294. 

Unio'i M. P. Cliurcli (colored), 294. 
Agents of llie Erie Kadroad at Elmira, 339. 

al Hif; Flats, 340. 

at llorselieads or North Eltnira, 340. 
" American Girl ' and her tragic death, 387. 
American flotel, the, 137. 
America's Oicn, 401. 
Ainusenients of the village and city, 383. 
Anti- slavery sentiment in the county, 184. 
Arbonr. the restaurant of Geo. Jones, 392. 
Archibald. Mrs. George, 308. 
Armory, the, erected, 396. 
Armstrong, Jo.seph, 390. 

Wdliani A.. .389. 
Arnot posioflice, 4(i3. 
Arnot, John, and family, 114-117. 

John, jr., the first mayor, 351. 

Memorial Chapel, 2S8. 

-0;,'den Memorial Hospital, 330. 
Artillery and cavalry regiments, 249-259. 
Ashland, town of, .-i04, 

erected, 36.5. 

battlefield of Newtown, .505. 

settlers, 506. 

first church edifice, 508. 

Wellsburg, 508. 

postmasters, 512. 

churches in Wellsburg, 513. 



Ashland, Lowmanville. 517. 

postmaster.* of Lowmanville, 518. 

railway facilities at l.owmati's, 51ft, 

wells, 519. 

natural gas, 520. 

ollicers, 520. 

.schools, 521. 

valuation and po])ulation, 521. 
Aspinwall, Dr. Nathaniel. 177. 
Assemblymen, 189, 379. 
Assessed valuation in l.s;)0. 382. 
Athletic Association, ;'>87. 
Attorney.s, district, 381. 
A. U. M. P. Church (colored) of Horse- 
heads, 481. 
Averell, Second Lieut. William W., 201. 
Ayres, Henry, 145. 
Ayres, Socrates, 112. 

biography of. 651. 

portrait of, 652. 

BARCOCK, ALBERT T., .549. 
Baldwin, Capt. Elisha G.. 239. 
Baldwin family, the, 448-452. 

Isaai:, and family, 120. 

Maj. Lathrop, jr.. 231. 

Post, No. 6, G. A. R., 324. 

Street Academy, 301-304. 
Baldwin, town of, 348, 532. 

-settlers, .533. 

county officers, 537. 

Hammond's Corners, .537. 

North Chemung, 'i'.',"; . 

schools anil churches, 539. 

Hick.s, 540. 

first town meeting, 540. 

town officers, 541. 



146 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



Ball-rooms, l;57-l:iU. 
Band, brass, first heard in Elinira, 43. 
Bands and ninsical societies, 325. 
Banlv, tlie Cliemnng Canal, 14G. 

of Cliemmifj, 337. 
Banks in Elmira, .337. 
Baptist buryins <;ronnd, 336. 

Cliuri;h history, 147, 288, 293. 

Church of Ashland, .508. 

Church of Big Flats, 497. 

Church af lireesport, 491. 

Church of Cailin, 5(i6. 

Church of Ehiiiia and Southport, 
14S. 

Chuich cjf Erin, no9. 

Church of Horseheads, 476. 

Church of Van Ettenville, 530. 

Church of Veteran, 546. 

Church of Wellshurg, 513. 
Barbour, Elijah N., 3U2. 
Bardwell. W. E., 385. 
Barnev, Lieut. L. L., 255. 
Bartle'tt, John S., 314. 
Base-bail in Elmira, 390. 
Battle of Newtown, 31, 34. 

map of, 34. 

anniversary of, 393. 
Baxter, Archie, 240. 
Bazoo, 399. 
Beadle, Tracy, 108. 
Beardsle}', Ammon, 153. 

Bcnoni P., 312. 

Irad L., 179. 
Beecher. Rev. T. K., 285. 
Beers, Gen. Edmund 0., 214, 396. 

Jabez. 153. 
Beginniufj of the Civil war, 200. 
Bells and town clocks, 321. 
Bemeuf, Rev. Wdliam, 285. 
Ben Locler, the steamer at VVatkins, 141. 
Benjamin, Simeon, 168,300. 

biography of, 581. 

portrait of, 300. 
Bennett, John. Abraham, A brain, Daniel, 

and Comfort, 80-81. 
Bennitt, George, biography of, 698. 

portrait of, 472. 
BenniK, Josiah, biography of, 699. 

portrait of, 480. 
Berry, a local shoemaker, 362. 

Hiram B., 314. 
Big Flats, town of, 493. 

erected, 104. 

early settlers, 493. 

town officers, 496. 



Big Flat.s, highways and bridges, 497. 

schools and churches, 497. 

cemeteries. 500. 

societie.s, ,501. 

vdlage, 5o2. 

mauufaclurnig, 502. 

postollice and postmasters, 503. 
Big Flats Burial A.ssociation, 50tl. 

Cemetery As.sociation, 500. 

Lodge A. 0. U. W., 501. 

Lodge, No. 378, F. and A. M., 501. 
Biggs, Peter, a canal captain, 127. 
Biographies of: Ayres, Socrate.s, 651. 

Benjamin, Simeon, 581. 

Bennitt. George, 698. 

Bennitt, Josiah, 699. 

Burt. W. 11,, 688. 

Cowles. Augustus W.. LL.D., 691. 

Dauforth. Edward. 5!I0. 

Decker, David, 622. 

Dexter, Seymour, 664. 

Dininny. Ferral C., (i56. 

Diven. Gen. Alexander S., 596. 

Flood, Thomas S , 67<i. 

Ford, Prof. Darius R., 700. 

Gerity, Thomas, 683. 

Gillett, Solomon L., 605. 

Gray, Hiram, 573. 

Gridley, Grandison A., 663. 

Guinnip, Ransom H., 674. 

Hall, Francis, (i28. 

Harnim, Samuel S, 659. 

Klock, Sanfnrd, <)85. 

Laney, S. H., 701. 

Langdon, Jervis, 609. 

Loring, James H., 689. 

McDowell. Robert M, 678. 

Miller, Hon. Edmund, 687. 

Murdocli. John, 584. 

Nicks, .lohn I., 639. 

Rathl.jone. Henrv VV., 617. 

Rathbun. Hon. John T., 646. 

Robinson, Hon. Luciu.s, 577. 

Rockwell, Abram B , 595. 

Rockwell, Hosea H., 668. 

Roe, John C, 623. 

Shoemaker, James M., 680. 

Steele, Dr. J. Dorman, 586. 

Towner, Daniel A., M.D., 619. 

Turner, Robert T., 671. 
Bird, Charley, later a Mormon, 120. 
Birdsall, Orizon, 157. 

Ransom, 153. 
Bistoury, I'/ie, 313. 
Black Horse Tavern, the, 136. 



/.VDEX. 



147 



Blivin, Asa, 170. 

Bloomer, Kev. J. J., 1>S(3. 

B'nai li-rael Congregation (Hebrew), 294. 

Board!* of Superviuors, list of, 161, 192. 

from 18.51 to 1891, ;i(i(i-372. 

of Education of Elmira, 304. 
Boat building, 127. 
Boundary lines determined, 47. 
Bounties for killing wild animals, 88. 

oH'ered for soldiers, 2G2. 
Bowen, E. S.. ;M2. 

Boynton, Dr. Natlian, and family, -125. 
Bradley, John, and others, 2iin. 
BrainaVd, E. K., !.{5. 
Brandt, Joseph, 29. 

Brass band, the first one organized in El- 
mira, 3119. 
Breese, John, and family, 49-00, 4li7. 
ISreesport, 488. 

Lodge. Ko. 419, I. 0. O.K., 324, 491. 
Brickniaking in llorsehead.s, 487. 
Bridge commissioners appointed, 335. 
Bridges, 334. 

over Chemung River, 89-91. 
Bridges, roads, and dams, 8G. 
Brockway, Z. K., 398. 
Brooks, Dr. Tliesens. and family, 177. 

Henrv S., 407. 
Brown. R. N., 143. 
Buck, Ehjah, and family, 39. 

William, and family, 452. - 
Buckville, 459. 
Builders and caipcniers, 153. 
Building connni.-^sioners of the Elmira Re- 
formatory, 39(). 

of the Erie Railroad, 140. 
Bulkhead, 441. 
Bumlv, "Judge," I3ii, 184. 
Burdick, Oramel R., 259. 
Burial places, 188, 335. 
Burr, C. (.'hauncey and Heman, 178. 
Burt, W. II., biography of, 088. 

portrait of, 454. 
Bush, Dr. Robert P., 379. 
Business men of 1830-40, 109. 

CALDWELL, Col. LUTKER, 40.3. 
Canal, the, projioscd, 123. 
Canaweola, 25. 

destroyed, 35. 
Canlield Hook and Ladder Campanv, 529. 
Carpenter. Amir^, author of the "Lyre of 
Tioga," (i.5. 
Jesse, and family, .507. 
" Jim," and his secret saloon, 171. 



Carpenter, Matthew, 0.5. 
Carpenters and liuililers, 153. 
Carr, Samuel M., 414. 
Catherine lowiisliip divided, 105. 

formed, 340. 
Catherines, village ol, 79. 
Catholic cemetery, the, 336. 

Churches, 188, 293. 

(.'Iiurch of Big Flat.s. 500. 

Church of Ileiidy Creek, 442. 

Churches of Wellsburg, 517. 

mission in Iloiseheads, the, 479. 
Catlin Center, 507. 
Catlin, town of, 502. 

erected, 105. 

settlers, .'63. 

formation of, 3G3. 

roads, 560. 

schools, 560. 

churches. 566. 

cemeteries, 566. 

Post Creek, 500. 

Tompkins Center, 567. 

Catlin Center, 567. 

Fero, 507. 

Kendall Station. 567. 

luniliering. 508. 
Cavalry an<I artillery regiments, 249-259. 
Cayula townsliip erected, 1(>5. 
Celebration of the victorious army, 37. 

over the passage ot the canal bill, 
124. 
Celery industry in Horseheads, the, 485. 
Cemeteries, 188, 335. 

of Horseheads town.«hip, 492. 
Census of 1835. 161. 

of 1890, 381. 

of the .schools in 1890, 308. 
Centenary M. E. Church, 292. 
Centennial anniversary ot the battle of 

Newtown, 393. 
Central Baptist Church, 289. 
Characteristics of the early settlers, 71. 
Charitable institutions, 320. 
Chemung and Ithaca Railroad Company, 
80. 

Canal aiithori/.ed and completed, 
124-12.5. 

Canal Bank, 146. 

Center, 460. 

County during the closing years of 
the eighteenth century, 17-82. 

County during the first half of the 
nineteenth century, 83-195. 

County, military alTairs in, 197-277 



148 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



Chemung County during tlie latter half of 
the nineteenth century, 27'J-409. 

County, townships in, 411-568. 

Count\', biographical, SVl-TOS. 

County, personal references, 70" 
(3-141). 

County divided, .'J46. 

County, growth of, 162. 

County organized by the legislature. 
160. 

County Democrat, 400. 

County Gre.enh<icker, 401. 

County Journal, -101. 

County Medical Society, 177. 

County Mutual Insurance Com- 
pany, 86. 

County Palriot and Central Advo- 
cate, 160. 

Coxinty Rejmhliean. 400. 

Democrat, 178, 180. 

Grange, No. 2(l4, 463. 

House, the, 137. 

Lodge I. 0.0 R, 320. 

Lodge, No. 127, L 0. O. R, 174. 

Lodge, No. 350, R and A. M., 463. 

lumber, 164. 

meaning of the name, "2^ "i-y. 

Railroad Company, the, 141. 

Toll Bridge Company, 91. 
Chemung, town of, 444. 

erected, .')2. 69. 

divided, 10.3. 

boundaries, 445. 

innkeepers, 446. 

.settlers, 452. 

improvements, 456. 

schools, 458. 

village of, 459. 

Chemung Center, 460. 

Methodist Church, 461. 

First Bajitist Church, 462. 

Chemung Lodge, No. 350, R and 
A. M., 463. 

Chemung Grange, No. 204, 463. 

postollices and postmasters, 460, 
463. 

Arnot, 463. 

Wynkoop, 464. 

Wynkoop Creek, 464. 

bridge across Chemung River, 464. 

town meetings and officers, 464. 
Chemung Valley in 1777, 19. 

the great gateway for commerce 
and travel, 184. 

topography of, 26. 



Chemung Valley as a natural highway, 27. 
in 1778, 28. 

Equitable Aid Union of Horse- 
heads, 485. 

Valley Reporter, 401. 
Chenango Point, 60. 

Chief engineers of the vdlage fire depart- 
ment, first and succeeding ones, 174, 358. 
Chiefs of the police, 357. 
Christ Episcopal Churcii, 516. 
Chubbuck, Dr. H. S., and family, 112. 
Church builihngs. 110. 
Citizen Engine Company, Ho. 5, 359. 
Civil divisions of tin- county changed and 
re- arranged, 3')6. 

officers to 1800,82. 

organizations, changes in, 100. 

war, the, 197-277. 
Clark, Capt. Martin C, 211. 

Judson H., 433. 

Samuel J., 432. 
Clerks, count}', 82. 

of Chemung, 465. 

of Horseheads, 481. 

of Southport, 427. 

of the village of Elroira, 350. 
Cleves, the Misses, 299. 

Joshua, 299. 
Clinton, Gen. James, 32. 
Clocks and belLs -321. 
Coal and wood interests, the, 360. 
Coates, Rev. Calven S., 111. 
Coffin, Llenry, 143. 
Collector of tolls, office of, 120. 
Collingwood. Francis, and family, 154,302. 
Collson, John, and family, 534. 
Colored clnirches, 294. 
Commissioner District No. 4, 30.5. 
Commissioners appointed to survey lands 
and settle disputes, 45. 

work of, 47. 
Common council, the first, 353. 

from 1865 to 1892, 354-357. 
Communication, early methods of, 87. 
Conant, Roger, and Conant's Cove, 41. 
Conductors of the Erie, 144. 
Congres.smen, 190, 372. 
Conkey, Samuel, 159. 
Connecticut Gore, 423. 
Con-ni-sau-li, 61. 
Conongue, 27. 
Converse, Maxey M., and family, 284. 

Moses S., 301. 
Cooley, Capt. John G., 219. 

Levi J., 133. 



INDEX. 



149 



Cooley & Maxwell, stage proprietors, 133. 
Coon, Corporal Charles E., 200. 
Cooper, Allen, 240. 

brothers, the, 536. 
Corey, William F., 338. 
Cornelison, Jim, the last redman, 48. 
Cornplanter. 21. 
Coryell, Judge Emanuel, 100, 
Cotton, George H., sr., 431. 
Council called at Painted Post, fil. 
Country of the Si.x Nations, map of, 20. 
County and State fairs in Elmira, 388. 

buildings burned, the, 103. 

clerk's oflice, its changes, 102. 

clerks, 191,381. 

Court, judges of, 380. 

judges, l!ll. 

officers, the first, IGl. 

seat location agitated, 60. 

seat located at Newtown, 70. 

.seat, efiTort made to locate it at 
Horsehead.s, 160. 

seat, location of the, 347. 

SheritTs. 381. 

surrogates, 191. 

treasurers, 381. 

-house erected, the first, 70. 

-house reminiscences, 105. 

-house, I he, sold, 363. 
Covell, Henry C, 317. 

Robert, the elder, and family, 113. 
Cowen, Corporal Thaddeus A., 210. 
Cowles, AngusliK WoodriilV, LL.D., 300. 

biography of, 691. 

portrait of, l."i2. 
Crane, Uev. Ezra F., 230. 

Lieut.- Col. Xirora M., 208. 
Creameries in Big Flats, ;j02. 
Crops destroyed by Sullivan's army, 25. 
Crystal Lake, .')9. 
Cummings, Mark, 187. 
Curtis, Dexter D.. 318. 

John J., 337. 
Curtiss, Rev. George C, D.D., 283, 284. 

DAILY A DVERTISEIi, 403. 
DaiJy Karlon. 178. 
Dams conatruted, 119, 121. 

roads, and bridges, 86. 
Danforth, Edward, biography of, 590. 

portrait of, 590. 
Davenport, E|)hraim P., 112, 
Davidson, John T., 323. 
Davis, John, who ran the first stage, 133. 
Davison, Charles S., 315. 



Da}', Thomas .Stanley, 18(j. 
Decade of 1850- I86i), 282. 
Decker, David, biography of, 622. 

portrait of, 512. 
Delaware, fiackawaniia, and Western Rail- 
road, 344. 
Democrat, Chemung County, 400. 
Dewitt, Moses and Simeon, and families, 
64. 

Sutherland, :!10. 
Dewiltsbiirg mapped out, 03. 
Dexter, Seymour, biography of. 664. 

portrait of. 13(i. 
Dingeldey. Capt. W. W., 209. 
Dininny, Ferial C, biograjihy of, 656. 

portrait of, 288. 
District attorneys, 191, 381. 

school No. 4, 440. 

.school No. 15, 437. 
Diven, Gen. .\lexandcr S., 129. 

biograph}' of, 596. 

portrait of, 224. 
Division superintendents of the Erie, 142. 
Dodge, Rev. Jonas, 110. 
Donan Lodge, No. 363, I. 0. O. F., 323. 
Drafting days and incidents, 201. 
Dress uniform of the first military com- 
pany, 200. 
Dudley, Ben, and his " temperance " trick, 

171. 
Diihl, Schaple & Co., 4SS. 
I)iimar.s Capt. Robert R. R., 242. 

Josi'ph, 1 12. 
Dunn. 1). Thompson, 29.5. 

William, and de.scendaiits. 77. 
Durland, Charles O., 209. 
Dutch settlement, the, 442. 

EAGLE favein, the, 134. 
Eaile, Capt. Madison, 202. 
Early fire apparatus, 171. 

meri-lianis and professional men, 
164-171. 

modes of travel, 87. 

settlers, list of, 39. 
East Elmira, postmasters of, 416, 
Eating-hou.ses and restaurants, 391. 
Echoes. Thf. 402. 
Editors and publishers, 398-409. 
E<lucational matters in Elmira, 298. 
Edward.s. George C. 66. 
Egbert, .Sergt. Eugene, 240. 
Eighteenth N. Y. Cavalry, 256. 
Eighty-fifth Regf. N. Y. v., 218. 

-ninth lii-gt., 221. 



150 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



Eighty-sixth Regt., 219. 

muster roll, '2'JO. 

services ot llie, 221. 
Eisenhart, M. G , 487. 
EklridKe, Dr. Edwin, .•!28. 
Electric lighting introduced in Ehnira, 392. 
Elmira a station of the " undergound rail- 
road," 184. 

as a prison camp, 204-277. 

as a military post, 201. 

as military headquarters, 261. 

Academy of Medicine, 331-333. 

Advertiser, 403. 

Advertiser burned, 405. 

and Fairport Church, 476. 

and liorsehfads Street Railway 
Company, 392. 

and Southport Bridge Company, 89. 

and Williamsport Railroad. 139. 

Bank, 337. 

Bridge Company, 88. 

city mayor.s, 351. 

city officers, 353-357. 

College for Women, 131, 300. 

Collegiate Seminary, 299. 

Cortland, and Northern Railroad, 
343. 

Daily Herald, 181. 

Driving Park Association, 387. 

Encampment, No. 86, I. O. 0. R, 
323. 

Enter/iri'se, 401. 

elymologv ot, 7G. 

fairs, the," 388. 

Karmers Club, .''.SO. 

Female College, 299. 

lire department, 358. 

Gazette, 178. 

Guards, the, 20n. 

Hotel, the, 136. 

how the name was given, 101. 

llliiminalino: Company, .S92. 

incorporated as a city, 349. 

Infantry, 359. 

made a military depot, 213. 

made headquarters of the Susque- 
hanna division of the Erie, 142. 

.Mechanics Society, the, 1.52. 

National Bank, 339. 

Refonnatory, 396. 

RepuhUcan, 178, ISO. 

Royal Arch Chapter, No. 42, R. A. 
M., 176, 310. 

State Line Railroad, 344. 

Telegram, 406. 



Elmira, the child of Wilkesbarre, 49. 
Elmira, town of, 413-418. 

divided, 104. 

settlers, 414. 

postolhce of East Elmira, 416, 

transportation, 416. 

canals, 416. 

records of the town, 418. 

village officers, 194. 

village officers from 1850 to 1864, 
350. 
Elmira Water Company, 350. 

Water Works Companj', 351. 
Ely, Anson C, 168. 
Empire hrick3'ard, the, 488. 

mill, the, 486. 
Engineers and engines on the Erie Rail- 
road, 145-146. 
English settlements advancing westward, 

19. 
Ennis family, the, 523. 
Enrollment boards, 261. 
Enterprise, Elmira, 401. 
Entertainment, places of. 137. 
Episcopal CImrcli, the, 149, 287. 
Equitaole Aid Union, 560. 
Erie Railroad, the, 140, 339. 
Erin Lodge L O. G. T., 561. 

postoffice, 557, 560. 
Erin, town of. 554. 

formed, 103. 

merged into the town of Van Et- 
ten, 348. 

village of, 560. 

societies. 560. 

settlers. 555. 

formation of, 556. 

town officers, 556. 

postoffioes, 557. 

postmasters, .558. 

Park, 557. 

Erin po.'Stollice, 557. 

South Erin, 557. 

ministers, 5.58. 

churches. 559. 

schools, 559. 

W. C. T. U., 561. 
Eureka brickyard, the, 487. 

Fire Company, No. 5, 359. 
Evening Herald, 399. 

Star, 409. 
E.xoitement over tlie division of Chemung 

County, 347. 
E.xecutive officers of Elmira, 351. 
Expedition of General Sullivan, 33-36. 



INDEX. 



151 



rAIR for tlie Sanitary Commission, 284. 
F'airport, afterward reslortd to Horse- 
lieails. 127. 
Fairman, Charles G. ami Seymour B., 180. 
Fairmans' Daily Advertiser, 40.'i. 
Famine, a, .51. 

P'armers and Mechanics Bank, 339. 
Fassett, Philo, and family, 374. 
Fero, oU7. 

Ferry at Newlown, 88. 
Fidelity Lodge, No. 811, I. I). G. T., 547. 
Fifteenth New York Cavalry, 2oG. 
Fifth Artillery, 251. 
Fiftieth Fngiiieer.", 214. 

officers, 215. 

muster roll, 21G-217. 

services of the, 218. 
Financial malters, 140. 

institutions of Elmira, 337. 
Fires in the village of Elmira, 171. 

in March, 18(J4, 284. 

of May 27, 188G, 291. 

of February 1;">, 1888. 405. 
Fire Company, No, 2, 173. 

department of Elmira, 358. 

organizations, 172-174. 

wardens appiinted, 172. 
Firemen appointed, 172. 
First Baptist Church of Chemung, 4C2. 

Baptist Church of Soulliport,436. 

Methodist Church of Catlin, 566. 

M. E. Clinrch of Horseheads, 477. 

National Bank of Elmira, 339. 

Presbyterian Church of Big Flats, 
499. 

Presbyterian Church of Elmira, 72. 

Presbyterian Church of Horseheads, 
478. 

Presbyterian Church of Southport, 
4.39". 

settled town in the county, 447. 

white settler, the, 44. 

Veteran Cavalry, 257. 
First Regt. N. Y. Light Artillery, 249. 

officers, 2.")0. 

muster roll, 25(1-25 1. 
Filch, Arthur S., 232. 

brothers, the, 16.5. 

L. Edgar, Post, No. 165, G. A. R., 
392; 
Flood of 1865. 334. 

of 1889, 40i;. 
Flood, Dr. P. H., 225. 
Flood, Thomas S., biography of, 676. 

portrait of, 370. 



Fonda. IT. A., 342. 

Ford, Prof. Darius R., 700. 

Rev. Henry, 94. 
\^^ort Henderson A/eddlar, 183. 

Hill Encampment, No. 18, L 0. 0. 
v.. 17.->. 

Hill or Fort Henderson, 23. 
Fourteenth X. Y. Heavy Artillery, 251. 
Fowler, Capt. Nat. B.,209. 

Rev. Dr. P. H., 95, 282. 
Fox. Col. William F., 232. 
Fr.inciscus, Chri.«topher, 364. 
Franklin Street Presbyterian Church, 287. 
Frasier House, the, 137. 
Free Academy, the, 305. 
Press, \VeekIy,3dd. 

Religious Society of Pine Valley, 546. 
Freewill Baptist Church of Big Flats, 498. 

Baptist Church of Elmira, 293. 
French, James S., 309. 
Friends Society of Horseheads, 480. 
Fuel — coal and wood, 360. 

GARDINER, N. W., 113. 
Gardner, Chauncey W., 144. 
Gardner, Henry, 364. 
Gas company, a, 350. 
Gates, Gen. \Vh tney, 133. 
Gazette, Elmira, 178, 402. 
General training da}', 199. 
Genesee Conference, 29th session of. 111. 
Gerity, Thomas, biography of, 683. 

portrait of, 082. 
German Evangelical Church, 293. 
Germans in musical organizations, 325. 
Gillett, Charles E., 313. 
Gillett, Solomon Lewis, biography of, 605. 

portrait of, 604. 
Gillette, Rev. P. D., 148. 
Gough. or Goff, Rev. Roswell, 74, 147, 

514. 
Government of the city of Elmira, 349. 
Grace Episcopal Church, 288. 
Grand Army of the Republic, .324. 

Army of the Republic Posts in El- 
mira, 392. 
Gray, Hiram, 128. 

biography of, 573. 

portrait of, 572. 
Great Plain.«, 1(14. 
Greatsinger, Rev. Christian, 316. 
Green Hill, 5.58. 
Greene, Charley, 145. 
Gregg, Andrew. 07. 

Gen. William M., 245. 



152 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



Gregg, William M., Post, No. 430, G.A.R., 

5G0. 
Gregory, Isaac M., 39U. 
Gridley, Grandison A., biography of, 663. 

portrait of, 344. 
Gunion, Corporal Richard L., 243. 
Guinnip, George B., 378. 
Guinnip, Itansoni Hart, biography of, G74. 

portrait of, 674. 

nADDOCK, Maj. John A., 262. 
Haight, Samuel S., 65. 
Haiglit, Silas, 135. 
Hall, Francis, biography of, 628. 

portrait of, 628. 

Robert A., 240. 
Ilainer, Howard S., 325. 
Hamilton, Daniel S.. 3(19. 
Hamlin, Samuel Selden, biography of, 659. 

portrait of, 328. 
Hammond, Lebeu.s, 41. 
Hammond's Corners, 537. 
Hand, General, pursues the retreating In- 
dians, 31. 
Handy (Hendy), Col. John, and family, 
42, 44. 

residence of (illustration), 43. 
Hardenburgh's Corners, 33. 
Hart, A. P., 170. 

Charles L., :!15. 

Dr. Erastus L., and family, 117, 177. 

J. A., 143. 
Hatch brothers, Dorus, Harry, Damon, 121. 
Hathaway, Col. Samuel (t., jr., 130. 

William G., 299. 
Hathorn, James Post, and family, 46. 

Gen. John, and family, 45. 

John W., 46. 
Havana designated by the legislature as 

the county seat, 347. 
Havman, Col. Samuel B,, incident of, 272. 
Hazard, Charles, 406. 

Louis A., 235. 
Healy, Peter, an eaily school teacher, 298. 
Hebrew cliurohes, 294. 
Redding M. E. Church, 291. 
Hendy, Col. John, 42, 44. 

Creelc, 442. 

Hollow. 43. 
Henry, Rev. Dr. William T., 289. 
Ikrald, Daily. Elmira, 181, 399. 
Herriugton's Corners, 558. 
Hetlield, Abner M., and family, 420. 
Hicks postofhce, 349, 540. 
Highways, early, 49. 



Highway ooramissioners of Horseheads, 

482. 
Hill, Gov. David B., .352. 

James, 407. 

John T., 315. 
Hinchman, Dr. Joseph, 66. 
Hudson, Dr. Lemuel, 177. 
Hughes, John, and family, 91. 
Hull, Rev. Dr. Andrew, ministry of, 150. 
Huntley, Elias S., and his son, Rev. E. 

Dewitt, HI. 
Husbandman, 389. 
Hoffman, CoL Henrv C, 208. 

Col. H. C, Post, G. A. R., 393. 

Mrs. George W., 328. 

William, 81. 
Hogbacks, the, 23. 
Holden, Lieut. Delos L., 217. 
Holland, Capt.5Pnilip, 260. 
Hollenback, Col. and Judge Matthias, 53. 
Hohnan Opera Company, 384. 
Home for the Aged, 327. 
Hook and ladder company organized, the 

tirst, 173. 
Horse- racing and race- tracks, 387. 
Hospital, Arnot-Ogden Memorial, 330. 
Horseheads Celery Company, 485. 

Journal, 400. 

Lodge, No. 364. F. and A. M., 484. 

Philosopher, 400. 

Steamer and Hose Compan}', 475. 
Horseheads, town of, 4(i7. 

derivation of, 30. 

designed ihe port of clearances, 127. 

settlers of, 468. 

village site mapped, 473. 

business enterprises, 474. 

village officers, 474. 

fire department, 475. 

religious interests, 476. 

organized, 346, 481. 

town ofHcers, 481. 

schools, 482. 

societies, 483. 

mills and factories, 485. 

Ijrickmaking. 487. 

Breesport, 488. 

railroads, 489. 

poor-house, 491. 

cemeteries, 492. 

IMMIGRATION to the valley, 38. 
1 Incendiaries, trials of, 364, 
Independent Congregational Church, 96. 
Hose Company, No. 2, 475. 



IXDE.X. 



153 



Indenendent Hose Cotiipan}', No. 3. 3(10. 

Order of Odd I'Vllows, tlie, 171, 320. 
Indian chiefs at tlie council of 1791, 03. 

mounds, 23. 

villages, 24. 
Indians of tlie Clienuing Valley. 21. 

object to the treaty of Fort Stan- 
wix, GO. 
Industrial School, the, 320. 
Industries, some old-time, 103. 
Influence of the canal on industrial inter- 
ests, 120. 
Inman, Stephen, and his sons, 535. 
Internal improvements, 118. 
Interstate Fair As>;ociation, 390. 
Ira Harris Cavalrv, 2.03. 
Irvine, Col. WUli'am. 252. 
Ivy Lodge, No. 307, F. and A. M., 315. 

lACKSON, JOHN, 50. 
Qj Jail limit*, the, 100. 
Jennings, Rev. Isaac, D.D., 28.5. 
Jewish cemetery, the, 336. 
Johnson, the flrst photographer, 170. 
Jones, Corporal Herbert M., 209. 

George, and his restaurant, 391. 

Mrs. Richmond. 327. 

Rev. Simeon R., and family, 93. 
96-98. 

Sexton John W., 276. 
Journal, Chemung County, 401. 

Horseheads, 400. 
Yoiinr/ Afen's, 402. 
Journalism ami j (urnalists, 398-409. 
Judd, J. B., 14.5. 
Judges.connty, 82, 191. 

of the County Court, 380. 
Judson, William R., and family, 156. 
Judsonville, now Webb's Mills, 439. 
Junction Canal and Railroad Company, 
418. 

Canal Company, 410. 
Justices of the peace of Baldwin, 541. 

of Big Flats, 490. 

of Catlin, 505. 

of Chemung, 4C0. 

of Erin, .557. 

of Horseheads, 481. 

of Southport, 427. 

of Van Etten, 526. 

of Veteran, 545. 

KEENEY, THOMAS, 4.54. 
Keppie, Archibald, l.')9. 
Kellogg Bridge Company, 434. 



Kel.sey, Abner. the lirst supervisor of Che- 
mung township. 53. 

Kendall Station, 507. 

Kmgman, William L., 317. 

Kingsbm-y, George, 107. 

Kinley & Sons. 488. 

Kinsey, Corporal William B., 208. 

Kirkland, Rev. Samuel, 33. 

Kline IIou.se, (he, 130. 
Iron Works, 487. 

Klock, iSauford, biography of, ()85. 
portrait of, 392. 

Kuapp. John S.. 357. 

Knox, Rev. Dr. William E., a Presbyter- 
ian minister, 285. 

Konkle. Aaron, 45. 

John, and family, 44. 

Kress, Jacob, 454. 

LA FRANCE MANUFACTURING 
COMPANY, 434. 
Ijadies' Relief Association, 326. 
Lake street bridge, the, 334. 

Street Presbyterian Church of El- 
mira, 283. 
Landlords of the Eagle Tavern. 134. 
Laney, S. IT , biography of, 701. 

portrait of, 700. 
Laugdon, Jervis, biography of, 609. 

portrait of, 88. 
Laws relative to running boats on the ca- 
nal, 417. 
Lee, Maj. Artlmr T., 201. 

William, 312. 
Legends, etc., 22. 

of Chemung Narrows, 06. 
Legi.slative action concerning the Chemung 

Canal, 124. 
Lehigh Valley Railroad, 344. 
Library of the Elmira Mechanics Society, 
100. 

of the Y. if. C. A., 296. 
Little Lake, 59. 
Little, Levi, and family, 535. 
Locating the county seat, 34 7. 
Lockwood, R. C, .504. 
Locomotives on the Erie, 145. 
Loring, James Henry, biography of, 689. 

portrait of, 280. 
Lowe, Capt. Uriah S.. 200. 
Lowman, Jacob, and family, 07. 
Lowman's or Lowmanville, 515. 
Luce, Hervey, 149. 
Lumber business, the, 163. 

dealers, 1(!4-10(>. 



154 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



nADISON Avenue Baptist Chuif.-h, 
the, 289. 
Maffit, John N., 1 12. 
Mails, carryinj; the, 132. 
Main Street Biitlge Company, 334. 

street burying frround, 336. 
Mansion House, the, 130. 
Manufacturers, 1 03. 
Manufacturing enterprise.«, ih. 
Map of the battlelielil of Newtown, 34. 

of the "Coiiutry of tlie VI. Na- 
tions, '' 20. 
Mapes, I. v.. A'.M. 

Wilham, 49G. 
Maple Avenue Athletic Association, 387. 
Marsh Church of Horseheads, 476. 
Mason, George W., 180. 
Masonic organization, the first, 74. 
Masonry in Chemung County, 74-1 7G. 

in Big Flats, .501. 

inEluiira. 308-319. 

in Horseheads, 484. 
Matthews, Catherine, 65. 

Vincent, C4. 
Maxwell, Edward, 343. 

Guy, and family, 54-56. 

Hector I., 341.' 

Post, No. 451, G. A. R.,530. 
Mayors of the city of Elraira, 351. 
McCallum, D. C, 143. 
McCann, George S , 310. 

family, 414. 
MoClure, William, incident of, 1G9. 
McCumber, Jeremiah, 534. 
McDonald, Stephen, 351. 
McDowel, Daniel, and family, 40. 
McDowell, Capt. Daniel, and family, 453. 

Maj. Kobert M., 236. 
McDowell, Robert M., biography of, 678. 

portrait of, 230. 
McGreery, Owen, 187. 
McGuire, Hon. Jeremiah, 347. 
Mclntyre, Henry W., 310. 
McKnight, Rev. Dr. George H.. 287. 
McManus, Rev. James C, 294. 
Mc Williams, John A., 145. 
Mechanics Society, the, 152. 

present ollicers of, 159. 

incorporated by the legi.>.lalure,159. 

Hall, 138. 
Meddlar, Fort Henderson, 18.3. 
Medical history, 176. 

practitioners and institutions, 330- 
334. 
Members of Assembly, 82, 379. 

of the Board of Education, 301. 



Menken, William, 365. 
Merchants, lumber, etc., 164, IGO. 
Mclhddism, early, 107. 
Methodist Church of Catlin, 500. 

Church of Chemung, 401. 

Church of Erin, 559. 

Chnrcli of Millport, 548. 

Church of Pine Valley, 516. 

Church of Snllivanville, 552. 

Church of Van Etteriville, 531. 

Church of Wellsburg, 515. 

Episcopal Church history, 290-292, 
294. 

Episcopal Church of Big Flats, 498. 

Episcopal Church of Bre('sport,4y0. 

Episcopal Church of Ilorselieads, 
477. 

ministers, 109. 

Protestant Church of Bree,sport,490. 

Union, a, 293. 
Midday Sun, 399. 
Midilletown, 24. 
Military mass meeting held, 200. 

organizat'ons, 199, 395. 
Mill, the, on Newtown Creek, 80. 
Mills erected, 119. 
Miller. Abraham, and family, 41. 
Miller, Hon. Edmund, biography of, 087. 

portrait of, 420. 
Millport, 547. 

Baptist Church, 549. 

Cemetery Association, 55o. 

Lodge, No. 273, I. 0. U. K., 324. 
MiUvale, now Millport, 547. 
Miuier, Theodore L., the first agent of the 

Erie in Elniira, 339. 
Missionary, the first, 71. 
Mock wedding, a, 361. 
Modes of travel, 1.32-134. 
Monetary matters in Elmira, 337. 
Monks, Prof. James R., 307. 
Montgomery County divided, .52. 
Mouurnenl of the battle of 1779. 505. 
Moravians, the, at Wyoming, 20. 
Morgan. Capt. William L., 257. 
Moiiul Hope Cemetery, 529. 

Lebanon Lodge, F. and A. M., 529. 

Zoar, 23. 
Muiiger, Sylvester, 156. 
Municipal officers, 353-357. 
Murdoch, John, biography of. 581. 

portrait of, 104. 

Rev. David, D.D.. and family, 282. 
Murphy temperance movement, 329. 
Musical organizations in Elmira, 325. 
Myneer, Christian, 494. 



INDEX. 



\:>h 



NAPOLEON, LOUIS, vis-it of, m. 
Naliiriil gas at Lowiiinn's, 020. 
Neilsoii. KulHTt, '.Wl. 
Neptiiiie Company, No. '1. 173. 

Fire Company, No. "J, .'l;'/.). 
New Clieinnng, 24. 
New Opeia House, 384. 
New.kpapfi- lii.stiiiy, 178. 
Newspapers of Klinira, 398-409. 
Newton, .Stiuire, 313. 
Newtown, anniversary of the battle, 393. 

liatlleBeltl, tlie, 505. 

township of, divided, 80. 

village incorporated, 100. 

Creek, 2(). 

Lodge, No. 89, L 0. O. F., 320 

Lodge, No. 254, 1. O. 0. F., 175. 

Monument A.ssociation, 394. 

Point as a rendezvous, 29. 
New York and Erie Railroad, 139, 340. 

Lake Erie, and Western Railroad, 
340. 
Nicks, John I., biography of, 639. 

portrait of, 640. 
Nineteenth Independent Battery, 252. 

Regt. N. Y. v., 211. 
Nobles, Dan, 364. 
North Chemung, 349. 

Chemung Grange, No. 227, 54t). 

Presbyterian Church, 287. 
Northern Central Railroad Company, 341. 

OD.STUL'CTING Navigation, 119, 12.!. 
Odd Fellowship in Elmira, 174, 320. 
O'Dwyer, Rev. Michael. 294. 
OlTioers of the county, the first, ICl. 
of Elmira village, 194. 
of the war stationed in Elmira who 
found wives there, 202. 
O'Flyng, Rev. Edmund, lid. 
Ogilen, Mr.s. Marianna Arnot and William 

B., 330. 
O'Haidon, Owen, and family, 471. 
"Old Goose- Neck," the, 172. 

Oak Lodge, No. 253, F. and A. .\I., 
550. 
One Hundred Eighth Regt., 234. 

Iliuidred Eighty-fourth Regt., 247. 
Hundred Eighty-ninth Regt., 247. 
Hundred Eighlvtliird Regt., 247. 
Hun.lred Fifty-Yiftli Regt., 241. 
Hiinclred Fourteenth Regt., 235. 
One Hundred Forty-first Regt. N. Y. V., 
235. 
ofBcers, 235. 
muster roll, 237-239. 



One Hundred Ninth Regt., 234. 

One lliiiiilred Ninety-fourth Reg'., 248. 

oliieers and muster roll, 248-549. 
One Hundred Seventh Regl., 223. 

oHicer.s, 224. 

umster roll. 227-2:5(1. 
Om- Hundred Seventy-fifth J!egt. X.V.V., 

245. 
One Hundred Seventy-ninth Reirl., N. Y. 
A'., 24.5. 

oflicers, 245. 

muster roll, 245-247. 

service, 247. 
One Hundred Sixty first Regt. N. Y. V., 
241. 

oflicens, 241. 

muster roll. 241-244. 
Or.e Hundreil Tenth Battalion, 395." 
One Hundred Third Regl., 222. 

muster roll of Company K, 22.'!. 
One Hundred Thirtieth Re<.'t., 235. 

Hundred Thirty-second Regt., 235. 
Opening of the Erie Railroad, 141. 
Opera houses anil their nianagers, 385. 
Oi phaus Home, the, 327. 
Orwan, Charles, the first president of the 

Mechanics Society, 152. 
Ours 4 Hose Company, 360. 
Oyster eating-houses, .391. 

PAINE. BRINTON, 73. 
Capt. Ben.ajah B., and his restau- 
rant, 171. 
Paine Iron Works, 434. 

Samuel A., 257. 
Painted Post, etymology of the name, 61. 

Indian council at, 62. 
Park postoffice, 557. 

Dr. Amos, 66. 
Parochial school connected with St. Pat- 
rick's Church, 293. 
Parshall, Israel, 454. 
Patrick, Capt. Edward L., 239. 
I'attinson, George, 138. 

Hall, 138. 

House, the, 136. 
Pen well, Peter H., 364. 
Peikin.s E. A. k Co., 486. 
Perry, John K., 109. 

Tlinmas Milllin, and family, 56. 

William H., 399. 
Peters, William H., 31.5. 
Phelps, Frank, 383. 
Phillip.s, Fred A., 310. 
Phillippe, Louis, visit of, 78. 
Philosopher, Ilorsehead.s, 400. 



r 



156 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



Photography in early liayp, 170. 
Physiiciaiis of Ehiiiia, 331. 
Pickering, Col. Tiniolhy, (il. 

notes of, 02. 

Daniel F., G2. 
Pigeon Point, 305. 
Pine City, 434. 
Pine Valley Cemetery A.ssof.iation, 547. 

Valley Cieamery, 547. 

Valley Loilge, No. 157, G. T., 547. 

Woods, 435. 
Pioneer Hose Company, 475. 
Plank road in Southport, the, 443. 
Police department, 357. 
Pony Hollow, 524. 
Poor, Gen. Enoch, 33. 

-hon.se buildings authorized, 107. 
Population 1 835, Kil. 

growth of, 1G2. 

of the county in 1S90, 381. 
Porter, Rev. Ambrose, 93. 
Post Creek, 567. 
Postmasters of the county, 193. 

of Big Flats, 503. 

of Breesport, 489. 

of Chemung, 460. 

of Chemung Center, 4G0. 

of Chemung village, 463. 

of East Elmira, 416. 

of Elmira since 1850, 319, 

of Ei'in, 558. 

of Ilicks, 349. 

of Horseheads, 488. 

of Lowmanville, 518. 

of Millport, 552. 

of North Chemung, 349, 538. 

of Pine City, 436. 

of Post Creek, 567. 

of Seeley Creek, 441. 

of South Erin, 558. 

of State Road, 458. 

of Sullivauville, 553. 

of Swartwood, 532. 

of Tompkins Corners, 567. 

of Van Ettenrille, 348, 528. 

of Webb's Milks, 438. 

of VVellsburg, 512. 
Postoflice in Palmira, the, 319. 
Potter, Henry, 158. 

\Villiam C , the artist, 158. 
Pratt, Cyru.s, 179. 

Daniel and Ransom, 168. 

H. de Valson, 143. 
Prehistoric race, evidences of, 23. 
Presbyterian Church history, 282-287. 



Presbyterian Church, the first, 93. 

Church of Bree.-port, 491. 

Church of Elmira, 282. 

Chmch of Erin, 559. 

Church of Millport, 550. 
Presidential campaign of 1840, an incident 

of the, 169. 
Presidents of the Chemung County Med- 
ical Society, 177. 

of the village of Elmira, 350. 
Press of Chemung County, 398-409. 
Prison camp at Elmira, the, 264-277. 

first detachment of prisoners at, 266. 

guarding the prisoners, 267. 

"dead line," etc., 2(i8. 

di.sciplme, etc., 269. 

occupations of the prisoners, 27!. 

trnd<ets, 272. 

food supplies, 272. 

sickness and mortality, 273. 

deaths, 274. 

small-pox epidemic, 274. 

burials, 276. 

l.ist liays of, 277. 
Provident Shield, the, 530. 
Provost-marshals, 261. 
Prudential Committee of the Mechanics 

Society, 157. 
Public entertainment in Elmira, 383, 391. 

halls, 137. 

time, the, 321. 
Publishers and proprietors of newspapers, 
178-184. 

and editors, 398-409. 
Purdy, Dr. Jotham, 102. 

Horace E., 399. 

QUAKER meeting-house of Horse- 
heads, 480. 
Quarry Farm, the summer home of "Mark 

Twain," 415. 
Quarterly Register, 401. 
Queen City Uniformed Patriarchs, I. O. 
0. F., 324. 
Esther .and her fate, 41. 

RACING and race-tracks, 387. 
Railroads, 139, 339-315. 
Railway Voung Men's Christian Associa- 
tion, 297. 
Ram.sdcll, F. D., 317. 
Rathbone, Henry W., biography of, 617. 

portiait of, 618. 
Rathbun, Hon. John T., biography of, 646. 
portrait of, 112. 



\ 



V • 



INDEX. 



157 



Rtjliellion, war of the, 197-277. 
UecapitulaUoii of Clu'imiiij!; Comity regi- 
ments in the Civil war, 'iWd. 
Record, iOl. 
Red Jacket, 24. 

Hover l''iie Company, No. 3, 173. 
Redfiel.l, Jared A., 342. 
Reformatory, Elmira. 3'.)(). 
Reid, Capt. J. Riley, 202. 
Reminiscences of war days, 202. 

of Klmiraasa young ciiy, 3GI. 
Reporter, C'ltentuny Valley, 401. 
Representatives to Congress, 372. 
Republican, Chemung County, MO. 
Elmira, 178, 180. 
Sunday, 401. 
Reservoirs of the water company, 3-11. 
Restaurant, the tirst in Elmira, 171. 

and eating-houses, 3'Jl. 
Results of the Civil war, 2»1. 
Reynolds, A. G. and Isaac H., 310. 
David, and family, 121. 
& Tultle, 4SU. 
Riddle, Uugh, 129. 
Ridge Free Baptist Church, 553. 
Riker, Abram, 152. 
Riveis and streams, 26. 
Roads and modes of travel, 49. 

bridges, and dams, 80. 
Robert.s, George, 325. 
George W., 510. 
Nathan, 400. 
Robertson, Archibald, 373. 
Robinson, lion. Lucius, biography of, 577. 
portrait of, 50. 
John M., an<l family, 18.5. 
Rockwell, Abram B., biogiaphy of, 595. 

portrait of, 408. 
Rockwell , Hoiien Hunt, 208. 
biography of, 003. 
portrait of, 008. 
Rodbourn, Joseph, 489. 
Roe family, the, 108. 
Roe, John Charles, 157. 
biograjihy of, 623. 
portrait of, 300. 
Rorick's Glen, incident of, 183. 
Ro.se, Rev. Dr. M. II., 2!).-.. 
Route of the Chemung Canal, 122. 
Royal and Select Masters, 318. 
Royally visits the valley78. 
Ruggles, Charles, and family, 460. 
Runonvea, 25. 

Ruller, William E., the first division 
superintendent, 142. 



SACKETT, Rkv. H. A., and wife, 300. 
Siingerbiind Society, .■!25. 
tJanitary Commission, fair for the, 284. 
"Satirical," a poem, 72. 
Satterlee. Dr. Elias, 99. 
Saturday Review, 398. 
Sayre, Joseph and Gabriel, 455. 
Schaltz, I'hilip and John, the first freight 

carriers, 171. 
School census of 1890, 308. 

svstem of Elmira, 298, 304. 
No. 1, 305. 
No. 2, 305. 
No. 3, 305. 
No. 4, 306. 
Schuyler County formed from a portion of 

Chenmng, 3 16. 
Scienlihc and educational institutions, 

329-334. 
Scotchtown Cimetery Association, 501. 
Scott, Capt. David, 202. 
Dr. Chri.«jol)n, 66. 
Gen. Wiiilield, visit of, 142. 
Second M. E. Church of Soutliport, 438. 
National Bank of Elmira, 338. 
N. Y. Cavalry, 252. 
Presbyterian Church, 286. 
Seeley Creek, 440. 

Dr. Nathaniel R., 303. 
Nathaniel, 76. 

Post, No. 554, G. A. R., 501. 
Senators, Stale, 377. 

Seneca and Susquehanna Navigation Com- 
pany, 472. 
Senecas, the, 24. 
Settler, white, the first, 44. 
Seventeenth N. V. Cavalry, 256. 

officers and muster roll, 257-259. 
Seventh- Day Baptists of Catlin, 566. 
Street Chapel, 296. 
ward of Elmira formed, 363. 
Seward Infantry, 222. 
Seymour, B., 180. 
Sheafe, James S.. 344. 
Shearer, David, 417. 
Shelve, George, 431. 
Sheriirs, 82, 381. 
Sherman, Capt. Buren R., 200. 
Shockey, John, and family, 91. 
Shoemaker, J. Monroe, biography of, 680. 

portrait of, 176. 
Shomer lladoth Congregation (Hebrew), 

294 
Shows and circuses, 36. 
Shute, Abel, 470. 



( 



158 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



Sibyl, 402. 

Simmons, Edward, 304. 

Si.xlli ward of Elmira formed, 3G.'5. 

Si.xtv-fourtli Kt-gt, N. y. v., 218. 

Skefly, William, 210. 

Slavery days in the county, 184. 

Sly, John, 08. 

Sinall-pox among the Indians, 48. 

Smith family, the, 98. 

Francis, 157. 

Hon. H. Boardman, 143, 372. 

Job A., loo, 178. 

Orlando N., 242. 

\V. Charles, 385. 

Dr. Uriah, 178. 
Sons of Temperance, 175. 
Soper, Capt. Royal K., 244. 
Soiilh Erin, 557-558. 
Southern Light Lodge, No. 125, F. and 
A. M.. 491. 

Tier Council. No. 10, R. and S. M., 
318. 

Tier Leader, 400. 

Tier Lodge, No. 344, I. O. 0. F., 
322. 

Tier Masonic Relief Association, 
318. 

Tier Orphans Home, 320. 

Tier Rifles, the, 201. 
Southport and Elmira Baptist Church, 147. 

or Southport Corners, 439. 

tannery, 438. 
Southport, town of, 419-443. 

early grants of land, 419. 

settler.^;, 420. 

Connecticut Gore, 423. 

grinding wheat, 424. 

organized, 420. 

lirst town meeting, 420. 

erected, 104. 

town oiticers, 427. 

agricultural and manufacturing, 427. 

population, 428. 

school districts, 428. 

improvements, 429. 

Fifth ward of Elmira taken oil', 432. 

manufacturing, 4-34. 

Pine City, 434. 

Seeley Creek, 440. 

First Presbyterian Church, 439. 

Second M. E. Church, 438. 

First Baptist Church, 430. 

Judsonville. 439. 

Bulkhead, 441. 

Hendy Creek, 442. 



Southport, Wells Station, 442. 

the plank road, 443. 

Webb's Mills, 437. 
Spanish Hill, 22. 
Spaulding, Capt. Henry C, and family, 128. 

Judge Thomas S., 380. 
Squire, Dr. T. H., 221. 
SS. Peter and P.iul's Church, 188. 
St. John the Baptist Church (German 

Catholic), 293. 
St. Mark's Episcopal Church of Millport, 

550. 
St. Mary's Catholic Church, 294, 
St. Matthew's Episcopal Church of Horse- 
heads, 479, 
St, Omer's Commanderv, No. 19, 311. 
St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 293, 
St, Paul's Episcopal Church of Big Flats, 

499. 
Stage-coach period, 132. 

line thiough the valley, the first, 21. 
Stanchtield, Dr. J. IC, and family, 337. 
Star, Evening, 409. 
Starvation and famine, 51. 
State and couiilv fairs in Elmira, 388. 

Road, 558. 

senators, 82, 189. 
Statistics, 102-103. 
Steele, Rev. Allen, 110. 
Steele, Dr. Joel Dorman, 307. 

biography of, 580. 

portr.-iit of, 300. 

Rodney W., 210, 
Stephens, Daniel, 158. 
Steuben Rangers, Eighty-sixth Regt.,219. 
Stewart, Robert F., '2.i9. 
Stobo, John, 317. 
Stocum, Capt. Hector M., 233. 
Stowell, Abel, 112. 
Strang, Samuel B., and family, 104. 
Street railway interests, 392. 
Subscription list to the first Methodist 

Church edifice, 1 10. 
SuBern, John, 08. 
Sullivan, Florence, 210, 
Sullivan, Gen. John, as commander of Con- 
tinental troops, 29. 

Lodge, No. 209, I. 0. O. F., 324. 
Sullivan's exi)edition, 33. 

route of, through the valley, 30, 

forces, 31. 

army enters Chenoung 'Valley, 32. 
Sullivanville, 552. 
Summart/, 397, 
Sunday Republican, 401. 



INDEX. 



159 



Sunday Tidings, 401. 

Timm. 401. 
Snperinteiideiils of tlie Erie Iliiilioad, .'541. 
Supervisors, the first, IGl. 

list of, l'.)2. 

Boards of, from 1851-91, ;iGU-;372. 

of Catlin, 5()5. 

of Chemung:, 465. 

of Erin, 550. 

of Soiilt'port. 42G. 
Surropates, 191. 
Surveys, report of, 47. 
Swartwood, 532. 

Gen. Jacob, and family, 522. 

TABER, SAMUEL C, 400. 
Tallidav, Tom, incident of, 3til. 
Tavern days, "old, 13,5-138. 
Taylor, Judge S. S., 380. 
Teachers and professors, 298-308. 
Teall, Elniira, from ivhom the city derived 
its name, 70. 

an interesting story of, 101. 

Nathan, and family, 75. 
Telegram, Elmiia, 400. 
Telegraph, appearance of in Elniira, 177. 
Teniperaiice liistory, 329. 
Temperance wave of 1830. the, 171. 

Gem, 401. 

House, the. 137. 
Tenth Regt. Mounted Volunteers, 253. 

muster roll. 254-255. 
Terry Manufacliiring Company, 486. 
Terry's Corner.^, 554. 
Thatcher, Rev. Daniel, 71. 
The Echoes, 402. 
Theatrical attraction.', 384. 
Third ward of Ehnira, 349. 
Thirteenth Artillery, 251. 

Rept. N. Y. v.. 203. 
Thirtieth Separate Company, 395. 
Thirty-eighth Kegt. N. Y. V., 212. 

muster roll of Ci>nipany I. 212. 
Tliirlv-eiphth Separate Companv, 395 
■ -fifth liegt. N. Y. v., 212. 

-third Independent liatlrry, 252. 

-third Regt. N. Y. V., 212. 
Thompson. A. D., 145. 
Thurston, James S.. 234. 

Judge A. S., 130. 

Miss Clarissa, 131. 
Tidings. .Sunday, 401. 
Times, Sunday. 401. 
Timm.s. " Billy," 322. 

Tioga Coal, Iron, Mming.and .Manufactur- 
ing Company, 85. 



Tioga County, how composed, 60. 
Tompkins Corners, 567. 
Tornado in SQjitemlier, 1881, 292. 
Torrent Kire Company, No. 1, 172. 
Town clerks of Baldwin, 541. 

of Big Flats, 490. 

of Catlin, 565. 

of Erin, 557. 

of Van Etten, 525. 

of Veteran, 545. 
Town meeting, the first and second, 103. 

the first in Newtown, 69. 
Towner, Daniel A., M.D., biography of, 

010. 
Town.ships, population of in 1835, 161. 
Tracy, Benjamin F., 234. 
Tradition, a Spanish, 22. 
Travel, modes of, 48. 
Treasurers, county, 381. 

of the village of Elmira, 350. 
Treatv consummated at Painted Post, 62- 
63. 

of Fort Stanwix, objections to by 
the Indians, GO. 
Trials of famous incendiaries and other 

criminals, 364, 
Trinilv Episcopal Church, 149-150, 287. 

' Record, 401. 
Troup, Robert, 2.58. 
Trustees of the village of Elniira, 350. 
Turner, John, and family. 186. 
Turner, Robert Tifl't, biography of 671. 

portrait of, 408. 
Tuthill, Barnaba.s, and familv, 422. 

Green M., 129. 
Tutlle, Capt. Will.ur F., 240. 

Stephen, and family, 114. 
Twelfth Regt. N. Y. V., 203. 
Twentieth N. Y. Battery, 252. 
Twenty-first Regt. N. Y. V., 211. 

-fourth N. Y. Cavalrv, 256. 

-fourth Regt. N. Y. V., 211. 

-seventh Regt. N. Y. V., 211. 

-sixth Regt. N. Y. V., 211. 

-sixth Separate Companv, 395. 
Twenty-third Regt. N. Y. V., 202. 

odicers, 203. 

muster roll, 203-207. 

battles engaged in, 21 1. 

UNDERGROUND railroad, the, 184. 
Union Church of Hammond's Cor- 
ners, 539. 
Union Lodge, No. 30, F. and A. M., 74. 
Lodge, No. 90, F. and A. M., 176. 
Lodge, No. 95, F. and A. M., 358. 



KiO 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



-■ J 



Union Lodgo, No. 112, I. 0. G. T., Mill- 

poi'l, 551. 
Up de Graff, Tha.ldeus S., 313. 



rALLEY of the horses' heads," 3(i. 
i^anElten fiiniily, llie, 523. 



♦*\ /ALL 
V Vs 
\b.u Etlen, James B., .US. 

Lodge K. of H.. 529. 

Lodge K. and L. of H., 529. 
Van Ktten, town of, 521. 

organized, o48. 

settlers, 522. 

Pony Hollow, 524. 

foriuation of, 525. 

officers, 525. 

schools. 526. 

VanEttenville, 527. 

postmasters of Van EttenTille, 528. 

cemeteries of Van Etienville, 529. . 

societies, 529. 

fires, 530. 

churches of Van Ettenville, 530. 

Swaitwood, .532. 
Van Ettenville. 527. 

Equitable Aid Union, 530. 
Veleian jiostoffice, 553. 
Veteran, town of, 542. 

erected, 105. 

settlers, 543. 

formation of, 544. 

town officers, 54.5. 

roads, 545. 

buildings, 546. 

churches, .546. 

cemeteries, 547, 550. 

societies, .■j47, 550. 

Millport, 547. 

epidemics, 548. 

Methodist Church of Millport, 548. 

Mdlport Baptist Church, 549. 

mills, etc., 551. 

schools, 551. 

jiostniasters of Millport, 552. 

Sidlivanville, 552. 

postmasters of SuUivanville, 553. 

Veteran posioffice. 553. 

Terry's Corners, .^54. 

in the Civil war, 554. 
Viall. William, 109. 
VillaL'e olli,;eis from 185u to 1864, 350. 



WADHAMS, SAMUEL D., 314. 
Wards of the city of Elmira, 349. 
Warren, Herbert, 365. 
Washingtonian temperance movement, 

the, 175. 
Water courses, 26. 

-power secured, 119. 
Waters, George W., 158. 
Watts, Robert, 398. 
Webb's Mill.':, 437. 
Weekly Advertiser, 400, 403. 

Free Press, 399. 
Wells, Abner, and family, 41 

Station, 442, 
Wellsburg, .508-517, 

Baptist Church, 513. 
Westbrook, Maj. Samuel, 523. 
Wesllake brickyard, the, 487. 
Wey, Dr. William C.,331. 
Wheeler, Capt, Eli, 128. 
Whigs of 1840, incident of the, 165. 
Whisky, sale of, in early days, 171. 
Whitaker, Paul, 536. 
White, M. P., 316. 
Whiton, Capt. George L , 240. 
Whittlesey, the sexton who rang the bell, 

321. 
Wilcox Driviiif; Park, 387. 
Wilkesbarre, its influence on Chemung, 49. 
Wilkinson. Lieut. M. C, 209. 
Williams, John D., 310. 
Wisner family, the, 58-60. 
Wisnerburg, 68. 

Woman's C. T. U. of Millport, .551. 
Wood and coal interests, the, 360. 
Woodlawn Cemetery. 336. 
W'oodruff, Rev. Hezekiah, 93. 
Woods, James L., 130. 
Woodward, Dr. William, 332. 
Wool-carding machine, a, 120. 
Woolen-mill, the, on Newtown Creek, 168. 
Wynkoop, 4G4. 

Creek, 464. 

Maj. William, 39, 

" "V/ORK and Erie" Railroad, 340, 

J Young American, 183. 
Young .\nierica Fire Company, No. 4, 359. 

.M<'ii's Christian Association, 295. 

Men's Journal, 402. 



■'i^u/'Ky^ 



